Lindy drove a real car after 30 years
I was told there would be no dull moments when I teamed up with Lindy at the Guide Dogs School. Well! The instructors were right. I along with Aunty Polly took Lindy to the One Raceway outside Goulburn for a VIP (that is vision impaired) drive day last Tuesday. I was told it was 30 years ago when Lindy drove for the last time, when her eyesight had degenerated to the point that she was not able to renew her drivers licence. Since then she’s had a few goes driving bumper cars at amusement parks. She didn’t know that they were supposed to be Dodge a car but she usually bumped into other cars!
Lindy along with six other vision impaired members of the Canberra Blind Society (CBS) were teamed up with an instructor each and had their own mini car to drive. Before they set off, Lindy was told that this is not a bumper car and she needs to avoid hitting any other car!
The group went out three times and did many laps around the Race Track each session. Lindy had instructor Dylan patiently instruct and guide her. It would have been very challenging for him as Lindy has no functional sight at all and can’t even tell if they are in the middle of the road or near the edge!
Aunty Polly and I stayed on track side and watched them go around for the first session. Lindy seemed to drive quite straight when they pass us on the pit straight. For the second session, I got into the back seat with Aunty Polly to experience being driven by Lindy. I know I have to stay calm. As we are not in the lake, I can’t even do the duck thing of cruising on top of the water and frantically paddling my paws to stay afloat (stay on the seat and keep calm)!
As it turned out, it wasn’t quite as scary as I thought and I hung my head out the back window on one lap and even managed a bit of snooze during the drive.
Instructor Dylan gave very clear and concise instructions such as: “We are coming up to a right turn, 3, 2, 1, turn, more, a bit more, straighten up, left a bit, left more, turn left now, …” Sometimes he complemented his instruction by helping Lindy with the steering wheel when she may have driven a bit too tight or too wide on a few corners. Overall, the car stayed on the middle of the race track except when they did passing manoeuvres. The car had a speed limit of 40km and Lindy even managed to drive up to the high 30s.
We watched from the track side for the third session. I needed to relax a bit so I can enjoy the ride back to Canberra by Aunty Polly.
All the people who participated in this VIP Drive Day were smiling from ear to ear. They were all very keen to do this again next year. There will be many more takers after they have told all the other VIPs about the day.
This fantastic experience was kindly donated by Fifth Gear Motoring (FGM). All their wonderful and patient instructors donated their time to give us a chance to get behind the wheel. One Raceway donated the use of the track and the facility for the day. Tori of FGM and Saskia of CBS worked hard to arrange this experience for all the VIP.
The refreshments provided in between the sessions were fantastic. They had even thought of a water bowl for me. I tried to be polite by not helping myself at the table. Everyone was so careful not to drop food on the floor that I had very little clean-up work to do. Aunty Polly even had to give me treats from my pouch so I didn’t go hungry!
Interview with ABC morning radio about their driving experience
Last Friday 27 February I got to take Lindy and Danielle to the ABC studio for an interview on the Canberra morning radio program. We were warmly welcomed by the producer Caroline and the presenter Saskia. The pair related their driving experience as well as passing the message of ‘We can still live a full life despite sight lost’.
You can listen in through the catch-up radio using the ABC Listen app.
I liked the interview. It was meant to be a 10-minute interview that started at 10.10am but they were engaging so much with the audience that the presenter kept them talking until the 10.30 news. I got a whole 20 minutes of snooze time while listening to them!
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Gong Xi Fa Choy
I wish you all a Happy Lunar New Year.
Let’s celebrate the Year of the Horse
Woof Woof
Flash Hou
(until I get my own email address, you can contact me via Lindy’s email)
