A lot of people with Autism don't drive cars, why is that?

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Pay attention to what's in front of you.

My girlfriend's very likely on the spectrum & she cant drive due to bad ADHD & anxiety. She would either lose focus & crash or she'd panic when a car gets very close & swerve & crash. She's on a few psych meds but they don't help those issues enough.

I cant drive either but my biggest reason why is due to me having low vision which is unrelated to autism. Other reasons why would be due to me not paying enough attention(possibly have ADD, sluggish cognitive tempo, &/or maladaptive daydreaming disorder) & also me having a very bad sense of direction possibly related to my dyslexia.

i wonder how many other people besides me intentionally limit their driving to essentials only, in order to minimize the danger of screwing up and crashing?

I think it's mostly anxiety followed by lack of funds.

The environment is one of my special interests, so I either walk or take the bus.

I don't really have to drive, so I just don't. But I did for instance drive my mother to doctor's appointments but it was in a rural area that made it doable for me, even though it was still stressful whenever there was an intersection. I am pretty much just too afraid. I'm even afraid of riding in a car (especially on the freeway), which I think is partly because I wouldn't be able to do the driving so it's hard to trust that the person I'm with who is driving can.

I limit my city driving, but I also go out to empty twisty roads to drive for fun - which usually involves glowing brake rotors.

I'm going to take an exam when I pass my permit/license test to determine if I'm fit to drive. I have spent my teens and 20s going without getting a license or learn to drive, but now I want to focus on it and at least try. Even those that have a license choose not to drive. But it seems to be required in order to have a somewhat normal social life in the US. I'm not sure about Australia or the UK, but I assume it's nearly the same in those developed countries.

Other people have said it in this thread before, but it is not just ASD. It can be any other kind of neurology or physical issue, even just a certain medication.

Tend to limit myself to the same roads, so I end up at the same stores buying the same stuff. I get stressed if I can't park in the same place too.

i guess this leads to another related question, do you live in a small town intentionally? i know i do.

Haven't owned a car in years and live in the city now. Sorry should've made that clear... But yeah back then very very small town. Still felt like there were potential disasters lurking everywhere. I ditched the car for public transport as soon as I moved.

there is at least one other WPer who did the same thing.

I am a very experienced driver as well. Sometimes I take my father and his girlfriend in my car to an event, where parking is an issue. If they are there, I can drive back to home (it is about 15 min. of driving). If the event ends, they call me, or send me a message, using WhatsApp. I drive to them and take them to my house where their car is. Then they drive home.

But I can be considered as a gifted river. My father has driving experience for years, but he recently told me that I became better than he himself is. I can drive long distances, about 6 hours a day, but not every day. The next day I must rest and should not drive more than 2 hours or so. I can drive in foreign metropole cities. I can drive in countries with left hand driving. I have been driving 650 miles (about 1100 km) in 6 days, from Heathrow to Liverpool, then to Edinburgh. From Edinburgh I drove to Glasgow and back.

Last summer I drove from Enschede (where I live) to Dresden, to Vienna, to Bratislava, to Budapest, to Belgrade, to Zagreb, to Vienna and Dresden again, and then back home.

After about 3 weeks, I will go to Berlin, to Gdańsk, to Warsaw, to Kraków, to Dresden and back home. Google Maps is my favorite navigation app. I love it, and it gives me a lot of useful and important information about my trip. If a road is closed or there is a traffic jam, it suggests me a better route and asks me whether I want to accept that.

Once I will fly to Chicago and will drive Route 66 to Los Angeles. Then I will have a short stay in New York and will go home.

The fact that they're making bigger and bigger cars and that I need to sit on the cushion to reach the clutch doesn't help with my driving skills. But I'd consider myself a menace on the road even in a fiat panda. Perhaps it's dyspraxia and lack of spatial awareness but it feels as if I'm riding a rodeo while simultaneously trying to use GPS. I do have a driver's license but I prefer not to drive, for everyone's sake.

I couldn't handle it, it took me until 33 1/2 to finally feel comfortable with gas/break under stress, still driving the my first car for 18 years.

I drive but never liked it. I prefer to drive at night due to no cars on the road. I wish I didn't have to drive. However in my area, it's the only way to get around anywhere