Published on 12, July, 2020
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)?
I took advantage of the cheaper lessons at 6th form college when I was 17 and passed first time but I did take a year of a lesson every week before my instructor put me in for the test. My best friend (who certainly has spectrum traits and may well be on it but I don't know) had her test sooner but failed multiple times and only passed years later.
I like driving when the roads are quiet but hate when it is busy or manic. I have heard of other autistic people who refuse to learn to drive. We are so varied though, I am sure some of us are excellent drivers and some would be dangerous and totally incapable.
@NAS82959 I'm struggling to understand how the link you have provided is relevant to the topic of driving.