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Post by Babble on Dec 22, 2014 13:02:05 GMT
Hey, so... I'm learning to drive at the moment, but I'm really struggling with the whole maintaining focus thing. I can concentrate for maybe 20mins at most. Also, sometimes I hyperfocus on one aspect of driving - like my lane discipline, or my gears, or hazard perception - to the detriment of everything else. I've spent a fortune on this now, and I'd really like to pass my test in the New Year.
There must be loads of you fellow ADHDers who drive so, any hints/tips/advice for a learner?
Aside: I'm undiagnosed/ unmedicated/ un-CBT'd (not a word, I know, I know), so take that into account.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2014 14:48:34 GMT
Test is 40 minutes so working on concentration is obviously paramount.
The trick is not to concentrate too hard - it wears you out.
If you have to actively think 'do x, then do y' then you're not ready - driving is too complex for that to work. Lots of practice - if you can get out with other people it helps (as long as you don't listen to their rubbish theories and bad habits) as does increasing the frequency you have lessons - you end up needing fewer lessons because there is less time to forget what you learned.
On top of that - physical fitness helps as does things like playing football (or hockey - all team games with balls) and complex and fast moving computer games - you use a similar skill set (ie complex rules, observation and simultaneous action).
If you're anywhere near Ashton Under Lyne get in contact, I probably still have my instructors hat somewhere.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2014 9:43:02 GMT
Agree with @planetdave the Holy Mo from Zarquon. Basically, get as much stuff as intuitively set as possible so you're not OCDing on manual controls etc. Driving a car is essentially quite easy IMO, the difficulty is assimilating and processing all the data involved whilst trying to anticipate the movement of other road users...and of course decision making - where ADHD impulsiveness can be good and bad in varying degrees! I wouldn't have the patience to teach anyone to drive .
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Post by manson88 on Dec 28, 2014 13:38:43 GMT
You should be able to get a reasonable adjustment cause of your condition/conditions.
It may be example ; getting the instructions repeated or discretion during the examination. More or less your being examined with your disability in mind.
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Post by frustrated on Dec 28, 2014 13:42:56 GMT
I am not sure if some of my tips are even legal anymore, (i past in 1990) its up to you to check that out. take the test in your own car, the bigger the better, turn the tickover up just slightly. Being 7 months pregnant helped me too, but I can't advise you to do the same just to help you get through your test! lol Try to book the test in a town you know really well as a driver for a friday afternoon.
Practice driving until it becomes as easy as breathing for you. The idea being that when on the test you have less points to focus on if you know your car and the area inside out.
Try meditating every day too, it helped me find the voice that comes from over my right shoulder that always without fail warns me of another car that is about to do something stupid so I can take evasive action seconds before I need too. (Has literally saved my life a couple of times and saved my car many many times)
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2014 23:45:14 GMT
You should be able to get a reasonable adjustment cause of your condition/conditions. It may be example ; getting the instructions repeated or discretion during the examination. More or less your being examined with your disability in mind. The driving test is an absolute test of safety so you don't get extra time like you might in ordinary examinations. If you have mobility issues then extra mirrors are allowed, as are any adaptions, but cognitive/lack of visual acuity issues cannot be taken into account. Instructions should be given clearly and things like inability to read a number plate (dyslexia) are OK but driving falls into a privilege to earn rather than a right. I did have someone have instructions given backed up by gesture due to deafness (left ear) and left/right indicated by hand (actually the same person), because they couldn't remember left from right, but neither of those are safety issues so were given without question.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2014 23:58:39 GMT
I am not sure if some of my tips are even legal anymore, (i past in 1990) its up to you to check that out. take the test in your own car, the bigger the better, turn the tickover up just slightly. Being 7 months pregnant helped me too, but I can't advise you to do the same just to help you get through your test! lol Try to book the test in a town you know really well as a driver for a friday afternoon. Practice driving until it becomes as easy as breathing for you. The idea being that when on the test you have less points to focus on if you know your car and the area inside out. Try meditating every day too, it helped me find the voice that comes from over my right shoulder that always without fail warns me of another car that is about to do something stupid so I can take evasive action seconds before I need too. (Has literally saved my life a couple of times and saved my car many many times) You always start and finish driving at the test centre so knowing the roads around it really helps. Being heavily pregnant probably helps - a bit difficult for some of us - but having the examiner onside is definitely a positive move. There are some simple tactics eg offering them a mint. They should refuse, there's nothing to say you can't have one, but it establishes you as a kind person. Obviously going along looking scruffy and having personal hygiene problems are negative - but apply the reverse. Being pleasant, well turned out etc are positives. If you have no shame then low cut tops/short skirts/shorts might work in your favour - it can work for either sex, you never know what orientation the examiner will be. I've said 'positive' a lot. If you're realistically positive (ie not deluded) then you are more likely to succeed - negative attitudes produce negative results in whatever you do.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2014 11:51:51 GMT
You should be able to get a reasonable adjustment cause of your condition/conditions. It may be example ; getting the instructions repeated or discretion during the examination. More or less your being examined with your disability in mind. I can't see how that would apply in a driving situation. After all, you don't get extra time to assimilate traffic lights in the real world for example. To be fair, if my condition made my driving poor and I was a danger to other road users because I needed more time to react and without negative impulses getting in the way, then I'd fully expect to lose my licence.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2014 14:06:51 GMT
I don't think manson88 implied leniency where it comes to safety - but turning right instead of left is not considered unsafe, they're not testing for following instructions (except responding promptly to the E stop). There is leeway built into the test for not being able to follow instructions already so most of manson88 's points are covered eg not responding to requests to take exit X or the 3rd right. As long as what you do is safe they can't fail you. It helps to have an instructor there to prime the examiner - I frequently told the examiner things like 'not good on left/rights, could you back it up with gestures please?' or 'X is a bit deaf, make sure to shout up a bit'. You also have the right to take someone (suitable) along and having your instructor there keeps the examiner on their toes a bit more knowing a pro is watching them. On the downside you're not usually used to the extra weight of another passenger or someone sitting slightly in your mirror sightline, which the distractable might not like. In a previous post I mentioned offering a mint. You can increase your impact by offering to shake their hand (they don't offer - some cultures are handshake shy) and mentioning your name eg Hello, I'm first name. They already know who you are but introducing yourself makes you a person instead of product to be processed. All these little psychological tips are about making you stand out from the humdrum of the examiners job - it's harder to mark down someone you have engaged with and since they're doing the judging twisting them in your favour could make the difference. Nothing illegal about it at all - but the examiners are human and judge according to their prejudices/stereotypes so make yourself a positive stereotype.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2014 14:41:17 GMT
But it is about safety. You don't get a second chance to have instructions repeated in the real world. And if you're reliant on instructions being repeated because you can't assimilate the data, then that would be cause for concern. Having an interpreter present for language purposes is a different question, but even there someone will piously argue that misunderstanding road signs might lead to accidents. My view is that with more and more cars on the road, we need to maintain some standards including a driver's ability to take in the ever cluttered surroundings and distractions.
If I ever live to experience driverless cars, then I'll happily hand over the stress and insurance costs to a bot company.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2014 19:44:11 GMT
There are no accommodations when it comes to safety - taking instruction from an examiner (take the next right) is not a safety issue whereas missing a sign is.
You can ignore nearly all instructions, except to perform mandatory manouvres, but you must be driving safely when you do so. A classic fail being driving through a no entry sign - usually when you fail to spot a legal exit that you should have followed. If you did happen to drive down a street with no legal exit then you would be expected to turn round (U turn, turn in the road using forward and reverse gears or reverse off - whichever is most appropriate). If the examiner suspects that you are avoiding certain instructions (not turning right off a main road or avoiding a roundabout) because you fear them then there will be an inquest at the end ie you will be failed unless you have an incredibly good excuse for not following multiple instructions.
I have an example - a driver on test drove onto a street (terraced housing with cars parked either side - it's Hyde near the test centre). It is bin day and the bin truck is blocking the exit and the bin men have 50+bins lined up for emptying.
The examiner asked the bin men to give way but they refused (colourfully, bless 'em).
The examiner then instructed the candidate to exit the road in any legal way (tricky because the street was parked up on either side)
The candidate refused using the excuse that it was not a standard driving situation.
The examiner disagreed (bin wagons are an everyday feature of driving) so the candidate was failed - not because the candidate failed to follow the instruction but because the candidate could not drive safely in whatever driving situation occurred - there was a legal way out of the situation so no need to stop. You do not abandon tests if there is a way to continue.
I have been on tests with unusual circumstances - my candidate entered a roundabout legally but was cut off by a artic, that wrapped itself round the front of our car, and was being roundly racially abused by the driver (summer so all windows were open). We couldn't proceed forward and neither could the artic so we had to wait till the vehicles behind worked out that the only solution was to reverse off the roundabout, which we did too. The examiner allowed a cooling off period instead of driving away as soon as possible due to the upset of the abuse (it was up to the candidate to decide when they were fit to continue).
There were some instructors in my area that were fans of the 08:40 test (first of the day) because they drove to the end of the street the test centre was on then sat in traffic till it was time to return - it's hard to drive badly in a traffic jam = easy pass (in their opinion - I'm not so sure). The test must have a minimum period of driving - the definition of driving includes being in control of a vehicle in a traffic jam but prevaricating outside the test centre for 40 minutes is not a flier.
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Post by Babble on Jan 5, 2015 13:30:25 GMT
@planetdave Thank you for all your replies and advice! I'm living in Wales at the moment, so Ashton Under Lyne is a bit out of my way, but thank you for the offer anyway. The only way my instructor can fit me in (mainly because I work full-time) is on weekends, and even then just once usually for 2 hours, but I'll make sure I increase the practice I get in outside of lessons. I hadn't though of the exercise & computer games thing, but it's a great idea! I used to go running when I was unemployed, which helped burn off excess energy too. I should really take it up again. @addjourneyman Yeah, I find driving a car fairly easy, its just getting myself to test standard that's the struggle. Like you say - processing data, trying to figure out what everyone else is doing and struggling to remember that I'm not supposed to take corners in 3rd gear/30+mph ( ) - that's the difficult part. manson88 I'm not sure how much adjustment I get, but I know my instructor said she'd definitely tell my examiner. That might simply be to make him aware that I may lose focus on occasion though. frustrated Lol, no getting pregnant to past my driving test would be a little beyond the call of duty I think I'm definitely going to practice more. Get myself driving by instinct rather than by over thinking. Meditation is a little beyond me - I've tried in the past, and just can't keep still/stop thinking. I'll give it a go though - never know what might work! Thank you everyone for contributing, I'll definitely take your words of wisdom on board
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