I’m a great driver. Before diagnosis I drove cars for a living ( Vehicle Accessory fitter but we’d get boatloads of cars you’d have to park off so I’d drive cars for days! and forklifts in narrow aisles! ). I can do some pretty tricky stuff with cars but I’m a very defensive driver. Too many knuckleheads who can’t drive out there!
It’s a skill and it’s worth learning. I wouldn’t drive into the city through crazy traffic but just getting a licence to drive locally can be very fulfilling! Never say never!
I usually drive everyday. I try to avoid freeways often. I know I’m not the only one who doesn’t like them. I try to avoid snow covered roads as well. My car doesn’t do well in snow. I need an all wheel drive vehicle.
I’m not sure I could drive my car now. My parents insist that I don’t. My license is up to date, but I have not driven since I got sick a few years ago. Before that I was an okay driver, cognitive issues made me less than confident in city driving. I did not have a whole lot of experience at it and often got lost. I did not enjoy it, I saw it as a chore. I like running or walking to cover shorter distances, it is good for my body in any case, and I love to interact with the natural environment. I can’t wait until autonomous vehicles start doing their thing!
Just myself crazy.
But seriously, yeah I drive a car. I got my first car and started driving at age 17. Two years later I got diagnosed and I didn’t drive again until I was about 22. I drove off and on until I went into a board & care home where the owner didn’t allow anyone there to have a car or drive. That was 1990-95 when I was in my thirties and I had to take the bus everywhere including a 1 1/2 hour bus ride to work and back and and a 1/2 hour bus ride to college and back.
I got out of the group home and moved in with my sister and I got a car in 1997 and started driving again and I haven’t been without a car since.
Since 17 I have been in about 7 or 8 accidents, only one was my fault and no one got hurt. A few were just fender benders or someone hitting me at a relatively slow speed. I collected insurance money from the other drivers several times. I rarely used the money to actually repair my car, I used the money to spend it on whatever I wanted at the time. I’ve also had my share of tickets. My schizophrenia has never affected my ability to drive.