One of my friends is completely blind. Growing up, her brother used to "take her out at christmas", which people assumed was describing the lights as he drove around the neighborhood. But it really was taking her to an empty mall lot and letting her drive around (in 1st gear, I think).

Another idea, there are a number of driving video games you can play, that you can get some of the fun and none of the fender benders.

I have my eye on all developments regarding self driving cars. In the meantime, I’m pretty zen about public transportation. This is all one big thing I can’t do anything about so I’m not going to let the frustration get me down.
Do you have any friends or family who would be willing to let you drive in a big open field or something? That’s how I learned I don’t wanna drive ha ha, but it’s an experience worth having.
Regarding hoping for a cure, don’t hang your life on that. If it happens, nice. Until it happens, stop waiting for it and live.

I'm there with you. I have a decent amount of vision but just enough not to bed able to drive safely. I wish I had more freedom. I'm married and my husband takes me places and Uber/Lyft have been helpful but I'd like to just go sometimes.

My emotions are up and down about it.

One thing you might be able to do is see if there are any race tracks near you that offer private driving experiences. I don't know if it's the same in the US as the UK, but in the UK you don't need a driving license to drive on a private track. It will be safe and fun at the same time.

I went blind riding a motor cycle... I’ll buy a Harley someday, and ride it with my GF on front.
Other than that, I sit back and enjoy the ride, not having to be the designated driver.

So I'm a year from graduating college, and I'm in a small enough Midwestern town that I am both insulated from needing a car because my town is so small, but also completely trapped in that city because of a lack of regional transport.
For a long while (and definitely still), I would get really salty and unsympathetic to anyone who complained about their commute or if their car broke and they couldn't drive for a week. They'd go, "it's like my life is over, I can't get anywhere". And yes, I could hold that grudge that for them it's temporary and for me, it's life, but that doesn't do me anything except build resentment.
Me? I've taken biking from being "that thing I have to do because i can't drive and it sucks", to being a hobby that I embrace and actively enjoy. Really, convincing myself that I'm just a biking fanatic makes me feel like I've got something to be proud of and that sets me apart. Soon enough, I've got friends with people who don't own a car because they'd rather bike, or my friends start biking with me on errands because they enjoy it.
YES, winter blows, and not everyone is willing to bike 18 miles to work everyday... But in the Midwest, public transport is terrible, and it's a 15 minute bike or an hour long bus ride.
YES, it's arguably WAY more dangerous for me. Ive been hit by cars a couple times and I have close calls almost every week, but I find the independece to feel so very worth it.
My non-driving frustration has 100% changed since I've joined some subreddits for bike commuting where people take pride in not driving, it really makes you feel like an elite human and not one who can't see.
But that totally depends on your abilities and how much risk you're willing to take...

I totally understand, I grew up in motorsports worked on cars/bikes and have done many stupid things in them. I drove on the street well past 20/100 vision in my better eye but still drive in the dirt from time to time. Its tricky and I need the right codriver to do it but I can, think rally racing codriver turned up to 11. This is the last run I did behind the wheel.

$1

Im sure Ill drive again in the desert but those days are numbered and its soul crushing. To adjust Ive began building a race car to race in the 2020 Baja 1000 with the plan of doing some sort of VI charity attached to it. Again I wont get to race behind the wheel but ill be there in the passenger seat with all the intimate knowledge of the car, Ill be planning the logistics of the pre during and post race activities. There are ways around the wheel while still participating.

Actually Ive had an idea for a long time about getting some of the offroad race friends I have to bring out their cars to a controlled piece of desert and let visually impaired/ blind people drive and/or ride some crazy vehicles. Im just not sure if there would be enough interest from the VI community in SoCal to make it happen.

I had something like eight months of driving. It's not all that. The stuff you get in commercials when you're sweeping along huge open roads through gorgeous countryside is fantasy. Most of real world driving is sitting at traffic lights in a cloud of smog, knowing you are not the smartest person on the planet but also knowing that it only takes one person stupider than you to cause a really serious problem. I never really liked it.

But yes, if I could, I totally would. The amount of money I spend on cabs and ubers is beyond a joke. I am self employed and my inability to get anywhere without a massive amount of preparation, hassle and expense is just like everyone else here has said. It's one of the things about it that truly sucks and I don't know what to tell you.

I've never really cared since I don't leave home much and as a geek my life used to be inside my computers and gadgets, and I've always had jobs that paid well enough for me to live at walking distance to my workplaces.. This was obviously before going completely blind. Being blind does indeed bother me because I feel that I've lost the ability to adapt to the world without requiring assistance from others.

The frustration about this probably won't go away. At least it doesn't for me. I see how easy it is for people to go out and do things and I get kind of salty about it sometimes.

If I'm being honest, it's just something that you'll get used to.

It’s kinda annoying in that I live in a city where taking transit involves a lot of walking and I have chronic hip pain but I’m planning to go to uni in Toronto so it’s less of a problem there. Right now my parents can drive me around and I don’t get out much anyway due to the pain so I really don’t mind it that much. Self driving cars are also in the near future so it will be even less of a problem.

I guess for me I’m at a point where I don’t really mind my visual impairment. Sure my eyes will decide to throw a wrench in my plans sometimes and there’s things I can’t do but I really don’t give a fuck. It’s all I really know since I was born with it. I’ve also learned some important skills that have helped me cope with my other disabilities and I quite like the quirks in how my brain processes my senses. What grinds my gears though is ableism.

There’s also the bonus of not having to pay for gas, insurance and other car expenses.

I own my van, and I use it for work, which provides a driver, and I can use it when I need to go somewhere. People don’t need to add miles or spend for gas to their cars when we are going far.

I cheat in that my wife drives, but I still can't just have her drive me everywhere I also think about how little a bus pass costs (if you're in a place with good public transit) and how much money I'm sa"ing on gas and vehicle maintinance, not to mention insurance.

I feel exactly the same way. It was always my dream as a kid to one day get my driving licence and own car and drive myself wherever i felt, but it's just a shattered dream now and it's just so depressing. When I see close friends showing off their drivers licenses, it just feels like they're rubbing salt into the wound and it hurts. Public transport is scarce here and I have to shell out for a taxi nearly everyday that costs me half a days pay, it often makes me wonder what the point is in me even working.

I think what we miss is proper independence. Freedom to go wherever we want and to do everything ourselves.

Luckally, I live in a country that has a good public transportation-system so I use that a lot! All disabled people in my county gets to ride the public transportation for free! We also have a thing called transportation service which basically is a taxi that is cheaper for disabled. Sadly, the transportation service is not that good in my area so I rather use public transportation!

I’m not old enough yet to get a drivers licence (if I was able to see). But personally, I’m released that I don’t have to deal with the expenses of buying a car, paying taxes, gas and other car-related stuff! I can spend my money on something else, like on an apartment or travelling all over the world!
I also don’t have to deal with the stress of passing the tests!

The biggest thing that bothers me about not having a license is that it limits my employment opportunities. Several good jobs in my area and in the field I’m in require a license instead of just saying reliable transportation bc of sometimes having to travel. I wish more employers would realize that now with Uber/Lyft in many areas that driving yourself isn’t the only way to get somewhere.

I wish more men weren’t so thick headed and realized that just bc I can’t drive doesn’t mean I can’t go anywhere they may want to go, the second thing that bothers me is not driving has made trying to date (an already difficult situation) even harder.

When my wife lost her vision, she lost her license. Every now and then we go to a big empty parking lot or a back country road and I let her drive. She's giggling and I'm going, "right, right, more right.. left, left, left."

Also we go to a campground that rents golfcarts. She can see enough to distinguish the pattern of the roadway. She may not be able to drive regularly, but I help her get her fix.

I can only partly relate to this as my license allows me to drive during the day but not at night. It’s really frustrating and i think sharing that frustration whether it’s through ranting to friends or making jokes really helps. Also getting use to public transportation and finding a group of friends you can rely on to help you out when you need it will really helps you as you grow and move. I honestly don’t even think about it as being different anymore, it’s just a fact of my life.

I think one thing when u get a nice job you can Uber black and laugh at people

Do you have some useful vision? I've never had an issue driving bumper cars or go karts on tracks. I fuck up sometimes cuz I can't see as good as everyone else, but I get to go fast so I still like it :P

90% of sighted folks I know don't drive, so I'm pretty okay with it. Of course I think it would give me more independence to know driving, but uber and walking are enough.

What can you really do about it. I mean, you can let it get you down or you can just not. That's how I look at it. Is it frustrating sometimes to not be on your own schedule, yes, but meh. Ride sharing has fixed that partially. I've also driven before in low population areas so maybe that helped get it out of my system? I don't think I'd have the patience to drive if I could get a license honestly. People are jackasses on the road.

Try to move to a place where you don't need it. In the US that's hard, really just Chicago, New York, and Boston. I can't even really put Francisco or DC in that category, you can get around pretty well but they're still super car-centered and everyone seems to have cars there.I'm in NYC and not having a car is so far down my list of wants as a blind person.

While your friends pending all of their money on cars and insurance, you can get ahead of them by saving the money you would have spent on a car and put a down payment on a house.

Well, it’s a lot of money you’re being forced to save, so that’s good. Mainly, I just try and ignore it, and find something else to think about instead.

While the lack of mobility independence can get frustrating, especially when you have a sighted partner that drives and you can't help out on road trips, finding parking spots, etc., the one silver lining is that being disabled qualifies you for a disability parking placard here in the US. It makes parking in metered spaces free, you can park in blue spaces, park in timed green spaces for as long as you'd like, and spaces requiring permits are fair game as well after hanging the placard on the mirror. It's one way I can help with driving since my partner or anyone else who drives me anywhere gets to use the placard when I'm with them. It's a nice bit of utility that helps equalize the field; people drive you around, you get them free and close parking!

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