What My Parents Taught

It
is somewhat embarrassing to admit that I am not what might be
considered “the ideal driver”. Despite my best intentions, there
always seems to be situations that pop up that I never considered,
that weren’t in the driver handbook. As a side effect of being an
individual with autism, I tend to get somewhat nervous in unfamiliar
situations (I imagine this is the case for many people, but I tend to
practically shut down in some situations). It is hard for me to stay
calm when encountering a driving experience I have never had before,
and, as you can imagine, that is neither safe, nor ideal when
involving a thousand pound speeding vehicle of death (known
colloquially as a car). As a result, I asked my parents how I should
deal with it. Their advice was one that, while perhaps a bit crude, I
think is applicable in many other situations: go at your own pace,
look at the signs, and assume the drivers around you are complete
idiots, or new drivers. To elaborate a bit, I think these can be
expanded as such: if you do not feel ready to go on the autobahn,
free way, etc., as I often do not, do not force yourself into that
kind of situation. You should work your way up to it eventually, but
putting yourself in a situation you do not feel equipped to handle
puts both you and others in danger. As for looking at the signs, this
can be more akin to remaining calm. Keep your head about you, and
make sure you have a good idea of your surroundings. Don’t simply
get tunnel vision, but rather scan the road. There may be something
you have missed. While it may be a pain, sometimes I am forced to
turn around, and go back the way I came, because I missed the turn
due to focusing on the wrong thing. It is ok to do that, but, for a
while, I did not want to do so, as I saw it as a waste of time.
Finally, treating other drivers as if they are idiots is basically
advice to drive defensively. It can be easy to assume that other
people will “follow the rules of the road”, or even that they
know what your intentions are. This is often not the case. Multiple
times, I have been frustrated at the apparent carelessness and
stupidity of drivers I have encountered. However, the only thing I
can do about it is to be more aware of them, so that I can react to
whatever occurs. Keeping these things in mind has not entirely
eliminated my nervousness, nor does it guarantee that I will never
experience any hardships while driving. However, so far, these
instructions have kept me safe, and I expect it would keep everyone
safe if everyone knew to follow them.