Monday, March 14, 2005
NOVEMBER STARTS WITH A BANG.....1988
Early in November I had one of the more exciting rides of my life with an applicant. We were working in a little out-of-the-way town, back in the hills and an older woman came in for a driving test. It was my rotation to take her so we headed for her vehicle. All the way she was talking about how nervous she was….how she had just lost her husband…how she needed to learn to drive so she could get groceries and go to church, visit friends….on and on and on. It was impossible to get an encouraging word in if I had been so inclined and actually I could have written her excuses for her…..if they were elderly, it was a sympathy thing…if they were young it was a prideful thing. No one wanted to fail a driving test.
She faltered getting the key in the ignition so I could give her directions about her headlights, brake lights, turn signals, parking brake…..DE’s are not instructors, they are “testers.” I waited patiently while she went through her agitated motions and finally we could begin the preliminary test. I knew it was going to be difficult because the woman’s hands were shaking uncontrollably. I got in the passenger’s side of the vehicle and gave her instructions to back out of the parking lot so we could then drive up the hill.
I considered changing our course because the hill is exceptionally steep with a stop sign half way up. If a new driver has to manually use the gear shift it is a pretty sure thing you could be rolling down the hill backwards. That would pretty well cause extensive damage to the vehicle because a frightened motorist would not be able to find the brake pedal in their panic and you would then roll into traffic, gathering speed downhill, and go over a retaining wall. I knew that would not be a healthy experience.
However, it would not be fair to allow her a less difficult course… so we proceeded up the hill. Finally we made it to the stop sign. The instructions were to turn right after stopping….which would then put you on a steep downhill grade. She put the brake on and we were stopped at the sign…..then she began to sense the difficulty of turning the wheel and shifting at the same time. She put the vehicle in low gear, her foot off the brake and we began rolling backwards…….I told her in a controlled voice to accelerate and turn the corner.
We were almost to the curb going backwards when her foot found the pedal and we raced up the hill, into the oncoming lane of traffic, turned the corner, jumped the curb and landed in a yard at high speed. I yelled at her to hit the brakes and we stopped in front of a bird bath in the middle of someone’s lawn. The woman completely lost it and began shaking and crying and asked me to drive her back. Impossible. A DE never drives an applicant back to the office. Either you walk back or “talk” the applicant back. I decided if she was ever going to have courage to drive she would have to prove to herself she could get out of the yard without help.
With a normal voice I explained all of this to her and told her I thought she could do it if she just concentrated. She backed out of the yard, over the curb and onto the street. I gave instructions, block by block back to the Court House, had her park and then we had a little talk. Of course, she failed the test. I told her to practice with a licensed driver….wrote her up a permit….and sent her on her way. I never saw the woman again. I don’t know if she went to a different testing place or if she gave up the idea of driving.
Obtaining a driving license is like anything else. If you think you can…….it’s a pretty good possibility that you can. If you expect to fail…..it’s fairly certain you will. I was often amazed at applicants. Some wanted special treatment and had every normal capability to pass, but failed. We had many disabled people with all sorts of disabilities who stuck with it, wanting to earn it by themselves…..though we offered assistance. The joy of a disabled person achieving the impossible dream was so rewarding to me, I rejoiced with them. Sadly, others who complained that it was my fault they failed….who were pampered teen-agers with a hot new car from daddy on their sixteenth birthday…..just didn’t get it.
I never failed anybody. They failed themselves…….
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
She faltered getting the key in the ignition so I could give her directions about her headlights, brake lights, turn signals, parking brake…..DE’s are not instructors, they are “testers.” I waited patiently while she went through her agitated motions and finally we could begin the preliminary test. I knew it was going to be difficult because the woman’s hands were shaking uncontrollably. I got in the passenger’s side of the vehicle and gave her instructions to back out of the parking lot so we could then drive up the hill.
I considered changing our course because the hill is exceptionally steep with a stop sign half way up. If a new driver has to manually use the gear shift it is a pretty sure thing you could be rolling down the hill backwards. That would pretty well cause extensive damage to the vehicle because a frightened motorist would not be able to find the brake pedal in their panic and you would then roll into traffic, gathering speed downhill, and go over a retaining wall. I knew that would not be a healthy experience.
However, it would not be fair to allow her a less difficult course… so we proceeded up the hill. Finally we made it to the stop sign. The instructions were to turn right after stopping….which would then put you on a steep downhill grade. She put the brake on and we were stopped at the sign…..then she began to sense the difficulty of turning the wheel and shifting at the same time. She put the vehicle in low gear, her foot off the brake and we began rolling backwards…….I told her in a controlled voice to accelerate and turn the corner.
We were almost to the curb going backwards when her foot found the pedal and we raced up the hill, into the oncoming lane of traffic, turned the corner, jumped the curb and landed in a yard at high speed. I yelled at her to hit the brakes and we stopped in front of a bird bath in the middle of someone’s lawn. The woman completely lost it and began shaking and crying and asked me to drive her back. Impossible. A DE never drives an applicant back to the office. Either you walk back or “talk” the applicant back. I decided if she was ever going to have courage to drive she would have to prove to herself she could get out of the yard without help.
With a normal voice I explained all of this to her and told her I thought she could do it if she just concentrated. She backed out of the yard, over the curb and onto the street. I gave instructions, block by block back to the Court House, had her park and then we had a little talk. Of course, she failed the test. I told her to practice with a licensed driver….wrote her up a permit….and sent her on her way. I never saw the woman again. I don’t know if she went to a different testing place or if she gave up the idea of driving.
Obtaining a driving license is like anything else. If you think you can…….it’s a pretty good possibility that you can. If you expect to fail…..it’s fairly certain you will. I was often amazed at applicants. Some wanted special treatment and had every normal capability to pass, but failed. We had many disabled people with all sorts of disabilities who stuck with it, wanting to earn it by themselves…..though we offered assistance. The joy of a disabled person achieving the impossible dream was so rewarding to me, I rejoiced with them. Sadly, others who complained that it was my fault they failed….who were pampered teen-agers with a hot new car from daddy on their sixteenth birthday…..just didn’t get it.
I never failed anybody. They failed themselves…….
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
