Aspies For Freedom

When I was 16 I had a B in driver's education, but intellect was not the problem.  I had poor coordination (PT in 4th and 5th grade).  The instructor withheld my certificate of completion and spoke with my parents

Dad finally relented and let me get my license at 21.  

But he would not let me drive for the rest of his life.

He died and Mom got me a quick refresher course from the neighbors so I could get the groceries, and I also got a job, and a first gf (80 miles away).  

I was scared to drive at first but I got over it.

Yes not driving is like being a kid.

I have been driving for 11 years.  A couple of speedings, failure to yield, and so on, but clean record 3 years.

Virginia now has tough fines for illegal lane changes, etc. (Abusive driver fees).  So far, not me.  I've never hurt anyone in an accident, and my vehicle was always hurt worse than the other one.

A simile, not a metaphor, and not intended as an insult.

In this car crazy society (drive through this that and the other, suburbs) you really are at a disadvantage without a car.  Especially far from the major urban centers with well developed mass transit.  Many places in Appalachia seem to be car-centric, for instance, and I was at a disadvantage in Hedgesville WV between Martinsburg and Berkeley Springs sans car.  Maybe that's why my brother and I used to drink beer (boredom).

But I don't drink any more.  Even before I was on four medicines that interact badly with alcohol, I decided when I started this driving thing nearly 11 years ago I wouldn't do that anymore, to be maximum safe at any given time.

Alexandria VA is very very very alternate transportation friendly.  It isn't just that there are a ring of apartment complexes around the office (you would see Portals of Alexandria high rise straight off, and Parc East in the distance).  We have the DASH AT-3 and the Metrobuses 10A, 10B, 10E, 23A and 23C roll by in between subway stations.  Not just sidewalks but off-the-road bike paths too (look out for pedestrians who use them too)!  We have Virginia Railway Express and Amtrak.  And there is an airport in our back yard, Reagan National.

And we have cars rented by the hour (includes gas, insurance, and even some free parking) at subway stations (Flexcar, Zipcar).
Not to mention Hertz, Avis, Budget, and Enterprise near Reagan Airport, cars rented by the day.  And taxi cabs by the mile.

I am getting a hybrid road-trail bike the next time I go into Shepherdstown WV.  Technical advice of a friend recommends bikes from Hagerstown and Winchester.

I may drive 200 miles or less in a given month unless I do side trips like WV or Woodbridge VA.  

I almost resolved to do without a car when Mom give me the title to her 98 Cavalier.  She died two months later.

Here's the real STINKER.  I'd have several thousand dollars more a year without her car.  Nix the insurance first of all, then the repairs and maintenance, oil changes and tires.  Then the gas, Alexandria city car tax, Virginia vehicle registration fees, safety and emissions inspection fees, and the rare moving or (even rarer) parking violation.  Except that with the new Virginia abusive driver laws, anyone with a bad day could get shot down by Smoky the Bear, so do the limit and pray (a. the cops don't get you and b. the dude behind you doesn't decide to run you off the road).

I am going to put a sticker on my rear bumper: Scared of police, driving the speed limit, please give me room, thanks.

With taxi cabs and rentals by the hour, bus, and subway, I could save a lot, except for evacuating in the event of homeland security incident.  I don't suppose Budget, Enterprise, Avis, Hertz, Flexcar, or Zipcar will have any cars left if a dirty bomb goes off or there is a nuke threat.

I'd save a lot and be thinner.  I'd also be saving the atmosphere and reducing America's dependence on foreign oil, which is only going to get more in demand from here on in.  Will China be in the Middle East to run its tractors in agriculture?  Who knows?

We also have Arlington Rapid Transit, ART.  Including one bus that runs on natural gas (the fART?)  We have transportation options coming out of our ears.

Strange, Marshall University's graduate program did not offer a course in driver's ed.  (Maybe you mean a public school or a private course)

But in Huntington West Virginia, unless you walk or take the MTA bus, you're driving.  It isn't Washingtonia with bike trails, sidewalks, redundant bus systems, the subway, and two or three or more hourly car rentals.

A week ago (25 August) I drove into Shepherdstown (it was move in day at the dorms at Shepherd University, with cops directing traffic) and my best friend, his wife and I went down to Hub City Sports in Hagerstown to pick up a Trek 7200 road-mountain bike (a "hybrid").

Smart man.  He chose a bike based on my comfort (so I wouldn't give up riding) plus dis-assembly (seat, and front and rear wheels).  Why is dis-assembly important?
a.  easier to transport bike in pieces (remove front wheel, no need to use an external bike carrier, such as a strap on the trunk model)
b.  easier to carry indoors if your flat does not have an elevator.  The management put in bike racks but only one guy uses them, and even he removed his detachable seat.

I tried riding to the office.  So far so good. Perhaps I can take a slightly longer route to church to get around the hills.

Biking seems a win win all around
1.  I get thinner
2.  I don't pay for gas so much, wear out tires so much, repair (I drive so little I still have to oil change every three months)
3.  Less excuse to be in Iraq, Middle East
4.  Less CO2 in atmosphere

Your illustrated argument about SUVs sounds as reasonable as folks around D.C. having adjustible rate mortgages in suburbs hours away to raise the kids in and then the daddy (or mommy) grumbles about the commute, the increasing mortgage bill, and the price of gas.  Hello??

I'm glad I figured out living close to the office five years ago (after three years on the opposite end of the city).  First, though, when I had the job, it was unavoidable driving from Mom's in West Virginia 90 miles to the office 3x a week (I got to work at home 2x a week), but fortunately gas was under a buck a gallon in 1999.

Too bad we can't party like its 1999 again huh?

To the OP, I think most parents really freak out when trying to teach a child to drive. (child meant in the sense of their offspring rather than denoting age) For anyone, it takes some experience to know to look for cars speeding through stop signs, and other things like when your lane on the freeway turns into an exit lane. It is a lot to remember. However, I think your parents reactions to teaching you to drive were more 'natural' than having anything to do with AS.

I am sort of sad I have a car.  I know I'd be thinner without one.  The money for insurance and maintenance!  Lesser costs like Alexandria car tax and Virginia vehicle registration.  So far no abusive driver fees and I intend to keep it that way.

I got my license when I was 23 (btw, I am 23). I got it last Friday. Good, because here in Texoma you can't do anything without a license. The closest Wal-Mart is 20 miles away or so. Oh, and today I found my motorcycle course completion card (which I completed Oct 15th 2006), so I can hand that in tomorrow at DPS, take the written test and get my motorcycle license as well.

Hell, I'll park as quickly and easily as I can and walk on in.

If Mom hadn't given me hers, I don't think I would have bought one.

I wonder if in heavy gridlock, traffic backed up, with carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide levels high on the roadway, feeling fatigued is natural.  

I drove when I needed to.
I tried public transit.
I tried biking recently, I tried walking to work some years ago.
Of course five years ago I tried living close to work, WAY TO GO!!!

My co-worker thinks it too dangerous to ride home from work at dusk even with headlight and battery-powered rear light, she says I should walk to and from instead.  Perhaps I can ride again when Daylight Savings Time pushes dusk past 8 PM next year.

A CD player with skip protection would also work, but watch out for thieves or robbers.  Metro rail/Metro bus say to watch out for situational awareness.

The drivers ed teacher told Mom despite my academic mastery of subject matter (B worth) my coordination wasn't there, the teacher withheld my certificate with Mom's permission.  Mom prevailed on Dad to teach me to drive in summer 1991.  I got my license Sept. 1991, at 21.

The more drivers the better, you can rotate driving on long trips.  
It is better to drive less
1.  Less $$$$ for gas
2.  Less reason to be in Middle East militarily (keep your filthy oil, we're not your bitch)
3.  Less CO2 generated (global warming)
4.  You have a chance to burn a natural source of energy around your waist.

I probably would have stressed about it too, to some degree, but I didn't get a chance. My husband and I went to DPS to ask them what all I needed to do to get a learner's permit (like, what paperwork, because I'm foreign), and they sat me down for the test right then and there. I'd been in the US for three weeks and was completely clueless, but I passed anyway. After that I went and read the traffic laws in a book, because I figured that it might be good to actually know them instead of guess them correctly on a multiple choice test. Two of the questions on my written test were "What's the fine for doing x?". I thought that was really lame. I mean, I don't care, the fine is too high and that's all I need to know, whether it's $100 or $500.

How did it go? I personally found that I liked practicing in an empty parking lot best, so that I could get a really good feel for the size of the car, shifting, etc. Churches tend to have good size parking lots that are almost always empty. I don't know what the speed limit is on that road you're talking about, but it can be dangerous to go way slower than the speed limit, as someone might accidentally rear-end  you, and if she's going fast, she could hit someone pulling onto the road (her reflexes and situational awareness are not going to be as good as those of an experienced driver). After practicing several hours on parking lots (spread out over a few sessions), I did a lot of driving in neighborhoods at 2 am, and then on more major roads at 2 am, and then during hours with more traffic. Of course, 2 am only works if you're not exhausted then, but at the time my usual bedtime was 4-5 am, so it was fine. Oh, and don't bother practicing parallel parking until she's got good control of the car... if you've driven a lot then parallel parking is easy to learn, if you try to learn it soon after you start driving it can be real difficult (of course, having a good teacher is important too).

Oh, and GuessWho... I know plenty of people who'll say it's too dangerous to bicycle anywhere other than on the sidewalk (which, btw, is illegal here in Texas, but apparently no-one knows that). I do recommend bicycling defensively though.

Dawn is about 7 AM here now, and dusk between 6 and 6:30 PM now, October 18 2007 with daylight savings time still in effect (new rules, still in effect to first week of november, and will start again next march)

There are not enough daylight hours in a day to work and bike home, even with a battery powered headlight and battery-powered flashing red tail light.   Either drive or walk.

I first tried driving lessons when I was 17 & gave up as I found it to stressful.

I tried again a few times over the years but always seemed to have impatient instructors.

Finally when I was 36 I took double lessons with a really nice calm man who was very laid back so I felt reasonably relaxed..
I took double lessons because after the first couple of one hour ones, I felt that I was just getting used to the feel of the car, then the lesson was over.
I passed the test the first time.

I dislike driving and am probably over cautious, I will not overtake anything except on the motorway which fortunately I seldom need to use.
I was taught by my instructor to always assume the worst of other drivers & to be prepared for the others  doing the unexpected.

I am OK on familiar roads but am terrified of city driving so if I need to go into a city I park outside & bus in.

Where I live a car is essential, 10 miles from the town which most people would consider to be a village.
50 miles from the nearest small town & 80 miles from the city, so a bicycle would be out of the question even if I was able to use one.