On Tuesday 19 May 2009 17:54:38 Kendall D. Corbett wrote:
> Cindy, and others,
>
> When I first got my license (November of '76), I had mild spastic diplegic
> CP, and was able to "pass" as non-disabled. In February of '77 I had a
> stroke that caused left hemiplegia, and voluntarily stopped driving for
> about three years. My brother taught me how to drive again, and must have
> done a good job. When I needed to renew my license in 1980, the examiners
> had no real idea of what to do, so they gave me my license and basically
> said "Use your best judgement" on adaptive equipment, etc. Pretty scary
> for a twenty year-old kid, but this was in Wyoming, with our "Cowboy Up!"
> mentality. I drove pretty much without incident until 2003, when I had to
> go to a power chair and had to get a lift equipped van. That first van was
> a full-sized Ford E-150 that was too big for me too handle, especially in
> the Wyoming wind. After my second (relatively) minor accident, I got an
> adaptive driving eval, which recommended a spinner knob for the steering
> wheel, a turn signal extension (to bring it to the right side of the
> steering wheel, and a chest strap to help me stay more upright in the
> driver's seat. But the biggest recommendation was to get a smaller van, so
> I sold "The Beast" and got a ramped Dodge Caravan. I also had a lift and a
> transfer seat in The Beast, so I got one for the minivan, too. It makes
> transferring to drive much easier, and safer
>
> There is a national association od Adaptive Driving Specialists. This is
> their main website.
>
> http://www.driver-ed.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=1
>
> and this is the directory link:
>
> http://www.driver-ed.org/custom/directory/?pageid=209&showTitle=1
>
> For me, I searched by state, but YMMV.
>
> I found the person who did my eval on the website, and as part of Wyoming
> being "A Small Town With VERY Long Streets," she worked for a PT/OT clinic
> that was owned by a guy I graduated from high school with.
>
I learned to drive at age 30 (when we had our second child) using buses and
trains became rather difficult to cope with so I thought I'd better sort it.
They would not issue a provisional license without an evaluation (which mainly
involved sitting in what looked like "Noddy's" car (Enid Blyton) and pressing
the brake when a red light came on!!). I then had 13 lessons with an
instructor who specialises in disabled drivers (and used to have a "nip" of
rum for courage before my lessons).
At that time the driving test examiners were all Civil Servants so before my
test I made sure he knew I was also a Civil Servant (with a higher grade), and
I thought I might have a good chance of passing when he started calling me
"Sir"!
In the UK, if you are evaluated for Higher Rate Mobility (I'm not but my wife
is) you are provided with a lease car every 3 years (but you have to pay for
adaptions - unless you can't afford it). Lin (my wife) has a spinner on the
steering wheel with a control box attached (so she can work indicators,
wipers, horn, lights without letting go of the spinner).
Motability here:-
<http://www.motability.co.uk>
Controller:-
<http://www.lodgesons.co.uk/products/keypad-controls/r109.aspx>
Cheers
Deri
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