How easy did you find it to learn to drive?

[ExplosiveTMT]

Not sure if this counts, but I found it easy to drive a quad bike.

 

[Sarsaparilla]

I found it difficult to learn to drive. That wasn't helped by people around me saying things like 'ha ha I can't imagine you driving!'. I had a lot of lessons on and off over 5 years and my first two driving instructors weren't very good for me as they weren't patient. I got lucky with the third driving instructor who was very encouraging and helped me to see that I could drive. Eventually it just came together and I found that I was doing everything unconsciously. I (almost) reversed into a tree on my first test (the examiner had to hit the brakes!) but I passed on the third test. It took me a while to get confident but the more I drove the better I got and now I really like driving. I find it relaxing. Everyone says (quite often in surprised tones) I'm a good driver and I'll happily drive long distances by myself.

I think being an Aspie can help us drive. Because we see a lot of detail around us this is useful to identify and anticipate potential hazards. I also find it easier to anticipate others' behaviour when they are in a car then when they are in social situations.

 

[Nitro]

I think my interest in driving a manual transmission had a lot to do with being raised in a motorsports family. My dad plopped my butt down on a tractor seat at six,hydrostatic drive was not used on older tractors,it had a clutch. At age nine,I was rowing the gears from the middle of the bench seat in a 1969 SS 396 Chevrolet El Camino and began to fully understand how and why it was done. The day I got my license,I pulled a tandem axle trailer with a pretty good load on it behind the same El Camino in traffic and in a hilly region.
My Dad was my first mechanical mentor and taught me well. At twelve,I was already piloting his airplane from pre-flight to landing.

 

[Suzanne]

I'm 23 and have tried learning several times. I think all those times, what made me give up is cause (1) my parents, the ones teaching me, had no idea i'm an aspie and have issues dividing up my attention like that and processing so much info at once, and (2) dad literally would just say 'drive', there was no schedule and that made my already wrecked nerves worse. I think with a patient, understanding instructor who understood my issues (instead of just pushing them aside), and a clear schedule of what we'd do when, i would have done better learning. I still can't drive, as it is. Personally, i think if they had simulators for learning to drive that would help a lot...somebody should invent them...cause i have issues judging distance between me and even parked cars, too.

I get you! When I was 18, my boyfriend at the time, got me a present of lessons to learn to drive. Funnily enough, I was on a simulator and then, went out on a circuit. Big mistake because there were 3 of us and the instructor and for me, that was too much and then, when it was my turn, I was going too fast. I am ashamed that I gave up too quickly, because to be honest, when I have got into a car, even for a short while, I do seem to be ok with it.

Here where I live in France now ( from the uk), we have what is called: voiture san permit which means that one does not need to take the high way code and thus, a license. But for many, there are draw backs for these cars, are only a two seater and the speed is minimal, but for me, that is great. The cars also have improved cosmetically and look even better than regular cars.

 

[Suzanne]

I think it's valuable to acknowledge when you are unable to drive. Too many people think they can drive and they can't drive for *(#@, are overconfident and cause the majority of accidents and deaths on the road. I sincerely value people who know that driving isn't for them. I think it's useful to give learning how a go if possible, simply because of the freedom it can give us, especially if you're not in an area with good public transport. That said, I am always bothered by the shaming of non-driving people, as though folks are somehow worth less if they don't operate a motor vehicle. I think knowing our own limits should be celebrated, especially when knowing our own limits protects other people!

I have had a few friends try to cheer me on about making the drive to the city from my town, or insist that somehow THEY are the ones who will be able to 'show me how'. That's annoying. I know how I feel about it, and I know the level of anxiety I feel about it would make other people unsafe, so I don't do it! I do believe I will be able to do it, in my own time and in my own way - in my own time and in my own way being the operative and most important part of that.

It is for personal pride really, because I feel utterly demoralised when my husband is unable to drive and I cannot help. If I run out of bread or something, I am stuck. And people do look down at me for not driving as though, it is my fault and as you say: it is like driving is natural and so, just learn! Happily with the car that I hopefully will get, my insurance can go on to my husband's because I am not a teenager lol Also, my car may cost effective due to how it is run.

My husband will not allow me on the road, if he feels I am a hazard to others. So I shall be practicing a lot first with his ride on lawn mower which is one of the methods and then, hire the car for a day, at a really good price, for a couple of occasions and if all goes well, then my husband will buy me a car

 

[epath13]

I was very worried but then got behind the wheel and started driving. It took some time for me to learn how to park, and get into a driveway backwards but it wasn't a big deal either.

 

[danielcollins]

I don't think I found it any harder or easier than an average NT.

Anger was an issue with road rage but that was after I passed my test - if anything I'd been looking forward to driving for a long time (living in a remote village) so I put my all into it and did it quickly.

 

[musclecarman]

its not that hard to get to know at first well I'm still learning I first learned to drive my dads ute when I was 11 but that's at a slow speed take it as small steps think of it like riding a bike (unless you cant do that) but with more controls.

 

[musclecarman]

Personally, i think if they had simulators for learning to drive that would help a lot...somebody should invent them...cause i have issues judging distance between me and even parked cars, too.

they have Driving simulator - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Harrison]

I learnt to drive as soon as I was tall enough to reach the pedals. In the UK, back then, you could get your motorbike license before your car, so I did that. I wanted the freedom that it brought and would just drive with no thought of where I was going, still have trips like that now

 

[Aurore]

I don't drive. I tried, it was awful, I didn't like it. I'm lucky because I live about 30 mn on foot from my workplace, and my apartment is situated in the downtown. But of course it seems weird that a 33-year-old woman don't have any driver licence!

 

[Suzanne]

Hey, just to add that I did my first practice of the ride on lawn mower and whoa, feel really natural driving, so much so, that boredom kicks in FAST, because there are no challenges; hubby told me to imagine signs etc, but I can't. It is a worry because he is insisting that I learn the highway code, but wait a minute! That is the reason, why I am going for this type of car, because I don't need the code. He doesn't believe me that I have retained the bit I learned, because I am stuck on the right of way, but I know well, that I shall be careful, because it is not just about me, but about others too and so, I feel sure, I will be ok.

 

[watersprite]

Keep practicing. When I leave my truck parked a long time, (I live in a small town) I get a bit out of practice I notice, which is not good.