Driving Lessons / Test....

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Whenever I have a driving lesson, I always forget the basic fundamentals, eg. not checking the blind spot, getting the order of gears mixed up, forgetting to go down a gear as I decelerate in speed, when / whether the handbrake should be on or off and when to use the clutch etc. I think I just come across as stupid with my instructor, although he is usually very patient with me. I also have a LOT of difficulty when it comes to town driving as every instruction given to me takes me a long time to decipher, as well as checking for all sorts of hazards like watching out for pedestrians on zebra crossings and stuff like that. Sometimes I get so lost and I miss all the turnings I've been instructed to take, and we end up having to take a detour to get back on track. My instructor just notices every little thing that needs dealing with outside but more often than not I am completely oblivious to it. I'm okay on long straight roads like dual carriageways until I come to a junction or roundabout. I have been told that I need to have quicker reactions with junctions and roundabouts, etc but I don't think it has as much to do with reactions as you would typically think of them but more to do with figuring out what I have just been told and dealing with it in time, it's just a delay in processing. By this stage any other person would be making far more progress.
I have been taking lessons for a few months now and all my family keep asking me when I'll be taking my test, I just don't know what to say to them as they seem to know nothing about my problems and I doubt they would believe me if I told them I think I have an ASD.
Does anyone else have driving problems and do you think it is an autistic thing? I know that learning how to drive can be a very difficult thing for many people, but it just seems that I am not making anywhere near the progress I am supposed to.

I have had similar problems learning how to drive, and my reflexes are very good otherwise. I have trouble listening to directions and deciphering them quickly enough to follow them, as well as tracking multiple things at the same time.

Hiya

I really know what this is like, I found driving lessons and tests tortuous, took me six attempts. I would take signs and directions very literally, so would have to fight the urge to turn as soon as I saw the sign labelling somewhere I had to go with an arrow. At roundabouts, my instructor first told me to give way to everything on my right, but to me, the roundabout was a circle and so everything was on my right! He twigged after the first two lessons! Also, the anxiety of tests used to send me into meltdown frequently.

One piece of advice I can give you when you do get to do your test is that if you are still allowed to stall the car without failing, do it on purpose. I did this just to get the nerves out of my system. And don't listen to people piling on the pressure. Myself and NT's I know have had to take breaks due to this.

What is your instructor like?

i didnt have to worry about stalling the car because i did my test in an auto.

I wouldnt recommend stalling the car on purpose, as it counts as a Critical Error if it doesnt cause a dangerous situation, and an Immediate Termination if it does.

Just stay calm, follow the road rules, give way to anyone on your IMMEDIATE right (if that makes sense, i can't be bothered drawing the diagram), stick to the speed limit and dont do anything stupid, like what I did the first attempt.

It was quite hard for me as well... it took three attempts to get it right for me.

There's a lot of stress and information to decipher during the test. You got 43278941 little things on the road you have to watch out for, plus you have the instructor's directions to listen to. It's hard, even for NTs. Now I don't know about UK driving tests, but in Danish driving tests you are allowed exactly ZERO mistakes except for missing a direction or two. Stalling the car gets counted as a mistake as well depending on the instructor.
If you feel uncomfortable during the test, you may be able to request a quick break before continuing.

A good trule is to look every time you turn, sweep over the mirrors, the front window and look back every time you turn in one, single move while focusing on people, bikes and cars only, try to cut everything else out.

Junctions are easy, especially if they have traffic lights, do the sweep as told before. While you turn, you keep the foot resting on the clutch in order to be ready for the occasional idiot blindly crossing the street. Fast maneuvers and preparedness like that is sure to give you a plus in the instructor's book.

Roundabouts were more or less the hardest thing for me, as I didn't have the ability to find a proper point of reference for when it was too late to drive into the roundabout. If it is a fairly standard-sized roundabout, you have to look towards the nearest inroad and look at what the cars there are doing as well as your side for cars leaving the way you came (can be seen if they're blinking)... if another car is behind is also blinking, go for it, else stay where you are.
Some roundabouts are faily open and you can see the state of traffic in it from fairly far away. This can help you judge other cars before you get to the roundabout, and if you're lucky, you can just zoom through it.

Once you're done and you have your license, try driving around with a talking GPS. Do some practise runs of your own. First off it'll get you more comfortable with other cars than the instructor's, meaning driving as many different cars as you can can help you sort through minor differences between each car. Second, you learn how to navigate using signs to get from A to B. Third, you learn how to decipher directions faster. Do driving jobs for your family (ie. drive your mum to the store or your sibling to the sports). Practise the things you have difficulty with (town driving, roundabouts) on your own and find your technique.

Sometimes, getting the license is much of a gamble, there are different circumstances each time that you need to take note of. Regardless, riding inside a metal box with an engine and wheels strapped to it is uncomfortable for many early on, but once you get the feel of the vehicle's behaviour, it gets a lot easier and you feel more in control.

He is actually really patient with me, and we get on well, I think he might know that I'm a bit different though as I can't carry on a conversation for long (although I suppose he get's this a lot from other learners too due to the need for concentration) and it takes quite a while for new people to get to know me as I don't give them that much personal information. I also have a tendancy to kill the conversation, which I feel leads to awkward silences.. He is a very good teacher though, I just can't follow lot's of verbal instructions very well. I do think I can could be a pretty good challenge for him though.

When I had conventional driving lessons I could never get into the right head-space for the lesson, because it was usually scheduled in a snatch of time before work or during the lunch break. I didn't want to pay for more than one lesson per week, and the "hands off" time was just too long.

Some of the instructors used to start talking about stuff that had nothing to do with driving. That was a pain in the butt. I don't need to pay somebody to tell me that the world has to go socialist one day.

I did a lot better when I joined a worker co-op....they asked me to drive us all to work and back every day, and after a few weeks I'd really got the knack of basic driving, which freed my mind to look at the traffic etc. Driving along the same route 6 times a week really improved everything.

By 'hands off time' do you mean the time in-between lessons? Because that's also a problem for me, I'm on usually around 2 lessons a week and every time I get back into the driver's seat, it's almost like I have to re-learn it all.

I think you are quite quick for an Aspie. It took me 1yr and 1wk to pass. I had an entire year of lessons and it cost my parents a fortune. I still make the odd stupid mistake now 8 years on but I think I'm a good driver. Don't worry, you'll get there, driving is a very logical task and so once you get it you'll not have many more problems. Actually going the wrong way isn't a bad thing, it's failing to do the checks and following the rules which is bad.

Aspie-based UK driving tips 101:

Roundabouts

- Usually a left lane is for left or straight on, right lane for right. If it's different it'll say.
- Try never to alongside anyone on a roundabout, even for a second.
- Indicate after the turn before the one you want.
- Indications don't matter on a test when it's a mini roundabout, they're considered to be too small.
- Mostly just follow all the arrows and information written onto lanes, it's really useful.

Gears - The hardest part

- First gear: Just remember to apply a little gas first then exchange the feet equally, first needs a little extra gas.
- Hill starts. Same as above only a lot of gas until it wants to go forwards, then handbrake.
- For gearing you need to stop being nice to the car! I did this for ages, trying to make sure I didn't damage it. The car wants a bit of stick. So forget about engine noise unless you're changing gear, just exchange the feet when you change from first to second in an equal fashion.
- When reducing speed say on a dual carriageway, just forget about gears and slow down and stop in fifth gear, no need to come down through all the gears.

Lights.

- Only accident I've ever had was at lights. Remember that just because they're green doesn't mean there's no stationary traffic. I was kind of tired and went into the back of someone because I assumed the traffic was moving.

Braking

- You can slow the descent by continually using less and more pressure. As long as you always apply some pressure it'll seem like a smooth stop. Aim to stop so that the bottom of your windscreen is level with the bottom of the car in front's wheels, that's a good distance.

Crossings

- Zebra - Black and white strips - Stop if someone wants to cross.
- Pelican - Traffic Lights - Stop for red light, go on flashing orange if nobody is on the crossing
- The other's you're not likely to see so don't worry.
- Lolipop people, just watch for them coming out, stop when they're on the road.

Wrong Way

- Not a problem, tester or instructor will just tell you where to go next.

Test

- The theory is quite easy if you get the book with the actual answers in! 30/35 questions will be obvious only 5/35 will need study, so just read and learn the book.
- Hazard Perception - Never had to do this one, just use the practice software, I know it's quite hard.
- Practical - First one is the hardest, as long as you can get into a confident mood one time, you'll get it.

Good Luck!

Last edited by Adamantus on 24 Jan 2011, 11:19 am, edited 1 time in total.

Yep, that's the one. I've got a slow learning curve.

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Words: Gross and fine motor control, crossing the midline of the body, mild hemiparesis, mild hemiplegia, mild dyspraxia, (undiagnosed) mild cerebral palsy, subtle working memory/short term memory challenges/glitches, vision, peripheral vision, using car mirrors, etc. Some persons find it far easier to drive an automatic car vs a stick-shift car.

It was really hard for me to learn how to drive. When I started, I kept swerving out of my lane and I was afraid of all the other cars and pedestrians. Driver's ed helped, since my instructor knew more about driving than my parents do. But I was still pretty bad at it. The written part of the test was easy, but it took me two tries to (barely) pass the drive test. I was surprised at how much better I got after getting my license. When I drive with my parents or instructor, they will tell me what to do in a difficult situation and catch any important details I might have missed. Driving on my own means I have to be more attentive, evaluate situations myself, and actually apply my knowledge instead of relying on other people to figure things out. I'll never be an expert driver, but I've improved a lot. Once you get your license and can practice on your own, you will probably improve as well.

What the hell are you even worried about? Have you SEEN other drivers on the road!? NO ONE knows how to drive! Seriously. Your instructor is only being anal because its not only his job, but he will be on the road with you and everyone else he teaches. If I was a driving instructor I'd be teaching all my students to drive as well as a F1 driver and to always give way to the faster driver/car.

I passed my drivers test the first time. How I don't know. But thats California for ya. When I went to parallel park I backed up onto the curb. Jarred the car like all hell, but I still passed.

I took about 6 months myself. Luckily my parents were paying as well.
Everyone makes mistakes now and then. Even my dad makes them even though he's been driving for half a lifetime.
There was a survey a few years ago here in Denmark, that showed that about half of the drivers in our traffic today would not be able to pass a second driving test without additional lessons. Considering that we keep our license until we're 70 (meaning I would not have to get a new one before 2057), there are many people who have never learned to properly navigate a roundabout or other sorts of newfangled methods of controlling traffic, meaning that older people may pose a danger in those situations.


This is the worst and most dangerous thing to do in a roundabout. Remember, however that being on the outside lane means that you have to be prepared to give way to cars coming from the inside. A dual ring/lane roundabout is possibly the stupidest invention ever as they're very confusing to navigate.

This gives others time to see what you want to do. Using the inroads as a timing for when to indicate your turn also reduces some of the information you need. This is also a good time for looking after bikes if the roundabout has a bike lane.

it does, as the rules still apply, but the timing is quite harsh. Many instructors do not judge them for the sake of fairness

I din't know about the UK, but here we have a huge sign telling where the inroads to the roundabout go. This eases navigation considerably. If you're in doubt, take another round to reassess which way you need to go. afaik, it's not against the law to do so. Just never stop in a roundabout.

First gear is ONLY for when starting from a standstill. use second gear for slow driving. Even though balancing gas and clutch is quite hard at first, it'll be as easy as riding a bike afterwards. However what you need to feel for is the clutch point. Once the engine starts to pull the vehicle gas is applied to prevent stalling. On diesel cars, the clutch point is quite high on the pedal (meaning you have to push it only a bit before the clutch point sets in, making diesel cars quite easy to stall, whereas gasoline-powered cars have a mid/low clutch point (meaning to have to push the pedal further in). Feeling for the clutch point is very impotant to master, as it's different in every car.
When standing still at a junction or roundabout, you can keep the clutch on the clutch point just so the care barely moves by itself. This prevents some wear on the clutch and makes starting easier

handbrake? for starts? The clutch point is quite important here as it can prevent the car from rolling backwards, just make sure you don't stall. Whenever the car revs down, give it some gas.

I agree on that. In some cars, you really need to make sure the stick gets into the right gear. Many older cars really need some muscle to accomplish this.
What adamantus describes is what I call the "family dad" method of changing gears, it's a bit more complex than changing gears like a racer. Racers usually just clamp the clutch down, shifts lets go of the clutch and clamps down on the gas. It may feel a bit rougher, but it takes less mindpower to control your feet by doing this. If your instructor doesn't have a say against this, do it the racer way and polish your technique after you got the license.

When I have to slow down, I put the car into neutral and let it roll along. Having the car in neutral corresponds to applying the clutch, meaning in case you have to brake hard, you can do this wothout stalling the car. If traffic picks up again, a quick look at the speedometer can help you judge which gear to shift into.

you have to do this with an instructor, but in some nations it's a matter of choice. In many places, however, you'll be rewarded by a happy smile for stopping Zebra crossings are also a warning. Always slow down and look at the sides of the road for people, stop unless they're crossing from the opposite side and until they're somewhere on the middle of the road.

meaning always stop... they're there to guide children across the road. Unless you're living near a school, you won't see them.

showing initiative by taking a legal turn can help. Do ask him if he wants you to turn around first

Thanks guys, I'm getting some really good advice here. I'll try to keep it in my mind for the duration of my lessons, and I'll dip into this thread now any time I need a good tip. It's a valuable resource.

It has to become a habit.



Get an automatic.



Practice until it becomes HABIT!



Who knows. I used to be almost like speed racer in the episode where he became afraid of going too fast. I didn't want to go on freeways, at even 40mph. Today? Well, I HAVE seen my car go close to 140mph(225kph). If there are no cars or police around, I can pretend like I am flying along the freeway. OK, I don't often do it, but even 80mph is NOTHING. I HAVE been on some roads that have a 75MPH speed limit, so the real average rate can be close to 85MPH!