Can People with Asperger's syndrome learn how to drive a Car

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tetris
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23 Apr 2014, 4:51 am

I can drive, and I'm not a bad driver, quite good really. Though I did have/do have a few issues. Mainly roundabouts and junctions, my judgement on when to go isn't very good, I'm terrible at judging the speed of cars so for roundabouts and junctions I have set points on the road where a car is so I know when to go. I also drive pretty much the same routes and these have all been planned for quite some time on google maps. I learnt how to drive the car in a field first and then on a small race track before I went on the road so I knew how to drive the car. I like driving it is fun, though not at night because car lights are very bright. Another issue is that I register pretty much anything I can see which can be an issue because there is so much stuff and then I have to try and not be distracted by it. I also use cruise control a lot so I don't have as many things to concentrate on when I'm driving.



Falloy
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23 Apr 2014, 5:01 am

Most people on here seem to drive. I don't. I've taken lessons, I even took the test once, but I hated it. I suspect that I could manage it if absolutely forced to but it makes me very anxious and I worry that I would "zone out" if I got tired or stressed or overloaded and make a mistake. I doubt that I would cause a serious accident - I am more worried about how I would deal with the aggressive people on the roads.



Kiriae
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23 Apr 2014, 5:42 am

I can drive and do it quite well. I stick to the road and see all the signs. I can also react fast - it is the main reason I passed the test - I was able to avoid an accident when another car appeared out of nowhere and forced on me. I got no problems with highways either - I just keep my speed at one I am comfortable with (80-90km/h) and if someone thinks I am driving too slow he can easly pass me. It's not like I am breaking any rules, most trucks go that speed and I just follow them not feeling the need to pass them.o

The problem is the manual gearbox - I have to constantly think what gear am using and what I should change it to. And the handbrake - I keep forgetting it is on, once I drived 10km before I realized it is on :D. I wish I could have a car with an automated gearbox and a sound when you drive with the handbrake on. But cars like that are expensive so I have to stick to the 2001 Daewoo Matiz.
Oh, and you can't speak to me when I drive. I can focus only when I am alone in the car or the passagers pretend they are not there. If you speak to me I get distracted and forget some rules (like - you have to stop before passing a crossroad when you are not on the mainroad) . Fortunately my reactions are still fast and I still remember other rules (always look around and be prepared to stop the car when you are passing a crossroad, even when you are on main road since someone might force on you) so I can avoid accident I might cause otherwise.

But I was using cars since very young age. My parents got their first car when I was 9 and I was going with them everywhere. Of course I wasn't driving but I soon started to tell them how they should drive :D. All the roadsigns and rules were collected in my mind (literally, I collected them - they fascinate me back then) before I even started my lessons for bike using at age 13 (I got 100% correct answers back then, as the only one on my 150 people grade) so the car driving test (at least the theory part) was a piece of cake.



Cornflake
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23 Apr 2014, 6:11 am

How many times do you need to ask this question, mikecartwright?

Surely these earlier threads have already provided enough answers for you:
http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt232354.html
http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt226669.html
http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt212726.html


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