Struggling to pass my driving test.

I'm a quick learner, if I study something and set my mind to it I learn and improve quick. I watched a lot of videos online, how my mum drove and how the instructor drove and I passed first time when I was 22. But it made me so nervous and scared I haven't driven since, sold my car a few years ago. I'm happy walking if I go out.

Em x

Even this evening, I wasn't sure about a right-turn whenever it was green to go straight. The car behind me honked, but turned right in the end.

Yes, lots of autistic people do drive and drive well. But I think it depends on your sensory profile. If your proprioseption sucks - and mine sucks - best not or people would die, lol.

I took myself off the road before some magistrate was obliged to do it for me.

It took me 18 months of learning to;

1) have the confidence to take the test, and 

2) have enough practice of doing mock tests

After that I passed the test first time

I imagine if I drove I would be forever bumping into other people's cars and possibly a lamppost or six... I don't think I'll ever learn to drive. It looks really scary and I don't think I have the coordination and skill for it.

I passed on my third attempt in my teens. God knows how. I couldn't reverse or do a three point turn for toffee.

I quickly realised I simply could not judge where things were in relation to me. I banged and scraped my dad's car so many times. At 19 I gave up. Thought I better had before I hurt someone. Never been behind a wheel since.

Dont forget that when you are a new Driver your attention will Automatically be focused on what you are doing with all the controls inside the car.It,s a natural distraction from whats going on outside. Once everything becomes second nature you can fully concentrate on whats going on outside. You will get there :-)

Hi, thank you for sharing your story it really helps to know how you came across your problems and in the end achieved it.

Several people told my Mum as I was growing up that I would never manage to have a driving license and I also had reservations. However thanks to the support of my Mum, I now do have a driving license. I was very hesitant when driving as I was scared I could accidentally harm someone. This was worsened by me finding it difficult to figure out the driving itself. I would probably not have managed without my mum- I was able to practice with her and she really pushed me ("GO faster") and gave me confidence and made me practice. I think for me it was all about being able to practice with someone that gave me confidence and pushed me just the right amount. If you can find someone to practice with that knows you well and can give you the right encouragement, that might help... Also finding a good and supportive instructor that understands is helpful.

Have you got ADHD and Autism because the DVLA have given me a letter saying that i am not allowed behind a car wheel because i had the same problems. but 2/6 driving instructors i had reported me to the DVLA and the last driving instructor i had was so angry when i told him because i was capable  of driving it was the previous instructors where unable to adapt to me having both Autism and Adhd. 

Hesitation was a real issue for me. Even when I passed I had two faults for going too slowly. I also struggled with estimating distances and speeds which made me uncomfortable when pulling out and calculating when was safe to. Fortunately in some ways I went with a better safe than sorry approach, but it did and still does cause problems. 

I was fortunate enough to have an amazing teacher, who practiced with me for well over a year as well as practicing with my parents until I was ready to take the test. She and I started a system particularly for T-junctions where I practiced pulling out of T-junctions on quiet roads until I was 100% sure that I could pull out and get into second gear within 3 seconds. Then we went to more busy roads and I learned to pick a point and count how long it took for the car to get to me. This did sometimes mean that if there were cars when I first got there but they were a long way away I ended up waiting a lot longer than needed, but it was necessary for me to be comfortable and safe. Then I could use that distance/number count to judge if a gap was big enough for that junction. I still do this at every junction, even ones I know well often, and some things can skew it like the size of the vehicle (my brain sees lorries and buses and assumes they're a lot closer than they are due to their size despite the fact I usually have more time due to them often moving more slowly) but it has allowed me to drive on much busier roads than I would have otherwise. 

When it comes to attention to detail, I did a lot of the theory hazard tests, even after my theory was passed. I did find them annoying at times (you can fail for having clicked too early?!) but they allowed me to practice scanning the road separately from the whole controlling the car thing, which helped to put them together. 

Focus was a nightmare in terms of tiring quickly. I still can't safely make longer car journeys and I'm not sure I ever will. The actual test is only 45 mins, so about an hour is all you need in terms of passing but in terms of dealing with daily driving, I find 2 hours a day to be my limit while safe. I'd recommend doing lots of practice (not the most helpful suggestion I know but it is one of the biggest assistors) and try and find your good time zones and what becomes too much for you. Also, I don't know what kind of area you live in, but quiet country lanes are great for building awareness in a slightly less stressful environment. You will run into vehicles, but it's not the town nightmare of having to concentrate on pedestrians following crossings, pedestrians not following crossings, traffic lights, other vehicles and controlling your own car. I still hate driving in cities but fortunately I don't have much call for it except late at night when my local buses stop running.

Hope some of this was of some help. Do enquire further if you have any more questions, I hope your driving practices go well

It's over 50yrs ago i did my driving test. When i was 16 i took a test on my motorbike ........... and went the wrong way. If it's still the same, the examiner tells you to go around the block, taking 1st left 2nd left, untill i tell you to stop. And you can see him running from corner, i only went around the block twice when he stopped me and said, now go again but this time go 1st right 2nd right. ..... I ended up going around and around, and i couldn't see him, at first i thought he must have been hiding watching me, then i started to wonder, had he gone home for lunch........ Eventually he came into sight and stopped me ...... Where have you been ? You're suppose to be further up the road ? All i could say was sorry, but we carried on with the test, and surprise surprise he passed me.

When i was 17, i got a Reliant Robin, 3 wheeler like in Fools & Horses. I could drive that on my motorbike licence, so when i got a 'real' car' with 4 wheels a year later i'd had all that experience of driving the 3 wheeler.

I passed the driving test at 28; after so many trials, tears and tantrums.

People develop at their own pace. It takes a little longer for us. Trust me.