Driving/Public Transportation

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I'm not sure if this belongs here.

So I failed my drivers test for the 6x time today. So I'm at the point where I'm considering that I might just be one of the people who will never drive and rely on public transportation for the rest of my life. See I even switched drivers ed teachers to someone who was very good at teaching driving and taught me all the strategies. So the tester guy marked me off of so many things and really critiqued my driving style. Like it wasn't just a few mistakes. So overall, I'm not very comfortable behind the wheel and bad with direction. I need someone constantly directing me, I dont know which lane to get into when getting somewhere. Driving exhausts me and I often don't see things. I heard that many aspies are bad drivers.

So I didn't know if it was worth it to keep trying. Or else just end up taking public transportation. See right now I live with my parents and they handle some of my transportation. Like I'm sure there must be some people on here that live independently and rely on public transportation. Is there strategies, like what if you have a lot of things with you, what about at night, what about if you need to travel a far distance.

I'm sorry you failed.

As for only using public transportation, that really depends on where you live and how much public transportation there is.

In really big cities like NYC, where there are lots of types of public transportation and many cabs, there are lots of people who don't have cars. In medium size cities where there are regular buses and some cabs, more people do have cars and those who don't drive either choose that option for environmental reasons, or because they can't drive, or can't afford a car. In small towns like mine with no public transportation, you have to either have a car or have several friends or family members with one.

I say, look at your area and see how convenient it would be to use public transportation only. Do the busses run in all residential areas or only the certain ones? In the city I'm from we had bus service but it didn't go into neighborhoods except in the poorer sections where people couldn't afford cars or the wealthy sections where people's maids had to ride the bus to work. The middle class areas were completely left out and the busses only went up the main roads there.

Have you practiced driving a lot before you took your test? I failed my first time because I had only driven around a parking lot and on a few back roads. I'd suggest that you start driving more, in areas with less traffic and when you are comfortable with that, then move on to the more crowded areas. Once you can do that well, then take your test.

It's important to know how to drive anyway, even if you don't have your license. You only need a license if you get pulled over or get in a wreck You might need to drive sometimes in an emergency, so knowing how is very important.

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I'm giving it another shot. We will see.
My forum is still there and everyone is welcome to come join as well. There is a private women only subforum there if anyone is interested. Also, there is no CAPTCHA.

The link to the forum is http://www.rightplanet.proboards.com

I walk or take the bus whenever I go out. If the bus doesn't go there and it's far I have to either take a cab or not go.

I have a relative that takes my mother (who I live with and doesn't drive either) grocery shopping once a week but if they didn't we would either have to bring groceries home in a cab or in a cart on the bus.

Speaking for myself, I am 25 and I don't drive.....my mom got me to try for a while but I hated it....well, I liked it for a while....gave me an adrenaline rush but I got over it and went back to my regular feelings about it....i don't want to drive!! >_< I hated living in my hometown b/c the public transportation SUCKS even though it's a huge city but now I live elsewhere and LOVE IT. I can walk everywhere and take super cheap taxis.....

Anyway, there's nothing wrong with not driving.....it's your CHOICE. Don't let people put you down because you don't want to drive..

I dislike driving also. I'm fixing to have to force myself to learn though.

I wanted to escape to a place with public transit, but everything went pear shaped and now I'm stuck here with no job and little money. The only way to get a job is to drive ( I live 10 miles from the nearest town, and about 15 miles from the nearest city) so walking and biking aren't options.. there aren't bike lanes or sidewalks anyway.

I'm terrified of driving, I can't stand not knowing what all the other drivers around me are doing. i spend so much time thinking about what they are doing that I don't pay attention to what I'm doing.

I really just want to move to a place with public transit...

Same problem.

I failed the test the first time because it was done in a place I was totally unfamiliar with and the tester freaked me out. I have never driven after passing the test the second time because of the combination of moving into a large city for university and being afraid of other drivers honking at me and making me lose control. Also, I tend to zone out and have long reaction times, which is already something dangerous for me as a pedestrian as I have been nearly ran over several times (I can only thank God if I haven't been hit by a car so far).

I passed on my first time when I was sixteen, but driving has always been difficult for me sensory wise. My neuropsychologist told me that out of all of the Asperger's people he sees I am the only one who drives. At least once a month I'll end up hyperventilating... then my hands start to tingle, and the feeling of impeding doom kicks in. It's very unpleasant and takes a lot out of me.

One of the reasons I stopped going to college was that the campus was 40 miles away and the commute was killing me. By the time I got there my energy was already sapped, and then after four or five classes my nerves were completely shot and I had to drive all the way back like that. Three times a week.

I have used public transportation for 20 years. Sometimes it is a drag (waiting in the rain for a bus, not being able to get to some out-of-the-way places) but most of the time it's great. You get to enjoy the scenery, read or daydream, surreptitiously watch interesting people....

My tips are: check out the bus or train schedule before you leave the house. Wearing headphones/earbuds will help block out vehicle and passenger noise. Buy a transit pass, but always carry enough money to pay the fare to get home if you lose the pass somehow. Occasionally you'll make a mistake and get on a bus or train headed in the wrong direction, but it's no cause for panic--you just get off at the next stop, cross the street or train station, and pick it up going the other way.

I do most of my shopping via public transport, packing some reusable shopping bags in my purse to make it easy to carry stuff home, but when I need to buy something heavy or bulky I usually order it online and have it delivered.

See heres the thing. I rely heavily on public transportation so I mostly and I do have a pass. I'm concerned when I move out on my own. What do you do when you have groceries with you, when its dark at night(I'm a small girl, it could be unsafe), or when you have to go far distances?

One thing you may want to try, which is how I got my license: get tested by a private instructor, instead of a DMV tester, if it can work like that in your area.

You pay the person, they test you, and you are much more likely to pass.

If that doesn't work or wouldn't work or whatever, public transportation's goodness or badness as a way to get around depends on where you live. Where I live, the public transportation is absolutely horrendous, but this is Alaska. When I was on exchange in Germany, most big cities seemed to have excellent public transportation, at least by my standards.

If you live in a place with good public transportation, you should have no trouble using that, and not getting your license. I was not able to get my license until 22. I had lots of sensory issues that made it take a while for me to get used to it, and I still can't have any loud noises inside the vehicle, and loathe driving with other people in the car.
I had to rely on a lot of getting rides from people, couldn't rely much at all on public transportation here, even though my university ID gets me free rides.
If you're needing to get rides from people, due to public transportation not being suitable for whatever your needs are, you could offer to pay them. That's what I did. You could offer to buy gas, etc.

I've yet to take a driving test, I'll begin sometime this year though. However I get the feeling that, with so many AS ticks and quirks and a liability to freak out I'm not going to be put in charge of close to a ton of metal and explosive fuel. And I pity the person who tries to.

Perhaps some people aren't meant to drive. It won't matter in 30-40 years after cars become outmoded. Around the same time as guns I hope.