Years ago, I totally shocked a supposedly educated man who refused to believe I could drive a car at my height of 40 inches. He only accepted it after someone told him I had given him a ride home. It was just as hard for me to believe that anyone could be so amazed. Yet he is not the only person I have surprised.
One afternoon, I parked beside a curb leaving plenty of room between the car in front and behind. When I got out, an onlooker was so impressed he extended his hand in congratulations. It wasn’t in sarcastic relief that I hadn’t bumped his car parked behind me. That wasn’t his car. No, he just didn’t know little people could drive and thought the feat was marvelous.
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All I needed were pedal extensions, seat cushions, the seat moved forward, a smaller steering wheel, and automatic drive. The seat cushions raised me higher in the seat and a smaller wheel eliminated the need to pancake my legs between the wheel and the seat. I also appreciated the better grip and control a smaller wheel provided. Fatigue and discomfort were avoided by building a footrest platform. This removed the risk of the driving-foot falling asleep or any delay in reaction time. The platform also took away any temptation to rest my non-driving foot on the brake.
Fast forward 50 years!
Age has caught up with my husband, me, and our 2004 Mazda 6 wagon. We both use scooters for distance walking, a scooter lift to position them in the trunk, and the Mazda has clocked over 100,000 miles. We drove the Mazda for 18 years because we could not find a wagon that fit two scooters and was low enough to the ground for us to get in without a struggle.
Our long-term plan was to replace the Mazda with a Wheelchair Accessible Van (WAV), but the plan was expedited when I took the Mazda in for service. A garage worker got his foot caught on the left-foot accelerator and totaled it! This catapulted us into the market for a WAV that we can board by driving our scooters up a ramp or onto a lift.
The answer to the can you drive? question remains the same, yes. But how I accomplish this has changed dramatically. In my driving assessment this week, a Certified Driving Rehabilitation Specialist rejected the pedal extension and seat cushion adaptations as unsafe. Instead she recommended hand controls and customizing the power seat that raises me to see out the window to also provide back support. The smaller steering wheel is still an option, but this will involve serious dollars to relocate all the controls on the wheel.
The technology that makes driving a WAV possible is amazing, but buying one for more than the cost of our first home is shocking!
So now it’s my turn to ask a question. Will I be successful in purchasing a WAV without breaking the bank? Stay tuned for the answer. This post includes excerpts from Chapter 7, ‘Doing Things Differently,’ in Dwarfs Don’t Live in Doll Houses. Read more at https://angelamuirvanetten.com/dwarfs-dont-live-in-doll-houses/
4 replies on “Can You Drive?”
I hope and pray you can find the car you need!
God has been with you all these years and He won’t fail you now! I will stay tuned…for the miracle!
There must be thousands of people driving safely and successfully using pedal extensions and seat cushions! I’m shocked that this ONE person could veto those modifications for you. I would challenge this.
You’re right Kathleen. I won’t be accepting this decision. It’s complicated because the dealer must certify safety of the modifications to the manufacturer i.e. Braun. Dealers depend heavily on a Certified Driving Rehabilitation Specialist (CDRS) opinion to give them cover should there be an accident. And I’m not ready to follow the CDRS recommendation when she hasn’t put anything in writing yet and left our meeting with the intention of consulting with her mentor to see if she has better idea than what she came up with. I’m also not ready to purchase a vehicle until we have a written quote that includes all modifications. So we have a ways to go before finding a solution. Definitely need prayers for wisdom on this.