Driving lessons from Drivers Ed Instructor, Mom, Brother, and Dad
Today we’ll discuss Driving lessons that I’ve gotten from my drivers ed instructor mom, brother and dad. One of the things I’m still learning how to do in my life is learn how to drive because with the visual spatial awareness, multi-tasking, fine and gross motor difficulties of having NVLD it takes one longer to learn this skill. This will be an ongoing thing that I’m learning from so this episode won’t be a complete list. But I’m not going to give up on learning how to drive because it makes me feel more independent and it is easier to get from point A to point B.
I’ve learned that you need to let the wheel come back after turning, look all around you, use your signal properly, be patient, and be cautious, be a little aggressive, and confident with your driving skills. I’ve also been learning how to park my car properly and safely. Since I took a longer break from driving than I should have, I felt like I started all over again after my accidents. But I think this is working in my favor because then I can learn from my family who are all better at driving than me because they have more experience and are NTs.
My car accidents also gave me lessons. Luckily no one got hurt. In my first one I ran into a parked car which had nobody in it. This happened because I took my eyes off the road for one second. I was knocked out because of whiplash. When I came to, I was scared and my heart was racing. I was like where did my glasses go? Luckily they were under the brake pedal. They weren’t broken and I was still in my seat with my seatbelt on. My phone had come out of the dashboard holder because of the force of the crash. Also I called dad to let him know what happened, luckily he wasn’t mad at me he was happy that I was alive and not hurt. I tried to move the car but couldn’t so I called the police and they called a tow truck. I did leave a note for the owner of the other car.
Long story short with both car accidents no-one got hurt because I was lucky. The second one I think was the other person's fault because of where it happened and I didn’t see him even though I looked before turning right into his car on the passenger side. But he could have swerved to avoid me which he didn’t do. So his car got more damaged than mine because he kept traveling. I put my foot on the break as soon as I hit him and then pulled over.
In both cases I did what I was supposed to do although with the second one I should have reported it sooner and called the police while the other driver was there to see if they could prove it was his fault not mine. He could have been speeding because of maybe being late with work. All I remember him saying was he was on the job so he was in a hurry to get photos of the damage and exchange information.
With the first one I learned not to take my eye off the road even for a second unless you’re at a stop light. And the second one I learned that I should have called dad to help me out. I also learned that you should really look for times before you turn twice for lift and right.
The first article I want to use today is titled “Sweet Sixteen: NLD and Driving” by Sera Rivers who is a mom who has a son with NLD. This article is about her “pride and fears” that are discovered when she is trying to help her son learn how to drive.
Here is a quote from her article which is from psychology today ‘I worry because once he gets his license, he will be driving on his own. I won’t be able to help him navigate. He won’t have someone saying, ‘Now slow down and make a right turn here; turn here. Turn-Here. Here means right here. Okay, now you’ve missed your turn. Take the next right so we can turn around.’”
I can relate to this quote because I think mom and other family members have concerns when they’re in the car with me because of me having NLD and also because of the car accidents. But they do feel safe when I drive the car especially as I’m improving each time I drive.
Another article that I can relate to is titled “6 Surprising Ways NLD Affects Me As a Young Adult,” by Michaela Hearst, MSW, who is a masters in social work.
“Most people don’t understand that driving a car requires awareness of space and depth perception. People with NVLD, like me, often struggle with these skills. So I’ve always disliked driving. I know, though, that the more you practice something, the more confident and skilled you become. I have a driver’s license and can drive, and one of my goals is to practice more, so I can feel less nervous about it.”
I can relate to this quote because I do still get nervous when I drive like sometimes I imagine myself having another accident but then I say to myself that won’t happen because I know I want to stay positive and I don’t want to have another one, especially since it stays on your insurance record for so long.
I can relate to this article too “On the Fear of Driving: Why I First Looked Into NVLD” by Nyssa McCanmore. Who doesn’t like driving because of how many problems cars can have while you’re driving them. My car that I have now has had quite a few problems when I’ve driven it. Like on my way back from a job interview one time my car started to slow down on the freeway then the dashboard turned off which was scary because of it being a Prius everything is electrical and I didn’t know why so I pulled over. Then I called triple AAA and my dad to let him know what was happening. They could only drive me to a local mechanic because of the account I had with them. They figured out that the car had overheated and the cooling pump had cracked which was why I smelt something burning when I checked under the hood.
I called my dad and told him that then he came and got me and used his triple AAA account to have it pulled to a mechanic we could trust so they could fix it for me. It was probably the least expensive issue I had with that car because it was about $900. Actually the least expensive one was replacing the regular battery because it couldn’t hold a charge which was about $375. The other ones I’ve had were replacing the hybrid battery which was the most expensive. Also replacing the back struts, front strut bar, reshaping the back breaks and replacing a brake light along with spark plugs was the next expensive one. I’ve put more money into that car than it was to buy it. That's one of the main reasons I’m saving for a new one.
So whether it’s learning how to drive, being safe while doing it, how not to get in a car accident or feeling your body in space, I and others who have NLD still have these issues today. As I wrap up today I would like to say that I’m grateful that I can drive even with all the challenges that NLD presents with it because there are some individuals who have it and can’t drive because of their level of visual spatial challenges. I’m glad that’s not true for me.
I would like to hear from my audience and see what challenges you run into when you’re driving whether that’s because you have NLD or you’re trying to teach someone who has it how to drive. Please comment on livingwithnld.com with the answer or email me at livingwithnld@gmail.com. You can also leave a review on the apple podcast with the answer thank you.
Hope you enjoyed today’s episode. Talk to you next friday.
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