Driving and Autism/Aspergers

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I drive my car every day to go to work, the shops or an appointment of some kind. I drive my housemate to her appointments also. She's autistic and doesn't drive.

In the past I've driven forklifts and front end loaders and got qualifications for each.

I can drive, albeit the hyperfocus often gets to me, all of those little details that distract me from the task at hand; if you bother to think of and count them, I see and take them all in. It's a positive and negative, and it's helped me in important things, even though it can be disabling. I don't have a license, but it's my goal for now, as I'd rather be more independent and not have to rely on some nice neighbors and deliveries.

I'm being very pressured at my age to start driving, but I don't think I'm ready. Whenever I'm in the car, it's hard enough for me to simply exist without flipping out. I hope I can move somewhere where I can take public transport or ride a bike when I get older. I'll probably try to drive, but I can't see myself doing it. I will probably get my driver's license, or at least try, if I hate it then I won't buy a car and I'll never use it, but have it just in case.

driving is my passion and im really good at remembering routes and street names

it helps that im a bus driver and im excellent at controling the bus and going fast yet spotting a hazard in enough time and reacting safely

passengers have told me that im such a good driver

I was home-schooled, so I didn't have Drivers' Ed. I took some private lessons when I was a teenager. The instructor told me that I had to turn my head to look both ways at each intersection. When I later did so, he told me that I did NOT have to turn my head to look both ways at each intersection and that I should just look with my eyes. ??? He also said things like, "You gotta ask yourself, are you gonna DIE at this intersection? Or just your instructor?" When the lessons concluded, he told me I needed more road time. I never got around to it and I still don't drive to this day.

I grew up in a town where you could easily walk from one end to the other. Also, I didn't have the "normal" teenage inclinations to get away from my parents so I could party, pick up prospective romantic partners, etc., so I don't think I had the motivation.

Also, because I tended to daydream, my stepfather told me that I was likely to do so while driving and would wind up accidentally killing people. I usually got a lecture to this effect whenever I missed something he said because I wasn't paying attention.

I live in California, where it's generally assumed that everyone just sprouts a car when they turn 16. Over the years, I've gotten some funny looks when I say I don't drive. Maybe that's gotten a little less common since nowadays a lot of people can't afford a car. I take the bus to work and I've taken the train a few times to go to Disneyland.

My first vehicle was either a pedal car or common child's tricycle. I was soon enjoying the freedom of a bicycle. I developed traffic sense on the usual schedule, around age 11. By then, I was also doing tricks on a riding lawn mower, and running an old caterpillar tractor. Approaching driving age, I practised car control off-road, and got my commercial licence, on ice, a discreet two weeks past the age limit. Learning to slide around for fun has saved me from two serious accidents. To help keep my mind on the road, I sometimes pretend I'm on ice, or driving a load of fragile antiques.
Overall, I prefer the bicycle. There was a Greenpeace executive who had to travel all over, and managed it without driving.

I am terrible at it. I got my license at age 20 after having my left hippocampus removed so my seizures would stop. But that hippocampus, which never developed, led me to have no sense of direction at all; I usually get lost if I drive more than a mile and my GPS is malfunctioning. It’s also overwhelming to have so many things to concentrate on. I haven’t gotten into an accident, but I feel it’s just a matter of time.

Before my physical health crashed I did okay driving but got rather stressed at times, especially in rush hour traffic.
Actually enjoyed the 30 minute drive through rolling hills to go visit my parents.

Now, though, there are about 1/3 to 1/2 the days in a month where I have either no business driving outside of our little farm town or even driving at all.

An amusing thing from the early days:

In Georgia in the 1970s you could be fairly young and get your regular license at something like 15.5 or 16 years old if you passed a state approved drivers ed class.
Shortly after I got my regular Georgia license we moved to Virginia.
It turned out I was too young to have a regular Virginia license.
The license office people called a conference to figure out what to do with me!
They decided that since I had had a valid license for some months they would go ahead and give me a Virginia license.
I felt so very special.