Re: Camille's question about driving taxis....

[Guest guest]

Camillle,

Some of us are good drivers, better than most drivers. I would

much rather get a ride from an aspie than his parent For many of us,

driving requires too much constant focus. Another issue is learning not to

let your emotional swings control your driving.

I started taxi driving because I walked by a taxi company one day and

was out of work. I had been out of college for almost a year and had flunked

every interview. The taxi provided instant money in the form of tips and my

spatial ability made the mapbook of L.A. an easy read. I was the top revenue

driver in my first week; finding most addresses in the book and then going

to them.

I have driven taxis in Los Angeles, San Diego, Tijuana and now,

Tucson. Tijuana is interesting because it is liike driving in a pinball

machine; you are so close to the other cars. Imagine automotive bumper-pool.

Perhaps my enjoyment of driving is an exception that proves the

rule but in most of the adult groups I have been in, at least half of the

aspies drive.

Jerry

_________________________________________________________________

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[Guest guest]

Hiyas',

I haven't driven for a couple of years now, but that's mostly

circumstantial. While in California, my old Missouri license

expired, and there wasn't sufficient reason to motivate me to get

a CA license under the circumstances. Now back in MO, I took

the written test, and was preparing to take the driving test, but

that's on hold. I'm being evaluated for " AS " because my parents

want me to have the option of going on disability, and the testing

psychologist said that if I got a driver's licence now, my

application would be automatically denied. The rationale,

apparently, is that being a licenced driver would prove I was

capable of complex reasoning, and thus, have no disability.

Having pounded that out, I now realize that it has nothing to do

with what I had intended to say. Go figure.

Oh, yes. Driving. Generally speaking, I was always a pretty good

driver. For years, I ran deliveries all over Springfield, and did

bi-weekly shuttles to and from Joplin as well. This was no big

deal, and except for a bit of " road-rage " , it was my favorite part of

the job(s). It's probably even safe to say that I was quite expert

with any familiar vehicle.

But I eventually began to notice a " strange " exception to this,

which at the time, made no sense to me. I came to notice, most

uncomfortably, that when I was carrying one or more

passengers, my driving skills became extremely inconsistent.

This was only partly due to the " requirement " of social

interaction. What was most distracting to me was the certain

knowledge that this person's life was in my hands, and the

effects of that distraction, ironically, were at least as dangerous

as any traffic hazard we might face. Very uncomfortable indeed!

It was only after learning about " the spectrum " that this was fully

comprehensible to me.

As a friend used to say, " I can thread a needle with anything I'm

used to driving " . This is vertainly true of me as well, but *only* if

I'm driving alone. Hardly tragic, but certainly inconvenient, and

even a little humilliating at times. Oh, well.

Has anyone else here had this experience with driving?

Just curious.

:-)

Dave March

>

>

> Camillle,

>

> Some of us are good drivers, better than most drivers. I

would

> much rather get a ride from an aspie than his parent For

many of us,

> driving requires too much constant focus. Another issue is

learning not to

> let your emotional swings control your driving.

>

> I started taxi driving because I walked by a taxi company

one day and

> was out of work. I had been out of college for almost a year and

had flunked

> every interview. The taxi provided instant money in the form of

tips and my

> spatial ability made the mapbook of L.A. an easy read. I was

the top revenue

> driver in my first week; finding most addresses in the book and

then going

> to them.

>

> I have driven taxis in Los Angeles, San Diego, Tijuana and

now,

> Tucson. Tijuana is interesting because it is liike driving in a

pinball

> machine; you are so close to the other cars. Imagine

automotive bumper-pool.

>

> Perhaps my enjoyment of driving is an exception that

proves the

> rule but in most of the adult groups I have been in, at least half

of the

> aspies drive.

>

> Jerry

>

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I can see how some with autism could be very good at planning routes

and doing things efficiently. I'm glad that driving for a living

works out for some of us, since it is USUALLY a solitary job.

Thanks for answering my nosey question!

Camille

>

>

> Camillle,

>

> Some of us are good drivers, better than most drivers.

I would

> much rather get a ride from an aspie than his parent For many

of us,

> driving requires too much constant focus. Another issue is learning

not to

> let your emotional swings control your driving.

>

> I started taxi driving because I walked by a taxi company one

day and

> was out of work. I had been out of college for almost a year and

had flunked

> every interview. The taxi provided instant money in the form of

tips and my

> spatial ability made the mapbook of L.A. an easy read. I was the

top revenue

> driver in my first week; finding most addresses in the book and

then going

> to them.

>

> I have driven taxis in Los Angeles, San Diego, Tijuana and

now,

> Tucson. Tijuana is interesting because it is liike driving in a

pinball

> machine; you are so close to the other cars. Imagine automotive

bumper-pool.

>

> Perhaps my enjoyment of driving is an exception that

proves the

> rule but in most of the adult groups I have been in, at least half

of the

> aspies drive.

>

> Jerry

>

> _________________________________________________________________

> Tired of slow downloads? Compare online deals from your local high-

speed

> providers now. https://broadband.msn.com