Aspergers and Driving

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It took me a lot longer to learn than the average NT but once I learnt I just about better than any NT and have an excellent driving record.

i am a good safe driver although i do tend to look like im driving a grand prix car i get very nervous and avoid motorway driving though as i tend to prefer to stick to the routes i already know eg home town driving

I scored 100 percent on my first california drive test

It took me 3 or 4 tries to get my licence (I did fine once I took some beta blockers) and after passing the test I never drove again. That was 3 years ago. I just don't think I have the focus to be on the road, I don't want to kill someone.

I'm a good driver... have been driving about 45 mins commute (each way) every day for a year and a half now (in NJ that's no small feat for even most NT's)... I haven't gotten a single moving violation or gotten into an accident yet *knock on wood*, but I have been stopped once for speeding (30 mph in a 25 zone)... the cop let me go though, because it was in a detour where everyone else was going 40... he was just using me to turn his lights on...

Yes, I get lost all the time too, but it doesn't affect my driving skills. I find the best way to prevent getting lost is to look at the route on a map beforehand, and then make a list in sequence. Ex:

L on Oak
L on Elm
R on Pine (right after spruce)...


I once drove back and forth like 5 times when I didn't have a map. I couldn't remember the order of crossstreets, whether I was going west or east. I wasted over an hour.

Another time I was working for a festival, and I had to get some stuff from a hardware store that was only a few blocks away. When I got there, it was closed. So I started back, but somehow I ended up on an exit ramp to a bridge. By the time I realized, I couldn't escape, so I had to go over the bridge, into the downtown core - which is full of one-way streets -, and than back on site. When I told my supervisor that they were closed, he asked why I'd been gone for so long, and I had to explain.
I could tell many similar stories, but you get the picture.

Average driver, probably quite below average for my intelligence range. When "in the zone" a pretty good navigator.

Caused a three car pile-up within 6 months of my first car. Clean since.

Im 20 choose not to drive...

costs so much money here in nz rego warrent fuel gas petrol lol...maintenence car parking fees

I usually bus.. not ideal

and sometimes i want to drive but i guess there is a COST EXCUSE lol...

im thinkin about sooping up(pimpn up) a scooter lol... whippersnipper weed wacker machine into it (its been done before) or (the other day i thought fan electric cheaper... could a fan motor do it lol... hmm....

anyone use an alternative to the car.........?

I take pride in my ability to pilot my Jeep with skill and precision; I rather enjoy scenic drives, and will often drive down a lonely road just to see where it leads.

I do tend to make my passenger's terribly nervous though; I like driving fast, and I'm infamous for being able to get within an inch or so of other cars and obstacles. Recently I gave a few co-workers a ride back from a meeting in another building; the fellow who happened to be in the front passenger seat grabbed the jesus bar and spouted a very loud, "Jesus Christ!!" as I whipped the Jeep neatly into a compact spot between two non-compact cars. I just looked at him and innocently asked, "What?"

I hate having to share the roads with other drivers though, hate stop and go traffic, and hate stupidly designed roadways. I often get very frustrated and annoyed any time I need to drive in Seattle; generally speaking, I am of the very strong belief that the civil engineers who designed the Seattle roadways were low-grade morons who must have flunked the engineering college entrance exams.

I keep telling people that I'm going to get a PA system for my Jeep just so I can yell at people; I wonder how many people are going to be surprised when I actually get around do doing that?. I also want a Dixie air horn, just to be extra obnoxious.

Happily, I live in Issaquah, and my commute to work takes me to Redmond; it is a pleasant, scenic drive the whole way, even if traffic gets a bit choked sometimes.

I cannot do public transit; I have been known to yell at people for sitting next to me such that they come in contact with me.

Good fortune,

- Icarus wants to be a stunt driver...

I consider myself a very good driver. I got my license at 16.5 years old, and I've logged past 100,000mi since, both for work and pleasure.
I've only been involved in one accident, where a cabbie rear-ended my car.

well i just turned 27 and i finally got my license on thursday!! i sort of suck at it though. mainly when it comes to the rules about right-of-way & theres alot of traffic. i hate ambiguous situations. but im confident that i'll end up being a really good driver-i usually become really good at anything that i set my mind to do-except making friends, but, you know.

I hate the ambiguous situations too. I find tracing the driving route on a map ahead of time is a good idea, then you know where to change lanes, or if there are any weird intersections coming up, etc.
Welcome, BTW!

I can't drive. And I'm a very nervous passenger (I seem to go through almost as much stress as if I was the driver). I had a moped in 1989, and two accidents (one was my fault, one wasn't). Then 1992 had 4 driving lessons before my instructor said he couldn't cope with me anymore (I almost hit a white van that was parked in the road because I was thinking about the next right turn and not where I was going at the time). Haven't driven since. I can't judge distances. Would be fine if no other road users because the actual driving process wasn't the problem, it was just when I had to judge things.

Now as a pedestrian I find I have great difficulty crossing roads. I can't judge how much time I have to cross so I tend to go too quickly (or wait indefinitely until there are no cars anywere insight). Tore my calf muscle twice last year from accelerating too quickly to cross roads because I was scared (due to not knowing if the gap in traffic is big enough). And car parks are one of my biggest causes of stress (judging which cars are reversing and where I can or can't walk) - I won't even go in multi-story car parks, that's partly because I am scared of the lifts and have claustophoba, but that's another subject.

I'm a terrible driver, terrible passenger and terrible pedestrian!

I'm a good driver, i would think. This is because i never drive distracted. I usually take care of calls while parked, and before going on a high-traffic drive, i'll meditate for a moment before starting the car. It helps me get into a state of focus, allowing me to sense what's going on around me.

I don't have a driver's liscence.