Post by @26pglt@mastodon.au

2026-09-15 00:14 UTC

This is interesting. As a self identified neurodivergent person I know that my sensory differences are a challenge when driving. I hate bright lights & am easily overwhelmed by sensory input. My poor proprioception means that in the car, as with my body, I don’t know where my edges are unless I can see them. Parking is really hard. I used to be ashamed of these difficulties. Now I recognise them as part of how I am, accept them & work within my limits. Never drive at night, avoid freeways, stick to places that are familiar or that I can learn details of in advance. Find easy spots to park. If there’s a passenger, no chat in the car. It’s ok. Most adults who are autistic don’t have a diagnosis. Meaningful research into driving & autism doesn’t exist yet. There’s lots of bad drivers out there, esp among those who’ve been driving for ages. I’d like to see regular retesting of knowledge & skills as a condition of keeping a drivers licence, for everyone. With frequency increasing with age. What do you folx think? #driving #safety #neurodiversity #autism #ActuallyAutistic https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-15/autistic-queensland-man-human-rights-complaint-driving-standards/106891470?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=other

Replies (3)

@RaymondPierreL3@aus.social 2026-09-15 02:08

@26pglt@mastodon.au I mostly agree. There is quite a lot that can be done to make our roads safer and to teach driving to much better standards. I don’t want to make this a long toot (it’s a habit I have) and if there is intertest out there I am happy to carry on with this conversation. One beef I have is you: ”There’s lots of bad drivers out there, esp among those who’ve been driving for ages.” This is really not helpful and easily falsifiable given the large amount of *variables* and *circumstances* which lead to kind of statistics collected as evidence. I could just as easily assert that P platers are the worst #drivers on the road and might even cite some stats to back it up. But #stats are only as good as the #assumptions on which they are based. I consider the level of #DrivingSchool instructions to be awfully bad. For example, take a look at the differences between a young adult undergoing instruction for their #motorcycle licence against another going through driving school for a #car licence (NOTE: This is in #Australia, I don’t know about other countries). One will be better at #Roadcraft then the other when there should be no difference. #RoadSafety #DriverCompetencies #DrivingLicence #RidingLicence #DrivingStandards #DriverTraining #LicenceRequirements #Testing #RoadStats

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@eirias@mefi.social 2026-09-15 00:40

@26pglt@mastodon.au I wonder all the time if undiagnosed autism is part of the reason I was not successful in learning to drive. I didn't even learn to ride a bike until age 40. I found the amount of stuff to pay attention to while behind the wheel of a car just totally unmanageable. And 100x yes on proprioception. I'd like to see a world with more supports for people who just can't drive.

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@pathfinder@beige.party 2026-09-15 01:58

@26pglt@mastodon.au As someone who is autistic and was a driving instructor and professional driver for over thirty years, I'm going to have to say that there is nothing to say that we can't be good drivers and there's certainly nothing to indicate that we should be looked at especially. Although, a regular test for all drivers over a certain age is something I've always thought would be a good idea. As I also know, people deteriorate as they get older.

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