Learning to drive
In all states and territories, legislation requires a driver to advise their driver licensing authority of any long-term or permanent injury or illness that may affect their safe driving ability.”
Austroad
You’re 16 years old, and now it’s legal to learn to drive.
The big question is: do you want to?
The next question is then: will you be able to?
If you have been diagnosed as being on the spectrum then you need to think carefully whether you have the skills to be a safe driver.
You may choose to wait until you are older, many people do.
There are some things you need to know before you jump behind the wheel of a car.
You must have a Learners License, and to get one you need to apply using a form.
On this form you do need to fill in the section asking whether you have a disability.
You need to have your doctor sign the form, saying that he or she thinks you will be safe to learn to drive.
Your doctor may not be sure whether you will be safe to learn to drive or not. He or she then needs to refer you to a specialist for an assessment.
The ideal specialist is a driver-trained occupational therapist. You can find a driver trained occupational therapist by clicking here and entering "driving" as the specialty area.
You then need to pass the Driver Knowledge Test.
Talk to the manager at the RTA office, chat about the issues you have, and ask about what sort of adjustments can be made. For example, a person may be provided who can read the questions out to you.
The specific rules and processes for obtaining a driver's licence differ from state to state.
For NSW residents: Steps To Getting A Drivers License
For other states and territories further information regarding getting your licence can be found by clicking on the following links:
Driving was hard, you don’t realise what’s involved in in doing it. It looks easy but when it’s broken down into each section, it’s hard – control the wheel, brake and accelerator, have to put on blinkers, wipers, AC, looking out for cars, hazards, pedestrians.
That’s what I struggled with, dealing with all that at once and processing it all at the same time.
Matt B, 25
Click on Our Stories on the right hand side of the page or click here for more personal stories about learning to drive.
Tips for Driving
Things To Think About
- Are you ready to accept instruction and constructive criticism?
- Do you feel able to take the responsibility for driving, bearing in mind you have to be aware of the safety of other road users?
- Are you ready to learn the rules of the road?
- Are you able to maintain attention for a reasonable length of time?
- Are you able to problem-solve and react quickly?
- Do you ride a bicycle? Are you confident riding on the roads and using road rules?
See the Am I Ready to Drive? PDF here.
Here is a study that found many young people with autism can become safe drivers.
Autism and Driving: Everything You Need to Know
- safety concerns.
- symptoms of ASD that can cause issues while driving.
- scientific articles and studies on autism and driving.
- safety tips for autistic drivers.
Geared website
Geared is the NSW Roads and Maritimes website for young people who are learning to drive.
Driver Knowledge Test
You can buy a book from your local RMS office which has all the Driver Knowledge Test questions with the correct answer in bold. This is a very useful resource, together with the Road Users Manual.
Getting A License
"Getting a License" is the Roads and Maritime Services' main website for starting to drive. You can find a section where you can practise the Driver Knowledge Test on this site.
There is also an iPhone app with the Driver Knowledge Test on it.
Finding A Driving School
Probably the easiest thing to do is to call your local driving school to ask whether they have experience teaching students with autism.
The Keys2Drive website has a search function for driving schools.
In Sydney there some specialist driving schools:
Julia is a driving instructor and services the South Sydney area. She has more than twenty years' experience with teaching people how to drive, and spent the last ten years specialising in teaching people on the autism spectrum.
Safer Divers Course
This is a day long course with classroom and practical elements in NSW.
Driving and Aspergers
Watch an excellent overview of the issues around driving from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center here on a video embedded on this page.
Autistic Driving School
This BBC series about Julia Malkin, who has autism and is a driving instructor. She teaches many learners who are on the spectrum.
Learning to drive
In all states and territories, legislation requires a driver to advise their driver licensing authority of any long-term or permanent injury or illness that may affect their safe driving ability.”
Austroad
Helping your teenagers or young adult decide whether they can learn to drive is one of the big issues that parents face in the transition years.
We can’t make any general statement regarding the capacity of individuals with autism in relation to learning to drive.
Some people with autism are capable of driving, some are not and some would be capable of driving but for various reasons choose not to.
Any decision regarding driving ability needs to be based on the individual’s abilities in specific skills related to driving.
Possible problems for those with autism when driving:
- Motor coordination and planning difficulties
- Attention modulation difficulties
- Insistence on sameness or limited flexibility
- Emotional dysregulation e.g. heightened anxiety
- Limited ability to anticipate the actions and intentions of other drivers
- Perceptual differences such as excessive attention to details rather than broader contextual factors
Driving was hard, you don’t realise what’s involved in in doing it. It looks easy but when it’s broken down into each section, it’s hard – control the wheel, brake and accelerator, have to put on blinkers, wipers, AC, looking out for cars, hazards, pedestrians.
That’s what I struggled with, dealing with all that at once and processing it all at the same time.
Matt B, 25
What Does The Research Tell Us:
It is limited, there are only a handful of studies:
One study of adult drivers (Daly et al, 2014) found that adult drivers with autism
- Obtained their licences later
- More likely to rate themselves as “poor drivers”
- More likely to place restrictions on their driving e.g. avoiding traffic, night driving and highways.
Another study (Cox et al, 2012) that surveyed 123 parents of teen drivers with autism found that:
- The majority of parents rated single skills such as maintaining lane position, turning, speech control,
braking and use of turn signals as “not difficult to teach” - However, a majority of parents rated complex skills such as awareness of traffic (55%) and multi-tasking (65%) as
very difficult to teach - This same set of parents stated that the most helpful strategies included practice and repetition, teaching skills in small steps, providing verbal or visual scripts prior to starting out on a drive and being calm and patient
- The least helpful strategy was showing emotionality such as raising their voice, getting upset or cringing and talking too much.
Tips For Parents
- Your GP may require an individualised assessment from a driver trained assessor
- Alternatively, you may opt to arrange for this kind of assessment yourself if you or your child are unsure about potential driving ability
- Break down skills into small steps and teach to mastery – lots of repetition and practice
- It may take longer to teach a person with autism to drive
- Some people with autism may not be ready to learn to drive until they are somewhat older than their peers
- Remain calm or utilise a professional driver trainer
- Talk through or role play possible social situations related to driving e.g. what to do if pulled over by police, what to do in the event of an accident
- Directly teach some of the non-verbal communication and other signals associated with driving e.g. drivers using flashing of lights to get your attention, hand signals or flashing lights to indicate that they are letting you in
- Talk aloud as you are driving, explain what is happening on the road and what you are thinking and how you are planning ahead.
You can visit the Autism and Driving: Everything You Need to Know website for information on:
- safety concerns
- symptoms of ASD that can cause issues while driving
- scientific articles and studies on autism and driving
- safety tips for autistic drivers.
There is more detailed information in our Learning to drive – young people page, just click on the Young people green tab at the top of this page.
Click on Our Stories on the right hand side of the page or click here for more personal stories about learning to drive.
