Driving

[JamesDean]

I'm not formally diagnosed but I believe I have ASD..

I'm 21, and from Ireland we have to sit a written exam to get a provisional licence, and then 12 lessons before we can sit an actual driving test.

I have all my lessons done and I'm waiting for my test.

My parents are forcing me to do lessons between now and my test.
I hate driving..
I cannot think of a bigger waste of my time.

I live out in the countryside, and I get the bus to college.. I'm made drive to and from the bus stop with a parent in the car.
I don't know what it is, I have good coordination it's just the actual driving.. I've bad reactions when I'm behind a wheel.
I hate other people, I just don't like being behind the wheel, I don't anticipate someone breaking, it's always the instructor telling me to brake.

I remember having a driving test every Saturday and hating every minute past Wednesday, from Saturday to Wednesday I was glad it's over and from Thursday to Saturday I was dreading the next one.
It ruined every saturday for 12 weeks.

My parents were even nice enough to buy me a car, I honestly don't know why.. but it was nice of them.
I just don't have any interest in getting behind the wheel.

Does anyone else experience this?
What can I do about it?

 

[SusanLR]

I have never liked driving. Waited until I was 22 to learn to drive.
Seems everytime I go to get in the car I start to hyperventilate and just sit in it a few minutes to
acclimate.
I've never even gotten a traffic ticket, but, there's just this anxiety and a what if I have a panic attack on
the road in my mind.
I make sure I have cold water with me, some xylitol breath mints (helps dry mouth), and keep something of
a sentimental nature in the tray on the dashboard. For me, it's two touchstones. Each from people I care for.
Other than self talk in my mind reminding me I can always pull off for a while, I play the radio constantly and try to listen to it to settle my thoughts. I also avoid high traffic highways and elevated roads if I possibly can. That's the worst.

You can see my post under post a random google image... of my first car.
Should have gotten a bigger one, I guess. (sarcastic) It was like a big black bomb!

 

[LadyBird84]

Have you told your parents how you feel in the car?

From the moment I started taking lessons I knew it wasn't for me. I told people (my instructor, my parents) I never felt in control of the vehicle but they said that would come. It didn't. It felt like total chaos to me. I also have some vision problems which don't help.

 

[Paiva]

Last year I got my driver's license (when I was 31). It was the hardest thing I've ever done, and it completely ruined many days for me. But what happened after I got my license was actually worse. Now I was expected to drive. I tried, but I felt so terrible about it everytime, and it didn't really get better with practice (although I didn't practice as much as I should, because I hated it so much). I knew all the traffic rules, I knew how to drive the car... But on the road with other drivers everything seemed so chaotic and I couldn't react fast enough. After a while I decided that I would stop driving completely. I don't think I've ever been so happy about any other decision. It's such a relief. But it does mean that I have to adjust my life to never being able to drive.

As I see it, you have to options:
1. Stop driving. Maybe it's a good idea to take your test first since you've already completed the lessons, or maybe you don't want to have a license at all because it makes it harder to explain why you don't drive.
2. Take the test, get the license, and practice your driving skills. Maybe get a parant to sit with you in the car at first. If driving doesn't get easier for you in time, maybe restrict driving to places you are familiar with. Try to get comfortable with the route to the places you need to drive to the most.

I also just want to mention that if you're ready to take the test after 12 lessons, you are already a much better driver that I was. It took me a lot longer to even be able to take the test (but in my country the rules are different as to when you can take the test). I really don't want to scare you off driving, but you asked if anyone else experienced this, and I did. Not driving was the best solution for me, it may not be that for you.

 

[tducey]

I can't drive. Of all the things that come along with my Autism this is the worst thing about it.

 

[Theta.G]

Idk if it's the same thing for you but it's the fact that the driver is displaced that really throws me off.
It makes more sense to just put the driver seat right in the middle of the vehicle so that you have equal distance on left and right side. Instead of having driver on one side and passenger on the other.
However with the way it is now... You have like 3 feet of space to the passengers side, then half a foot on drivers side. Difficult to stay in the lines with such inferior design.