I passed my driving test

[swalker]

At my last visit with the neurologist, I mentioned that I was still driving and felt safe doing so. I added that I wanted to make sure I was not fooling myself and that I actually was safe to drive.

The neurologist referred me to a group of occupational therapists that specialize in evaluating folks' driving, helping them select adaptive driving equipment, and providing training on that equipment. He was pretty insistent that I setup an appointment with them and get the evaluation.

It took quite a few months of working with insurance to get sorted out just who would pay for this. I finally had the appointment yesterday and the great news is that I passed! I can still drive. I am sure folks here can appreciate just what a relief that news is to me.

I expected the test mostly to be about proving I have sufficient strength to manipulate controls. There was some strength testing, but most of the testing was for cognitive and visual abilities. I was put through a battery of tests for quickly recognizing patterns, especially when distracting information was present.

I passed those tests and then went for the driving test, which I also passed.

In their view I am still safe to drive and will continue to be so until things change. As I become weaker I will still likely be able to drive by using more and more adaptive equipment, eventually relying on a joystick for steering, gas, and brake.

Of course, the day will eventually come when I will have to give up driving. I accept that. But, I want to continue driving (safely) until that day!

Steve

 

[KimT]

That's great news, Steve. I drove today. I went to the health food store and stocked up. The parking was right in front and I used the cart as a walker. I think I was in there for about an hour. I have very fast reflexes and good cognition.

Where do you drive? Do you take your chair with you and, if so, how does that work?

 

[swalker]

Kim, I can so relate to using a cart as a walker, using it throughout the store as I shopped! As I progressed, I would use a cart I found in the parking lot (or my wife fetched) as a walker to get into the store where the electric carts were. Now, I mostly use my wheelchair when shopping.

I drive our wheelchair van whenever I can. The wheelchair rides where the middle row of seats would go and I sit in the driver's seat. I am able to transfer from the driver's seat to the wheelchair without too much problem (though, it is getting harder).

I enjoy driving. I drive it everywhere I can (shopping, church, doctor's appointments, lunch with friends, etc.). My wife often drives on the trips to Denver (2 hours away), but I do so as well.

I also drive our SUV (which does not practically accommodate my wheelchair) for sightseeing and to tow our trailer when we go camping. When we go camping, my wife follows me in the wheelchair van, which will typically have 2 wheelchairs in it. When we get to our destination, I unload a wheelchair and am good to go.

The limitation I have when driving the SUV is that I cannot really get out of the car and do anything meaningful once I reach my destination, because I don't have my wheelchair.

This works very well for us now, but we know that we will need to get a different vehicle for the wheelchair as I progress. As I have written in other threads, I have put a lot of thought and effort into trying to find the perfect solution. I have pretty well convinced myself the perfect solution does not exist. But, I continue to look.

Steve

 

[scaredwifetx]

I am very happy that you passed the test and continue down the road

 

[4tloml]

Congratulations, Steve! The relief and sense of freedom knowing you can still drive safely must be immense. You were so wise to pursue testing for that peace of mind. I am very happy for you!

 

[starente15]

So happy for you! I remember when I assessed my dad. My mom had told him he couldn't drive anymore when he first got diagnosed. He was fine for at least 8 more months and so enjoyed being able to continue driving. It's a freedom that's easily taken for granted.

 

[Statius@]

The VA sent me for a driving evaluation a few months ago--similar process with lots of cognitive/reactive testing before the actual driving. I passed without any problem, thankfully. I was there primarily to try out hand held controls looking forward to a time when I might not be able to use my feet on brake and gas pedals. Now that will take some getting used to if the time ever comes, but I'm sure would become easier with practice.

Ed

 

[KimT]

Ed, I was walking fine until I fell in September. I sprained my "good ankle." I was at the grocery store about a mile away. I had to push the gas pedal with my left foot in a crossover position to get home. I do have very good coordination but that was pushing it. I should have called someone but I was so mad I twisted my good ankle I just wanted to get home as quickly as possible and ice it down.

Steve, I bought a van. It's getting shipped to Arizona for conversion. I plan on doing the same thing when it comes back. If someone else drives, I'll ride shotgun passenger and if I'm still able to drive, I'll do what you are currently doing. Do you have a lock down or use ties? I think I'll get the lockdown even if it means more modifications when my other chair comes in and then again when I remove the passenger chair for my wheelchair.

 

[swalker]

Kim,

I have both straps and an EZ Lock.

The EZ Lock consists of two major components: the locking base that is mounted on the car's floorboard and a plate mounted to the bottom of the wheelchair. That plate has a 5/8 inch bolt protruding from it of sufficient length to engage in the EZ Lock's locking base. That bolt is positioned to be in a line between the wheelchair's drive wheels, to maintain as much ground clearance as possible

Each wheelchair model has a wheelchair-specific plate and they are expensive (like most things with wheelchairs). I suspect (but do not know for sure), that the location of the locking bolt varies by wheelchair, so that it is roughly in a line between the drive wheels.

This means that different wheelchairs may need the EZ Lock locking base to be mounted in different locations in the vehicle.

I sometimes need to take two wheelchairs with me, and there is no EZ Lock plate available for it. Therefore, I must use straps with it.

My primary and backup wheelchairs (both Permobil C500 variants) have EZ Lock-compatible plates, so I use the EZ Lock for them.

When my van was new, it apparently had two captains chairs up front, two captains chairs in the middle row, and a bench seat in the rear that could fold down into a queen size bed (I never believed it was that large, but that is what the literature said).

When the previous owners had it modified with a wheelchair lift, they removed the rear bench seat and moved the two captains chairs from the middle row to the back row. This freed up the middle row to accommodate the wheelchair. That is where the EZ Lock was installed.

When we bought the van, the EZ Lock was not located where my (large) wheelchair could lock into it. We had to have the position adjusted. We also had to purchase the plate that is wheelchair-specific for the C500. The combined cost was about $1,000.

Fortunately, the rear captains chairs can be easily removed. When I want to haul the 4x4 wheelchair, I have a friend remove the driver's side rear seat and I position the Magic Mobility X4 wheelchair there. There are some convenient anchor locations I can use to connect ratchet straps to secure the wheelchair. I then load the C500 in front of that, locked into the EZ Lock.

Based on this experience, I would go way out of my way to avoid having to use straps. They are fine for the optional and occasional use that we experience, but they would be a major pain for anything else.

Note that my wheelchairs just barely (and I mean barely) fit, even in my full-size van. There appears to be exactly one place in the van middle section the EZ Lock can be positioned so that my C500 wheelchair will fit and lock into it. It took a couple of tries at repositioning the EZ Lock base to make it so the wheelchair could be properly engaged. I had folks with lots of experience do this (at Performance Mobility in Denver). I could have never done it myself, even though I was still pretty mobil back then.

So, if you have an EZ Lock installed for one wheelchair, expect to have to relocate it for another wheelchair. You may not have to, but in my experience you will.

In my van, there is a steel plate mounted to the van floor. The EZ Lock locking base is mounted to that. Repositioning the EZ Lock locking base requires removing the steel plate, removing the locking base from it, drilling new holes in the steel plate, remounting the locking base in those new holes, and then reinstalling the steel plate into the van.

Accessing the nuts for the steel plate's removal and installation is very difficult on my van. That is part of what drives the labor cost for moving the EZ Lock base to a new location.

At least we don't have to drill new holes in the van's floor and fill the old holes! Though, the steel plate does look a bit like swiss cheese now

Steve