How many people on the spectrum drive, and when did you get your license?

[Judge]

This one?

Driving in San Francisco

Yep. "Driving in San Francisco".

When he dies having slipped backwards into the bay. Having to explain it all at the gates of heaven.

Coz: "Me and the Volkswagen slipped into the bay."
St. Peter: "You go to hell!"

 

[Shenandoah]

All (suspected) aspies a I have met drive, and I have been on the road since the age of 27. Before that I lived in Moscow and always felt owning a car there was impractical, at that time anyways. In Canada, even in large cities a car is much more of a necessity, so I got with the program at the age of 27 and been driving ever since. Owned many cars, also worked on cars some. Currently own 2, a Sienna minivan and a Honda Prelude (with a stick shift) that is mostly a garage queen.
Passed all my tests at the first try (in Ontario we have one oral and 2 on-road tests spread in time). Learned stick quickly too.
It would be all great if I didn't have anxiety on divided freeways.

 

[Bikutoso]

I have a driving license for mopeds. But no intention of ever driving mopeds or any vehicle ever again, due to frequently loosing concentration while driving.
Today my license is mainly just used as an ID. Just want a national identity card to replace my license today, but have doubts that it will be introduced in 2020.

 

[Shenandoah]

One of my specialties is the ability to memorize maps. I zone in on major roads or river or mtn ridges and am able to wander with my visual boundaries in my head.

I often ....we’ll always lead backcountry rides with small groups of off-road motor campers. This is Spring down in West Virginia. People continue to follow me too!
That’s me in the hi-viz jacket. I switched to one of those so drivers have a better chance of seeing me.


View attachment 57525

Love your bike. This is something I sometimes think of getting into, but my hobbie list at the moment is largely dominated by paddling.

 

[Shenandoah]

Ouch. Those infamously underpowered microbusses! I learned through the "school of hard knocks" years ago not to pop the clutch in San Francisco.

Simply avoiding driving there altogether proved to be a better remedy.

Bill Cosby once had quite a funny monologue about driving his VW Beetle in San Francisco.

I took a long road trip in a stick shift Ford Ranger once. On one of the days I unsuspectingly rolled into SF and ended up somewhere on the Russian Hill I think. I did not expect that!!!! Burned rubber off a stop sign. Later on practiced the take offs there and got ok with it, but the shock of driving at that angle with no prior warning I will not forget any time soon.

 

[paloftoon]

I love to drive. I got my permit and license at 16. I'm not great at parallel parking, but can re-maneuver into a space with a little bit of wiggle room. NYC I can drive in but don't like the stress and density. DC isn't much better. I like Philly, but I'm used to the lanes and traffic patterns and changes. I didn't like it at first.

I do Lyft and Uber and drove through a few hours when the Eagles won in 2017. I tend not to get anxious at all. My mind just focuses/hyper-focuses on driving itself and socializing with my customers if they want to and helping them when appropriate. I also like geography and real-life navigation. I love the flexibility and the fact that I am in my own car. It makes for a suitable side job for me that I hope I don't ever lose.

 

[dragonfire42]

I'm 26 and only just starting to learn to drive from my dad. I don't know if I'll be able to memorize the rules of the road well enough to pass the written test with the memory issues I have from ECT, but I'm going to try. Life will be so much more convenient if I can drive.

 

[disconnected]

We have a 1999 Toyota Tacoma which we bought new and now use as a farm truck. It has over 200,000 miles on it, a cracked windshield and some rust spots on the hood but I love it. I drive it when I buy things like bags of soil, garden mulch, lumber, etc. Since it's a Toyota truck, I expect it will live another 10 years at least. I've known people with over 400,000 miles on their Toyotas.

That’s awesome! I had a 98!

 

[Ronin82]

I started driving when I was 12 (in empty parking lots and on the farm), but I didn't get my permit until I was 26, and my license soon after. I never really felt comfortable on the road, and had been in the car during several accidents and mechanical failures so had some issues around that, but quickly found out that I love driving due to the sensory perceptions of rhythmic movement. My first car was a 98 Honda Passport, and I loved that thing, but it had bad electrical issues so I didn't drive it long. My car right now is an '07 Ford F-150, and I love this truck! It's starting to have some issues too, so I might replace it with something small and fuel-efficient like a Honda Accord, but I hate driving cars. For the longest time I could only drive SUV's or Trucks due to past events and spacial perception issues.

I never learned to drive a manual, but it is on my list of skills to attain. I imagine it will take me a while to learn it, since my coordination and memory are seriously lacking. When my family had a manual Dodge Caravan (another vehicle I loved!), I tried to drive it several times and could never get out of 1st gear.

 

[Mia]

A girlfriend taught me to drive in an ancient five-speed toyota celica which had been painted a bright orange (or yellow) and had holes in the floor just under your knees when you drove. Dust would drift upwards into your face on the backroads in the summer. I was about fifteen or sixteen at the time. Also learned to turn and drive first on a skidoo, which is a little bit like driving a small but heavy speedboat, they were both exciting to drive.
Didn't drive all that much in the cities I lived in, got around by bus and subway and bike usually. But, eventually bought a car for the weekends. My first car cost eight hundred dollars which I drove for ten years. After that it was older jeeps and then the car I drive now. I miss the jeeps, they logged a lot of miles across canada and the us and if they could tell stories, there would be many.

 

[Bronzelincolns]

I drive as part of my job. Been driving sine age 19

 

[AMANDA DESIREE WILSON]

I have had my license for more than 45 years. I got it when I was sixteen. I have a commercial driving license as I have driven trucks. I found that I didn't do well working with others so I ended up driving as I could work by myself. However, there are drawbacks. I have forgotten to do important things which have led to accidents. Driving a truck is not for everyone. It is a stressful job. However, if you are one of those people that has a hard time working with others, this is a good gig to be into.

 

[Xerces Blue]

@AMANDA DESIREE WILSON Good on ya!
It's an important job too.
Far too few people realize that without our truck drivers the country is 3 days from starvation.

 

[Myrtonos]

I never learned to drive a manual, but it is on my list of skills to attain. I imagine it will take me a while to learn it, since my coordination and memory are seriously lacking. When my family had a manual Dodge Caravan (another vehicle I loved!), I tried to drive it several times and could never get out of 1st gear.

Apparently most North American motorists, even without autism, only drive auto. That's the norm, and I don't understand why stick shift (that's right, with a clutch pedal and floor-mounted gear lever) didn't go out of production decades ago. You have to take one hand off the steering wheel every time you change gear (it is possible to change gear on both velocipedes and motorcycles with both hands on the handlebars) and power to the wheels must also be interrupted with each gearchange.
All automatic transmissions can shift under load and both hub gearing and derailers on velocipedes (such as push-bikes) allow gears to be changed while the driven wheel(s) is/are turned.

 

[Judge]

Apparently most North American motorists, even without autism, only drive auto. That's the norm, and I don't understand why stick shift (that's right, with a clutch pedal and floor-mounted gear lever) didn't go out of production decades ago.

When looking for a new car with a manual transmission, this was the reality that every dealer shared with me. Citing that in most cases car manufacturers for the North American market stocked less than five percent of their inventory with vehicles that had manual transmissions. A change in the market that I didn't notice until I was in the market to buy a new car some 17 years later.

Making it incredibly difficult for me to come up with a particular model with a manual six-speed transmission.

I don't really know if those of us on the spectrum really do have a more difficult time of learning to drive a stick-shift or not. However I know firsthand that it can often involve a steep learning curve for anyone regardless of whether they are Neurotypical or Neurodiverse.

My own father gave up trying to teach me to drive our 3-speed Ford Maverick. The task fell to my mother who had infinitely more patience with me, and eventually with lots of practice I mastered driving a stick shift and never looked back. Since then all of my cars have been manual rather than automatics. I just enjoy the sensation of actually driving the vehicle beyond steering, braking and acceleration.

I suppose there are some people out there who immediately pick up on how to drive a manual transmission vehicle. I just wasn't one of them.

 

[Jorg]

I drive, I got my license at 19yo, like 10 years ago.

 

[mw2530]

I got my license when I was 17 and I drive.

 

[randomasd]

I do, passed first time with no faults in an Automatic. Tried manual but no chance!

 

[Frostee]

Manuals take a bit of time. You’ll pick it up faster if you get someone teaching you who can explain it well.

 

[Xerces Blue]

Automatic motorcycles are an abomination! (and dangerous IMO)
Manual transmission just gives you so much more control of your vehicle, why do you think most race cars have a standard transmission.
goes right along with brain power the longer it takes to grow the more complex it can be.
Shooting with a High V weapon vs Low V - High V is easier to aim Low V teaches you ballistics and how to anticipate your targets actions.

A little knowledge can go a long way.
For example during WW2 an endurance pilot was consulted regarding the P-38 Lightning, He changed the fuel mixture doubling the effective range 650 miles to 1300 miles - kind of a big deal.