A question I’ve heard asked before. Personally I don’t think I’m capable of driving but that’s just me not everyone with schizophrenia.
Thoughts?
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depends on the condition .I would say no .esp. not on the highways…
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I would say yes depending on a person of course, Personally I do not drive because I do not own a car.
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People who can drive should drive if they have the ability. More than half the American population is on drugs and they all drive and work- yes it’s that type of world
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most of them drug intentionally(illegally) but we(sz) drug legally so they risk deliberately we will be staying back…what do u think…???
No. Legally they drug, it’s the only way for “normal” people to deal with the stress of living in this world.
I am not schizophrenic but do have Bipolar type 1 with probably some SZ symptoms.
I drive rarely and do own a car.
I tend to go over the speed limit when manic. so I dont drive when feeling unstable with my moods.
People with SZ can drive - I never go on the Highway alone and usually drive locally close to my home
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yap what iz ur problem is sz might not able to drive Esp. in highways…but can drive around our house … ain’t it???
true indeed u are one good example… u are doing good.@Wave…
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I drive a school bus part-time. My doctor who knows about all of my medical issues signed off on it as a bi-annual physical is required. I keep on top of my health and absolutely would not drive if I was even a bit symptomatic. As it is, I’m a very safe driver. No tickets in the last 30 years. Only one fender bender on icy roads during that period.
10-96
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I drive… I’m pretty careful about when I drive… I try to avoid rush hour… that is too stressful for me. Any other time… I feel Ok driving.
I haven’t been in accidents or gotten any speeding ticks…
But when I wake up and I’m feeling scattered and sort of unable to concentrate… I grab my bus pass instead of my car keys.
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I’ve been driving for 15 years. I’ve never had an issue. If it has 4 wheels (and maybe 3), I can drive it. 
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i would say it depends,
depends on the individual and how stable they are and how their condition affects them,
if they have few problems on meds and are reasonably well adjusted then i dont see why not, but they have to learn how to monitor their own condition so they can judge when it is and when it isnt safe to drive, esp with tiredness and things like sight disturbances that i have had and things like that can make driving dangerous, i would say if there is any doubt about whether you can drive then you really need to step away.
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been driving for 16 years. I am quite a good driver
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There was a point I had such bad anxiety I shouldn’t have been able to drive. But doing better now I can drive. Just not long distances. I hate driving on the highways and at night. Other than that I’m good…although it’s not as easy as it used to be.
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As a general rule:
High-functioning sz pts who are 1) disciplined about taking their meds, and 2) demonstrate pretty good stability vis their symptoms are usually able to drive if they learned to drive before they began to become symptomatic.
Low-functioning (and quite often negative symptom) sz pts who are 1) not always disciplined about taking their meds, and/or 2) not reliably stable vis their symptoms are usually not okay to drive regardless of when they learned to drive.
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does that mean that people with sz cannot pass the tests after they become ill even if they are doing well?
Like I wrote above, as a general rule just based on what is regularly observed. But variations occur all the time. If you can pass the tests, you can pass the tests, and get a license (in some places with conditions attached)… regardless of when the symptoms began.
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I’m 54, I’ve been driving since I was 17. I got sick when I was 19. I’ve had several minor accidents and two serious accidents. Only one accident was my fault and no one got injured. I’ve had several tickets, mostly for speeding. I’ve been to traffic school four times. When I was in my late twenties I had racked up some points on my driving record and I was in danger of losing my license, but I started taking it easy on the speeding and the points were eventually erased.
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I drive. My license expires every year and I have to get the doctor to fill out a form to get it back. I hope I will be ok when it comes around again.
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