Driving Problems

Learning to drive, driving, and using public transport

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mickerz
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Driving Problems

Post by mickerz »

I'm having a terrible time learning to drive. it's been 3 yrs and I'm still not much better then I was to begin with. does anyone have any tips for teaching someone with dyspraxia how to drive? my parents are about to give up on me if we don't find a different way of teaching me soon. any help would be greatly appreciated.
Daniel
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Post by Daniel »

Welcome to the forum.

Read some of the other theads on this section of the forum for tips that others have used in learning to drive. I do know that it's common for those with dyspraxia to learn in an automatic.
Pooky
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Post by Pooky »

Hiya,

Which part of driving do you find most difficult?

From experience I actually picked up driving easily, the part I found to be the most difficult was traffic, judging distances, gaps, etc.
david456
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Post by david456 »

I'm learning and struggling with what my feet are doing!
david456
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Post by david456 »

I'm still struggling, but I really want to be able to do it. ](*,) It's so much to be able to do, control my feet and what my hands are doing at the same time.
fuzzy
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Post by fuzzy »

Dont get me started on driving!! I spend about £750 on lessons a few years ago and ended up quitting without even having sat my theory test!! The gear stick was the worst thing for me- my instructor kept on telling me not to look down at it coz i was have an accident (which i ended up doing- but that was more beacuse of my speeding and lack of sense of danger). I hated having to feel around for it; it was a nightmare!!! My advice woulkd be to learn on an automatic, David, its so much less to have to deal with as a dyspraxic and one less thing to worry about.
Goodbye, and have a pleasant tommorrow!!
I swear to drunk im not God.....
david456
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Post by david456 »

I will get an automatic, I think, if I pass, but rightly or wrongly I personally for me see an automatic license as a failure, because all of my friends can drive manuals and everyone else I know can drive them.
Daniel
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Post by Daniel »

I understand where you're coming from David but then in fairness you're not comparing like with like as driving is a problem for a lot of dyspraxics and for many automatic is the only workable option. You should really be comparing yourself with the folk on the forum - some drivers, some automatic drivers and some non-drivers for a fairer overview.

Let us know how you get on.
david456
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Post by david456 »

I'm having so many problems, I may quit manual and try automatic.
james101
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Im just starting! HELP

Post by james101 »

Hi everyone, im new to the forum, it is good to see that this support is available, thank you.

Im petrified of driving, I just don't feel like I am in control at all, the coordination required is immense, so I feel for the others out there struggling with it.

Does anyone know if there are specific disability driving instructors out there to help with the learning process? I am currently trying to learn with my ex-army uncompromising father who says I 'beat myself up too much' but that is just pure frustration on my part, and I want to try and find someone used to the condition.

I agree with the previous posts entirely, I would LOVE to have the flexibility to use a manual, but I dont think I can do it, that is not to stop me from trying though, lol, don't stop me now!!
Shadwell
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Post by Shadwell »

the easiest tip I can suggest, is having the car actually parked, (no money being spent!!)

then practice, it is like learning to do something new. like using a keyboard on your pc for the first time.

1) keep everyone else out of the car (it makes you more aware of where you are going wrong)

2) never press the accelerator pedal (it floods the engine with petrol)

3) like with learning anything new, at first you got to look! so don't worry the car is parked!!

4) as you get used to the pedals look away from your feet

5) try moving you feet away from the pedals, and putting them on the pedals without looking.

6) then try resting both feet, like your driving, then putting your feet on the pedals like you are driving.

7) then take driving lessons, you will find once you have mastered where your feet are it will be a lot easier.

because you have tried taking on too much at once, and that is where the main problem is.

leaning in an automatic might be easier, but if you want to drive a manual vehicle, you got to pass with a manual vehicle, which basically means learning the long and boring way.
Emmur
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Post by Emmur »

I started driving lessons when I turned 17 last April, and I was going so slowly but I had kind of mastered alot of it, like the basics. I was always so bad at judging gaps at junctions though. Then we got to trying roundabouts, and these just were the end for me, I couldn't judge the gaps, I couldn't get the car going quickly enough to go in one when the teacher pointed one out, and if I tried to do it too quickly I would stall the car. At this point the teacher thought maybe I should stop lessons and learn again when I'm older on an automatic, becase I hadn't even tried parking or reversing and it was obvious my coordination was a huge problem with the driving. It is such a relief to know that there is a reason for my inability, I only found out I might be dyspraxic a few days ago, so there finally being a reason makes me not feel so bad about wasting my dad's money on lessons, as he refuses to believe I have dyspraxia as I haven't been taken for a diagnosis ever, and I hadn't been told until recently that my mum has always thought I had it (she is a physiotherapist so is a bit more qualified to think this than alot of hypochondriac type mothers)
Daniel
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Post by Daniel »

Hi Emmur,

Welcome to the forum. I initially tried driving when I was 17/18 and although I got as far as taking my test, failed a few times and gave it up. I've taken it up again some 10 years on and am making better headway with it now, although am learning again in a manual with its associated difficulties.

Judging distances and gaps is a particular problem for me but with practice I'm improving and if everything goes ok on the day I reckon I could probably fluke a pass.

Everyone's different though, and if your instructor has noticed your difficulties then you might want to a) take his/her advice and call it quits for now b) work on the principle that you will be able to drive but it'll just take a good deal longer c) consider they might not want to teach someone with difficulties and find a more willing instructor.

In hindsight I do wish I'd continued to push and learn to drive back then, only I wasn't aware of being dyspraxic then and my instructor was rubbish. However it really does depend on how you rate your abilities and if you think driving is something you would be able to pull off given sufficient practice or it driving manual is too much (as it is for many dyspraxics) or whether driving is a non-starter for you (which is also the case for some).

Whatever you decide, good luck with it!

Dan,
Forum Admin.
(6 lessons to my name and still no RTAs or fatalities to report! ;))
Emmur
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Post by Emmur »

I know that the teacher (who was a full-time nurse) thought that if I ever did try again, an automatic would be a better option. Although she did say that it wasn't changing gears that was the problem, I could do that fine. She just thought if I had less to think about it might be easier, and she did suggest waiting a couple of years until I'm out of college and have less to think about college-wise. I really do want to be able to drive, because obviously it would be very difficult to live life having to rely on other forms of transport, but it just wasn't happening at the time, and I hope I don't end up regretting not trying for a bit longer.. I am on my mums car insurance, and since me and her both know I won't be driving a gear stick one again she wants to take me off it as it's so expensive, but my dad won't let her because he is adamant that I will be learning to drive sooner rather than later and on a gear stick car. I am supposed to be trying to explain the dyspraxia and driving problems involved to him soon, so he can understand and she can take me off her insurance, but I don't know quite what to say
Shadwell
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Post by Shadwell »

Hi Emmur,

as for me, then learning to drive was a little bit of a problem, but as I had the right driving instructor, he was able to make me laugh by telling jokes,

I tended to try not to think about other problems while driving, and just went with the flow, (some of the jokes my driving instuctor used to tell me, my parent's still try to keep from me!) and I am 30!

it is totally dependant on you, as to whether to keep up learning to drive, but if you try to think about other things as well, then it will baffle your concerntration.

but personally, then I went for my driving lessons, and out with my father nearly every night until my driving test. and passed it while in college.

and found that it done me the world of good, as I can drive whenever I want (apart from my father being in the car!!), and it has opened up a whole world to me.

learning with a larger vehicle I am finding harder, because I am not able to get enough pratice in, and then driving 1 hour on, and off, for 6 hours in one day doesn't seem to be enough before a driving test. due to the fact I am used to driving cars.

but I would suggest trying an hour or so in an automatic, before putting off learning to drive all together (for the time being).

actually I found even reversing my friends automatic very difficult, (thank goodness! it was only a few feet around a corner with a trailer!!), as my left foot didn't have a pedal!! maybe it was 11/12 years of driving a manual vehicle done that to me!!

Note to all: if trying to reverse a trailer around a corner, use the wing mirrors, and look at the steering wheel, trying to reverse one myself I tried looking at the corner, and trailer, but found I was steering the trailer away! as I was forgetting the initial turn to the right to make the trailer go left.

I found it a lot easier telling the driver which way to turn than actually doing it myself!
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