Cannot drive because overwhelmed

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Does anyone have a massive fear of controlling a car on the road so that they avoid driving?

I can definitely see where you're coming from. It's very difficult for me to drive in the cities of the UK

You should try driving in the US, and evolve up into UK city driving.

My sister did. She had a accident once. It was no one's fault, just a crazy once in a million kind of fluke thing. But it totaled her car and she was terrified to drive for like over a decade. But now she has decided to overcome that fear and she is driving again. I am really proud of her. But I do understand that fear. I have an Autistic friend who is 18 now and refuses to get a driver's license because he is really afraid to drive. It is a very understandable fear.

I'm autistic and for the last several years my anxiety related to driving has really kept me driving just around the town I live in. I have sensory processing problems that have gotten a lot more noticeable so sometimes it is hard to see the road as level - it could be tilted at almost any angle. And at times my normal sense of the car I'm in moving over a stationary road gets suddenly replaced by a sense that the car is stationary and the road is moving under the car. And I have a phobia of heights that affects my driving on a slope or near a drop-off. Some years ago I was on anxiety medication, and even that didn't help much. I've always had the sensory problems and somehow I was able to ignore them 10, 20 years ago. I'm much more aware of them now. I thought I was the only one who had these problems, but I've run across a number of other autistic folks on WrongPlanet who posted about the exact issues that affect my driving too. I had a bad car accident about 30 years ago, but I didn't really have a fear of driving from that - it's as if my awareness of my autism has gotten more intense over the last several years.

Thanks for your replies. I too had a serious accident when I didn't judge a crossroads and drove straight through. Years on I tried again but had another accident through poor judgement.
I just don't feel in control of the car and I either feel terrified that traffic is coming from all directions or I'm scared because I want to put my foot on the accelerator and speed off.
For my safety and everyone else's I now stay off the roads.

Sounds sensible to me...

Do you have good public transport where you are?

I don't have a problem with driving a car, i find that it in fact can be quite relaxing.
But i refuse to drive the forklifts at work for the exact same reason, tried it a few times but at no point did I ever feel safe or in control, even after weeks of training.

I don't drive for similar reasons. I had lessons as soon as I was old enough, and quickly realised that, although my control of the vehicle itself was OK, my situational awareness of other road users was terrible. It doesn't help that I have a bit of a perceptual problem with mirrors, but I think that it was mostly a case of "too much information!" making my reactions too slow as soon as there were more than just a couple of other vehicles around me. After a while both me and my instructor realised that he was saying; "you didn't see that car, did you?" far too much.

I do. I'm okay at driving but get emotional when I get cut off. I also get easily distracted. So I stopped driving shortly after trying.

Thanks everyone. It's reassuring to know other people have similar issues was driving. The mirrors also absolutely threw me, I had no idea which car was where. I just feel bad for my son though because I can't drive him or take him out without a migraines worth of public transport. At least in a car you haven't got the world at large to deal with.

It was worse before.

I've never been in an accident, and my parents say I drive well, but I used to get completely exhausted only driving 20-50 km. One reason is the lack of hierarchy in things going on around me: I focus equally on keeping a constant speed as I do on the traffic ahead of me, even though I can rationally understand that keeping an eye on the road is more important than going absolutely exactly 90 km/h!

Driving on unfamiliar roads was also a huge challenge. I missed signs here and there, failed to keep an eye on pedestrians, etc. and had a major breakdown once where I just had to stop and cry. Got a grip again and drove back home, but jeez, it really was a challenge.

As I've gotten older and less neurotic about things in general, I find that my driving ability has improved. I still prefer public transport or being the passenger, but I'm glad I didn't give up completely on driving despite my woes.

Yes. Because I do have too much trouble controlling a car. Too much to even take a driving test. I can park okay. But anything beyond that forget it.

I have never had that trouble. I went to California for a month with a friend in his car, and wouldn't let him drive on the freeways there. He saved us from a well-used skid area by noticing a sign I'd missed, but I still had to drive very well.

Yes I am bad at driving

So what?

Plenty of drIvers are worse at driving than me

And they Still drive

And they act like they are good at driving too

Driving involves too many things to pay attention to

Too many things could change


Relaxed but alert

Even though most of peers probably drive. I don't drive and don't wanna drive. Sure I can physically handle the wheel and know some basics I guess of driving. But I have fears of being overwhelmed if another car comes up right in front of me and expecting it. Or person randomly walked out in the middle of the street and I accidentally hit him or her because of me not paying attention to my surroundings and/or being overwhelmed of what to do. So no I can't drive due the possibility of putting me and other peoples lifes in danger.