Mar 18, 2007
Gary has his push from the Student Activities building to the math department building down to thirteen minutes and twenty secs. Look out Peachtree Road Race ;-).
I had had the thought that there was an area behind a local shopping mall where there were businesses that would be closed on the weekends and that therefore Gary could get the feel of driving along the roads there without fear of a lot of traffic but it being a step up from a parking lot. Gary thought that was a good idea so I took him out there on Saturday. When Gary got behind the wheel, I tried not to be too much of a “passenger seat driver,” but I did let out an anxiety-filled, “Don’t cut across the parking lot!” when he decided to go into the mall parking lot and do just that. He thought it was a way to avoid cars, but it made me nervous. I also kept my thoughts to myself that his driving was rather jerky. Okay, *one* time I told him. He commented that that must mean his driving was like someone else’s he knew. I gave him a dirty look.
We discovered a little “design problem.” In order for Gary to use the blinkers, he has to take his hand off either from the wheel or from the accelerator/brake! It seems to me they should have designed an adaption so that all he would have to do is stretch out some fingers from the knob that he has his right hand on to steer (located on the wheel). Maybe his driving instructor, who is coming next Wednesday, will have some tips about that. Of course, Gary pointed out there would be a similar problem if he ever wanted to scratch his nose while driving!
Another “problem” with the design set-up Gary noticed is that he has to keep his right arm elevated in order to keep his hand on the driving knob, which is tiring to do. I wondered about the arm rest on his seat, and he found he could adjust it to angle that helped some, but not entirely.
On Sunday, Gary started directly in the driver’s seat while at our house. He successfully backed down our steep driveway, then drove some of the neighborhood streets. When we turned onto Owen Drive, I saw a guy up ahead who was a little into the street. “Watch out for that guy,” I told Gary. “That guy better watch out,” Gary replied. It was then that I saw the guy’s white cane. “Well, he’s going to have a hard time doing that,” I told Gary. “He’s blind!” Gary commented that this was not a good combination, a blind guy in the street and a paraplegic driver trainee. Fortunately ;-), we missed the guy.
I commented to Gary a couple times about forgetting his turn signals and that “that turn you just made was awfully wide.” Then on another street I told him to watch out for the cat that was in the road. Gary laughed and said he didn’t think he could hit a cat if he tried. I tried to keep my mouth closed as much as possible, but I was not very relaxed, even though Gary was doing fine. I would not make a good student driver instructor! (Gary assured me I wasn’t making him crazy with my comments :-))
We went on Shug Jordan parkway for some highway driving, then Gary turned off it and drove to the math department and practiced parking. Then we went back home. Gary had spent about forty-five minutes driving, and said he felt much more comfortable today. He confessed that after yesterday’s experience he had felt discouraged about making the trip to the math conference, that he didn’t think he’d be comfortable driving there. But he said today his old driving instincts had kicked in and he felt much more confident out on the road.
Gary has his push from the Student Activities building to the math department building down to thirteen minutes and twenty secs. Look out Peachtree Road Race ;-).
I had had the thought that there was an area behind a local shopping mall where there were businesses that would be closed on the weekends and that therefore Gary could get the feel of driving along the roads there without fear of a lot of traffic but it being a step up from a parking lot. Gary thought that was a good idea so I took him out there on Saturday. When Gary got behind the wheel, I tried not to be too much of a “passenger seat driver,” but I did let out an anxiety-filled, “Don’t cut across the parking lot!” when he decided to go into the mall parking lot and do just that. He thought it was a way to avoid cars, but it made me nervous. I also kept my thoughts to myself that his driving was rather jerky. Okay, *one* time I told him. He commented that that must mean his driving was like someone else’s he knew. I gave him a dirty look.
We discovered a little “design problem.” In order for Gary to use the blinkers, he has to take his hand off either from the wheel or from the accelerator/brake! It seems to me they should have designed an adaption so that all he would have to do is stretch out some fingers from the knob that he has his right hand on to steer (located on the wheel). Maybe his driving instructor, who is coming next Wednesday, will have some tips about that. Of course, Gary pointed out there would be a similar problem if he ever wanted to scratch his nose while driving!
Another “problem” with the design set-up Gary noticed is that he has to keep his right arm elevated in order to keep his hand on the driving knob, which is tiring to do. I wondered about the arm rest on his seat, and he found he could adjust it to angle that helped some, but not entirely.
On Sunday, Gary started directly in the driver’s seat while at our house. He successfully backed down our steep driveway, then drove some of the neighborhood streets. When we turned onto Owen Drive, I saw a guy up ahead who was a little into the street. “Watch out for that guy,” I told Gary. “That guy better watch out,” Gary replied. It was then that I saw the guy’s white cane. “Well, he’s going to have a hard time doing that,” I told Gary. “He’s blind!” Gary commented that this was not a good combination, a blind guy in the street and a paraplegic driver trainee. Fortunately ;-), we missed the guy.
I commented to Gary a couple times about forgetting his turn signals and that “that turn you just made was awfully wide.” Then on another street I told him to watch out for the cat that was in the road. Gary laughed and said he didn’t think he could hit a cat if he tried. I tried to keep my mouth closed as much as possible, but I was not very relaxed, even though Gary was doing fine. I would not make a good student driver instructor! (Gary assured me I wasn’t making him crazy with my comments :-))
We went on Shug Jordan parkway for some highway driving, then Gary turned off it and drove to the math department and practiced parking. Then we went back home. Gary had spent about forty-five minutes driving, and said he felt much more comfortable today. He confessed that after yesterday’s experience he had felt discouraged about making the trip to the math conference, that he didn’t think he’d be comfortable driving there. But he said today his old driving instincts had kicked in and he felt much more confident out on the road.
posted by Peg Daniels at 8:17 PM
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