Afraid to drive

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Firstly, an introduction. I'm a 20 year old from Indiana with Asperger's. I am not entirely sure if being especially fearful of and stressed out by driving is associated with Asperger's. Nothing happened in the past such as an accident that made me afraid. I'm just "naturally" afraid. I would like to know if anyone here has been similarly afraid to drive, and if/how they overcame it.

What am I afraid of, exactly? Well, first of all, being presented with dangerous behaviors from other drivers, and needing to react to avoid an accident. I realize I cannot control this. Also, with all the information and laws associated with driving, I'm afraid I will forget something on the road for a moment and make a mistake. I know everyone makes mistakes, but when driving, mistakes are fatal. It doesn't help that I hate making mistakes as well.

Along with being nervous on the road, I'm also not so good at navigation. I hate getting lost. Maybe a GPS would help.

I realize being nervous and stressed will just make me mess up more, and messing up will make me more stressed. You can see it is a "Catch 22" of sorts.

These fears make me reluctant to learn to drive, as even practicing gets my nerves shaken. It should be no big deal, but for me, it is.

Public transit is an option, yes. But I'm not sure if I will live a good life just using public transit. My main concern is transportation of groceries. I'm not very strong and my stamina is low. It's not like I can just unload the groceries 2 at a time off a bus. Besides, my father really wants me to drive. I'm not sure if he would understand that I'm simply too afraid to. But simply being pushed to drive isn't going to resolve my fears.

So has anyone here been especially afraid of and stressed out about driving? Did you overcome it? If so, how? If you never learned to drive, or you can't, is your life any more difficult because you don't drive? What do you do about groceries?

Thank you all.

I don't believe it's AS based although A LOT of Aspies here have had driving issues myself included. I hope to learn to drive again but I'll have to wait and see. I had an aunt die in a wreck so that IMO has effected me plus I never had that OMG got to learn now drive to drive I was always into videogames. I hope I can learn to drive though I don't want to always be depended on family or public transport.

I love driving. If you know what you're doing you can avoid all the things you're afraid of pretty reliably. Just ask one of the many people who've been driving for years and never been in an accident.

I've had my license for a little over six months now and I still get a little nervous, but only in some situations. When I first got my license, I would get nervous every time I got behind the wheel. I still struggle with freeways and night driving, but I'm getting better. I don't speed or make dangerous/difficult maneuvers and always wear a seat-belt. Having a GPS also helps, especially in unfamiliar areas.

Before I got my license, I would (and still do) do grocery runs on a bike. I live in a fairly bicycle friendly town and have baskets on the back of one of my bikes that along with a backpack, can carry more than a weeks worth of groceries. Not only does it save on gas, it also provides a good workout.

Yes. I'm going to take driving lessons, and hopefully get a license soon, and I'm afraid of making mistakes too. What I try to do to calm myself down is to keep focusing on my special interest, listen to music, breathe in and out, and getting some rest and relaxation. Other people who took the test before me say its pretty easy and almost everyone passes there, so I can feel relieve for a little bit while thoughts of anxiety run through my head. Practicing comes with it, so you and I will get use to it.

Yes. I'm going to take driving lessons, and hopefully get a license soon, and I'm afraid of making mistakes too. What I try to do to calm myself down is to keep focusing on my special interest, listen to music, breathe in and out, and getting some rest and relaxation. Other people who took the test before me say its pretty easy and almost everyone passes there, so I can feel relieve for a little bit while thoughts of anxiety run through my head. Practicing comes with it, so you and I will get use to it.

I'm afraid of driving simply because of all the sensory imput, decision-making and attention shifting it requires. Getting lost is scary too. If I'm just riding in the car I think all the cars are going to hit me, and wonder why I'm trusting my life to all the people on the road I don't even know who are yapping on cellphones.

Realistically, worrying about your own driving ability is pointless compared to the previously mentioned others who drive with calls and drinks. Certainly with a higher mortality rate, but they still probably recieved a drivers lisence fine.

I have never been afraid to drive and actually enjoy it when my car is reliable. I had this friend in mid high school who was terrified to drive, so I get where you are coming from because I was helping her practice driving by letting her borrow my car and she was so paranoid of the cars in the opposite lane, she would swerve whenever one approached, almost hitting the curb. It took a lot of practice, but she did manage to get her license and she was the most nervous driver I have ever seen. She would put her face right over the steering wheel and I could tell she was having tremendous difficulty, but she stuck with it and got her license.

The only thing that keeps me from getting my license is the lack of money that I have to pay for car related things.

I taught myself how to drive without any assistance from anyone, and really enjoy it.

Remember that when you are driving you have options that can lessen anxiety. You don't have to drive fast, you don't have to drive at times or in places that the roads are crowded, you don't have to get groceries at stores with busy parking lots and you don't have to compete for spaces near the store. All these behaviors will reduce the chances of finding yourself in a novel or frightening driving situation.

It is possible to live without driving if you choose a city like New York, but I imagine it takes a good deal of stamina.

I'm scared of driving too. I do drive a little bit, when I'm at home with my family and not away at university. But cars are dangerous, and I'm absent-minded. The community where my family lives is fairly small, so there's not too much concern about directions and getting lost, but that is an added concern when I've been forced to drive in the nearest city.

I don't like to drive down on the goldcoast, someone else drives me at the moment, because I find highways scary, but am slowly learning, but I take my self to and from work, your fears aren't new, just take learning to drive as wild But fun ride, and have fun with it

I get where you are coming from and yes it is partially AS related a lot of aspies have problems with multi tasking, concentration and nerves as is the case with you. A lot of aspies do drive and many that do it is later in life (I was twenty eight) but now I have my licence I love it and love the freedom of being able to go where you want when you want. My advice to you is do it when you are ready as you will be a better driver then don't let anyone pressure you.