Do you drive?

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I am NOW a good driver. However, decades ago, learning to in High School? It was bloody terrifying!! Plus, I neede glasses, so I was not seeing things in the distance clearly, so when they loomed out of the blur, they startled me. I had always had this issue wether skates/ go-karts or autos. I had a hard time processing visual info when I had to pay attention to it. I always over-compensated. Frustrated trainers just rattled me no end, also. My mother actually taught me in the end, for college. However, after 6 months that vehicle died. So no car for college ( one motorcycle for awhile, but I wrecked that!). Afterwards I bought one, only to find out it did not stay with me like bike riding did. I had to learn al over at 25 years old. In West Florida, a driver's worst nightmare! Ugghh, I still have bad memories..
Also, I have never managedto learn manual transmissions. Once one stalled on a steep hill & scared the living crap out of me. That was the end of that!
I can & do drive very well now, even very long cross-country trips but I do remember how hard it has been to get to this point!

Sincerely,
Matthew

I had not read more than 2 pages of this thread when I wrote that response, but let me add to it I can...
I absolutely HATE & DREAD driving in congested city streets. The few times I got lost were because of One-way streets in Tampa Fl. USA & Knoxville, Tenn. USA. Very confusing seein where I neede to go, but unable to get there (much like my life on the Spectrum, actually!).
Also, that canyon of interstate under Atlanta, Georgia is a nightmare!
In college, I eventually left home so I could live on campus without needing a car ( but I actually needed, also I had to escape my evil stepfather at the time). For over four years I walked, biked, or took a taxi to where I had to go. But prior to leaving for LSU Baton Rouge, I lived in Shreveport where I biked, or bummed rides from people. After my first car died. I did have my Honda motorbike but I wrecked that back in 1983.
These transportation issues also hurt my non-existant love life for awhile.

Sincerely,
Matthew

I voted No. Everyone used to pick on me about this because I CAN drive (in the sense that I passed driving tests) but don't. They pretty much gave up by now. Being able to operate a car is quite different from being able to drive safely in a big city. I'd rather live with the inconvenience of not driving than killing some people.

If we ever move to a rural area I might actually drive. I've always wanted to have a Jeep, but there's no point if I'm not driving.

I can drive but it took me 4 years of learning to finally pass my test on the 4th attempt. I then crashed my car 8 days later I don't enjoy driving. Its a way to get to work easily, Geocache and take my son places. It is better than public transport.

I never wanted to drive. Hated it with a passion. Dug my heels in for as long as I could, which was almost a decade. Wanted to throw up every time I thought about it, and had nightmares where I was at the wheel and the car was rolling down a hill and I had no idea what to do.

Then I was forced to learn, after almost getting pneumonia from riding a bike to work (took over an hour) during a frosty winter. Then I was forced to drive 3 hours from my home to my parent's place one summer because of a family crisis. Then I was forced to drive half the east coast of Australia for study reasons.

And now I love it. Adore it. It's my own personal bubble of alone-ness that feels like freedom.

I want to drive across Russia now.

Prior to getting a GPS I felt that way. But the last time I had to go South I even let the GPS take me into NY City and over the GW Bridge. Usually I wuss out and use the Tappan Zee which is quite a bit further north. Didn't have a problem, even though I got sent through some strange backroads in the Bronx that were kinda scary (I think it did it automatically to avoid construction.)

Funny thing about the GPS, though: it has made me kinda lazy. There's four or five places less than ten miles from where I live that I've been to several times that there's no way in hell I could find on my own. And I swear to god the GPS finds a different way to send me to the Super-Walmart each time I go. I intellectually know that's not possible, but it sure feels like it.

PS: You should try the Boston/Cambridge/Somerville area in MA sometime. ESPECIALLY if you need to find a place to park.

Oh, and I do drive, obviously.

My car is the only place I can listen to stuff like Precious Death, Motorhead and Dio at full volume.

I must admit that parallel parking is something I avoid whenever and wherever possible. Even though I've gone from really sucking at it to only mildly sucking at it.

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What I was thinking as I was going through the thread was what a US/non-US breakout of driving/not-driving would look like. I figured US driver % would be much higher, since so much of the country has no public transportation, or what there is is a total joke. But now I'm not so sure. Just from eyeballing the responses it looks like the percentages would be similar.

Yep. I have a 2007 Toyota Yaris Hatchback. It's blue.

Mum owns a 2009 Toyota Yaris Saden, Dad owns two Toyota Tacoma trucks (2008, 2012). One for personal use, and one for his company.

Everyone in my family drives a Toyota. My sister doesn’t drive a car now, because she lives in the city. She used to drive a 2003 Toyota Echo Saden.

The office admin also owns a Toyota Tercel, so sometimes we have 5 Toyota vehicles on my property.

My previous car (also my first), was a 2005 Toyota Echo hatchback (which happens to be the same colour as the car I drive now).

Same reason. I'm trying very hard to learn. It's soo hard. I space out too easily, I do not react normally. This is why I do not want to drive and my dad is forcing me to learn how/ basically, constant pressure to learn and he does not accept the idea I may not be able to.

Basically, I feel like my depth perception is flatter than normal sometimes, and I'm afraid to turn my head and look out the window/or more-so just nervous about open spaces and fast speeds. I constantly feel I am going to slip and run into anything, not purposely, just the feeling of...if I stop focusing I will lose track and then what?

I practiced earlier on this week and almost hit a car pulling out, and they had to throw the emergency break twice because I also sped too fast through a turn, just lost the motivation or concentration. Imagine having Aspergers AND schizoaffective disorder and trying to drive!

It's not impossible, but I mean...my intuition hasn't told me if I should drive or not. I think the intuition is unsure of whether or not it is even worth thinking about? I live in the countryside too.

I had a car and a permit when I was 15 but I hardly drove it and was too anxious to take the driving test. All I could think about while driving was fatality statistics and how clumsy I am. Eventually I stopped driving altogether and sold the car without ever getting a license.

I never want to drive again, but unfortunately where I'm living now there is no public transportation and literally nothing is within walking distance.

It always scared me, plus getting lessons and doing exams is crazy expensive here!! !
And then there's MOT and car expenses!

Yes, Of course - My job depends on my driving.

Never saw any thing special about having a car though - I have often described my car as four wheels and a motor - just transport.

I drive because I need to. As simple as that.

I drive and I do it well, but I get anxious when driving outside of the places familiar to me. My eyes also tend to wander because of all the distractions. I have to tell myself to keep focused.

No, and I doubt I'm going to any time soon. I'm too clumsy, and my lack of concentration while driving is bound to be a problem.

I've almost caused accidents crossing the street on foot, I'd be really dangerous driving a car.