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Driving

Deleted user
over 1 year ago

It took me many years to learn to drive and only eventually passed my test in an automatic car in my 40s.

Today I've just come home from driving to Chichester and the other drivers drove me a bit mad.

Motorbikes cutting me up, people doing 20 miles an hour in a 60 zone, me getting out of the way of 2 ambulances and no-one letting me back out etc etc etc.

I seem to like driving less and less and am more inclined to stay at home than I ever was.

There is just so much going on around you to be aware of, especially in cities (with pedestrians too).

So, 2 questions.

1.  Is my difficulty with learning in a manual car, which I took at the time to be poor co-ordination, but I wasn't aware of my autism, an autistic thing?

2.  Does anyone else find driving difficult (and, again, is it an autistic thing)?

Parents
  • over 1 year ago

    I think this is an autism thing. I tried learning to drive when I was 19, in a manual car, a 1980's Morris Marina, the gearbox wasn't easy and I just couldn't get the hang of it. It caused a lot of stress, anxiety and meltdowns especially during lessons. I failed so many times and as I pursued my medical career I gave up on it.

    I returned to it aged 35 and this time I decided to learn in an automatic car as I just couldn't see myself mastering the gears. It was stressful and I did fail a few times but eventually passed I'm pleased to say!

    I think we can make good drivers but it can be hard to pass at first.

    I do find other drivers annoying. They don't use signals, they speed, cut me up. Pedestrians are stressful too, just walking out in front of us. I usually need to have a sit down and relax after driving.

    My wife just passed her test, she enjoys driving if it's quiet enough. She avoids busy times on the road.

    I hope you are ok now. It can be very stressful out there.

Reply
  • over 1 year ago

    I think this is an autism thing. I tried learning to drive when I was 19, in a manual car, a 1980's Morris Marina, the gearbox wasn't easy and I just couldn't get the hang of it. It caused a lot of stress, anxiety and meltdowns especially during lessons. I failed so many times and as I pursued my medical career I gave up on it.

    I returned to it aged 35 and this time I decided to learn in an automatic car as I just couldn't see myself mastering the gears. It was stressful and I did fail a few times but eventually passed I'm pleased to say!

    I think we can make good drivers but it can be hard to pass at first.

    I do find other drivers annoying. They don't use signals, they speed, cut me up. Pedestrians are stressful too, just walking out in front of us. I usually need to have a sit down and relax after driving.

    My wife just passed her test, she enjoys driving if it's quiet enough. She avoids busy times on the road.

    I hope you are ok now. It can be very stressful out there.

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