this post was submitted on 19 Oct 2023
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Fuck driving tests (self.autism)
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by HardlightCereal to c/autism
16 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

It is a requirement when you take a driving test that the assessor judge what you are looking at. That way, they can see if you're checking for hazards.

This is impossible.

My attention does not move with my head. My retinas contain more light sensing rod cells at the periphery, which are better at detecting movement and hazards. People are better at sensing hazards at the edge of their field of view. It is impossible for an assessor to see a driver check for hazards at the edge of their view.

In order to pass a test, I must move my attention, my eyes, and my whole head when I look in the mirror or for other hazards. This is slow. I have autism. My attention already moves slowly. The added distraction of doing this is dangerous. I might as well be looking at my phone for all the trouble it causes me with paying attention.

Driving tests are fundamentally flawed and the job assessors are asked to do is impossible. You cannot see someone's attention move when they are driving optimally. Driving tests require drivers to drive worse.

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[–] phcorcoran 33 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I see where you are coming from, but it is imperative that your head moves to see in the blind spots of the car; it's the large section of the surroundings of the car that mirrors are not covering or that are hidden by pillars or other structures of your car if you head stays still.

I don't think it's a big deal if you otherwise check your mirrors, speed, rpm, etc using peripheral vision, but if your head isn't moving and always points forward, it's physically impossible to stay aware of everything happening around you because there are large chunks you never see

[–] Apepollo11 20 points 1 year ago

Sorry, but they're the rules of the game.

You're right, there are many bits about the driving test that are suboptimal, but the aim here isn't to be 100% optimal, it's to make it clear to the examiner that you're doing the checks.

That's all it is.

I was a mess when I was younger, especially in these kinds of situations - it took me eight attempts to pass my driving test, and my instructor could never understand why I kept failing. As an adult, I'm much happier with there being different rules for variants of situations, but when I was younger it just felt wrong.

[–] Cookiesandcreamclouds 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I have been "advanced" in most areas of things that I've applied myself to, but for some fucking reason, driving has always been my arch nemesis. I just got my permit and I still absolutely blow so far.

[–] HardlightCereal 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That's because you're expected to socialise with other people whose faces your can't see in a high speed death defying environment.

Telling what everyone else is doing in their cars is a form of social perception.

[–] Cookiesandcreamclouds 5 points 1 year ago

You put into words what I've been struggling with. I have an experienced loved one giving me lessons soon with my learner's permit, but it's going to be a long ass process.

[–] ninekeysdown 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I found the most effective way to get comfortable and learn is to go to a mall or something similar. Then park in every single parking spot. You can change the difficulty depending on day of the week and time. This way you have low risk opportunities to do all the things required for driving so you can build your confidence and learn how to deal with the sensory overloads.

[–] Cookiesandcreamclouds 3 points 1 year ago

That was part of the plan, the mall- but I really like your parking spot idea. I actually have done so before, to the point of just looping endlessly in the lane outside circling the mall, haha! Thanks for the reply :)

[–] mixolyxo 4 points 1 year ago

I wouldn't pin this on the assessors or even those making the tests. In scaling the driving test system up to fit an entire country, they can't accommodate each individual's needs, and the position of a driver's head tends to be correlated with attention. You should learn to move your head to the point you are focusing on, instead of complaining because the system doesn't perfectly accommodate you.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

I took ages to get my license because I kept failing, and only found out later that the office where I was going was notorious for being impossible to pass. It's just in a really dense area with enormous amounts of idiosyncratic bullshit that I'm sure 90% of licensed drivers get wrong. Like one time I failed because there were two gaps in the middle lines for turning, and no indication of which gap matched which side street, and I guessed wrong.

After that I got an instructor that explained some of the BS things I needed to do to pass - even if nobody does them when driving - and I went to a quieter area to take the test. There are places people know to go to where it's easier. Might be worth looking up if there's any better places where you live.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

My test proctor asked me to move my seat back so he could see my eyes move. We stopped and did a little bit of hkm asking queations to make sure I noticed everything around me. Test proctors often have tricks to just make sure you get it without making you too uncomfortable.