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Driving problems

C

CyberSwordsman

Well-Known Member
I recently failed my driving test for the second time, because I got myself in a very dangerous situation without realizing it. My mother told me it might be because of my AS, which I didn't know would affect my driving ability. Now, I'm worried that everytime I get into my car, I could get in serious trouble. What should I do
 
Maybe talk it over with your mom...ask her what dangerous situations are and what she does in them. It might help or maybe have her take you out driving and have her point out things that might get you into trouble. I don't know I can't drive due to my vision issues. But I had to have my mom explain to me many many times why I couldn't just walk into the middle of the street. Have her explain to you why it was dangerous...just some thoughts.
 
Years ago I had driving lessons and I failed miserably. There was just too much stuff I had to watch and keep track of, I forgot to change gear, watch my speed or operate anything else. With that, I got frustrated to why other people did not keep to rules and sane driving. Some stuff looked so illogical to me, that the rest of the lesson was wasted because my mind couldn't lose the fact to why this other driver did it the way he did.

I should add, I don't even go out on a bike anymore... same problem. Can't deal with lots of noises around me, and thus I need to put music on to drown the sounds, to where I do not hear any other cars around me. At least there's still sidewalks and drivers respecting those, lol

Now, I did remember reading an article on a dutch autism forum where someone posted an article that someone who had aspeger's failed his exam... because of asperger's. Apparently you need to be medically cleared and having any sort of sensory stimuli is not ok to drive. I thought they case went to court... never read anything else about it, but to be honest, seeing how my driving went along, I can totally see how this is a general problem. It's just silly they put everyone on the same spot. I'm quite sure some of us can be excellent drivers. However, and that's something I might add; it can depend on where you live and thus where you (learn to) drive. My hometown isn't nearly as hectic as say... Paris for example.

A thing that bothers me most in all of my driving experience and lessons is that my instructor probably was onto something already with me, but just kept telling me "you need a few more"... after taking almost 40 lessons (at about 40 euro/55 USD each) I both ran out of cash, as well as didn't see any progress and he just kept on going "just a few more". Think he was quite sure I didn't make it and he could just squeeze some lessons out of me that way. He still owes me money over the exams I paid upfront (got them cheaper if I took X lessons paid upfront), but his name doesn't even show up on google anymore. His company is gone bust I guess, so that's another 300 I wont get back. That came about when I was out of a job and out of money and told him "look, I can't take any lessons now, don't have money, we'll keep in touch over the next month or so". Never heard from him again, company doesn't exist, and he doesn't live where he used to... oh well.
 
What kind of situation? Those situations can be avoided if you follow some rules of thumb, which I'd be glad to share if you could describe to me what happened.
 
jonathan said:
What kind of situation? Those situations can be avoided if you follow some rules of thumb, which I'd be glad to share if you could describe to me what happened.
Click to expand...

Well, a couple of trucks were trying to merge in to the lane where I was. I knew I had to make space for them, but I tried to get ahead of them. then I ran out of space and the examiner had to grab the wheel before we got wrecked
 
CyberSwordsman said:
Well, a couple of trucks were trying to merge in to the lane where I was. I knew I had to make space for them, but I tried to get ahead of them. then I ran out of space and the examiner had to grab the wheel before we got wrecked
Click to expand...

Don't speed past the car in front of you if you're behind them and you can see the turn signal for a merge. You're supposed to put some distance between yourself and the car ahead as common courtesy and I know how tricky that can be sometimes especially on the freeway or a couple of congested lanes. You also are going to have to find a way to relax while you're on the road - easier said than done, I know from experience especially with an examiner in the seat next to you, but if you get too nervous you're going to make a snap decision and if you're doing 70mph on a freeway, it could bite back hard. My grandmother always used to say, "assume everyone else on the road is an idiot".....and she's right. In a way.

Don't get me wrong now, that would make sense IF you were dealing with a tractor trailer, in which case you should try to close the gap as quickly as you can so you don't have to deal with a wide turn.
 
Driving has never been a problem for me. I drive a car and used to ride a motorcycle until I sold it last spring. My hyper vigilance on the road has served me well in keeping me safe. Motorcycle riding had admittedly become an issue due to other bad drivers out there causing too many close calls and making me feel too anxious to enjoy riding.
 
I drive all day doing service work in homes and businesses. I also drive a motorcycle. Nothing like getting the wind in your hair. Good advice from Jonathon and his grandmother. assume everyone else is an idiot (this should not be difficult). Also, there are two ways to approach driving, aggressively or submissively. We are not all the same. It sounds like you are naturally aggressive. Try to relax, tell yourself you are in no hurry, and be the cautious driver. Let others go first, leave plenty of space between you and others, and go slower rather than faster. trying this may help, and may reveal things about your driving that you did not realize.
Good Luck.
 
I had to change driving instructors as I ended up stopping the car mid way through a driving lesson and walked off in tears as the driving instructor kept telling me off for everything, the situation made me a nervous wreck and never took any lessons for a few years. I decided a couple of years ago to give driving another shot and passed my theory test first time and had a great driving instructor, he was very helpful and explained what went wrong and what I did good at. This filled me with confidence and I even passed my main driving test first time with only two minor mistakes :)
 
CyberSwordsman said:
Well, a couple of trucks were trying to merge in to the lane where I was. I knew I had to make space for them, but I tried to get ahead of them. then I ran out of space and the examiner had to grab the wheel before we got wrecked
Click to expand...
That sounds like a mistake from inexperience, not from AS. My NT sister also failed the test. She ended up passing it later.
 
I'm having driving lessons now... Just had the eight. It was going quite well until I forgot in which gear I am and if I need to change it. So I looked down, completely forgetting I just went out of rondo. I bumped the sidewalk and who knows what else I would if instructor didn't grabbed the wheel.
It made me so anxious that the rest of the lesson was quite miserable. Car died when I should have driven away just because I was nervous and I couldn't think about what I'm doing.
Another lesson tomorrow. I'm really nervous.
 
I am curious as to if anyone has tried practicing by playing driving / racing video games. Granted, it's not truly "practicing" because, well, you're not driving a real 3,000lb vehicle and the physics aren't going to be "real world," but many of the decision making processes are exactly the same; speeding up vs slowing down, left vs right, quick decision making to avoid an accident, etc.

Even the more exaggerated games, like what I played when I was younger, like Extreme G, San Francisco Rush 2049, and later games like Dirt 2/3, Burnout Paradise, Flatout (not 3, which is terrible, I hear) do at least familiarize you with some of the more extreme situations so that you might be able to recognize them more quickly in real life where they will typically be far more subtle.

It's not a 1:1 skill set by any means, and I'm not saying you'll be able to drive a car because you can play a video game, but they both operate the same kinds of thought patterns in the brain and can help to acclimate you to the "sensation" of driving and perhaps take some of the shock value away from the (usually) mundane real world experience (bonus if you can actually use a desk-mount wheel / shifter setup, but a gamepad works, too).
 
Neat Hedgehog said:
I am curious as to if anyone has tried practicing by playing driving / racing video games. Granted, it's not truly "practicing" because, well, you're not driving a real 3,000lb vehicle and the physics aren't going to be "real world," but many of the decision making processes are exactly the same; speeding up vs slowing down, left vs right, quick decision making to avoid an accident, etc.

Even the more exaggerated games, like what I played when I was younger, like Extreme G, San Francisco Rush 2049, and later games like Dirt 2/3, Burnout Paradise, Flatout (not 3, which is terrible, I hear) do at least familiarize you with some of the more extreme situations so that you might be able to recognize them more quickly in real life where they will typically be far more subtle.

It's not a 1:1 skill set by any means, and I'm not saying you'll be able to drive a car because you can play a video game, but they both operate the same kinds of thought patterns in the brain and can help to acclimate you to the "sensation" of driving and perhaps take some of the shock value away from the (usually) mundane real world experience (bonus if you can actually use a desk-mount wheel / shifter setup, but a gamepad works, too).
Click to expand...

I've often considered doing just that to learn how to drive, but I don't have any racing or driving games. If your looking for a game that can help you learn, there is one that is in alpha called BeamNG, which is meant to simulate what soft-body physics on vehicles should look like. From what I've heard, it matches the feel of driving to a T.

Link: BeamNG DRIVE - Realistic Vehicle Destruction! (FREE Demo!) - YouTube
 
I was terrified to drive when I became the age to get a permit. I wouldn't do it at first. Most kids ran to the DMV to get their permits and I waited like 6 months. After a while I started driving with my parents, and then in a driving school. Hated the driving school thing because there were 3 other kids in the car so there was added peer pressure but I did alright. I just never wanted to drive outside of the class. I failed my first 2 road tests and then passed on my 3rd try knowing I needed to have a license to drive to college. Even after I got my license I made my dad drive me home and didn't want to drive after that. Gradually I got more confidence with short drives around the neighborhood. Funny because my job within 5 years of that required 120 miles a day driving on all sorts of urban parkways and whatnot. Now I have few qualms about driving but I can always sympathize with anyone hesitant to learn.
 
Hmm... well, in my experiences, sometimes I fail to pay attention to everything around me, I am very bad with directions, and I am the absolute worst at judgement. I hate it when people tailgate me and I never do it to them, but I have a hard time judging peoples' speed when they're coming and I need to pull out. I've gotten in a few dangerous situations like that. Also bad with traffic light timing, I ran a red light the other day because I got paranoid I wouldn't make it when it was yellow. Good thing I didn't get caught.

My advice, maybe just practice around town or review all the types of possible situations you could be in, such as being careful when lane-changing, making sure you're paying attention to your surroundings, looking in your mirrors, judging when a traffic light will stay green or turn red, etc.
 
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