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I didn't realize that it had been so long since I'd given up driving, due mainly to feet that were just too numb (not to mention eyesight that was just okay). Being the managing editor of a car magazine, I am very aware of road safety. Since I wasn't 100% confident in my abilities, I sadly hung up my keys in September 2009. But in recent months the confidence was returning.
The numbness in my feet was down. My eyesight had improved to near 20/20. So this past weekend I felt it was safe again for me to get behind the wheel. I practiced driving in a parking lot with my wife for 15 minutes, quickly shuffling between gas and brake... no problems whatsoever (well, except that I braked a bit hard sometimes).
"Did you want to drive on the road?" Laura asked. "I'm not ready," I said. But I was and she knew it. My hands were starting to sweat—and we hadn't even left the safety of zero traffic and circling at 15 mph. And it was dusk, edging toward full-on night. But I did it, and the next 5 miles of stoplights, passing cars, yield signs and bike riders were totally and blissfully uneventful. I let her drive home, though.
The numbness in my feet was down. My eyesight had improved to near 20/20. So this past weekend I felt it was safe again for me to get behind the wheel. I practiced driving in a parking lot with my wife for 15 minutes, quickly shuffling between gas and brake... no problems whatsoever (well, except that I braked a bit hard sometimes).
"Did you want to drive on the road?" Laura asked. "I'm not ready," I said. But I was and she knew it. My hands were starting to sweat—and we hadn't even left the safety of zero traffic and circling at 15 mph. And it was dusk, edging toward full-on night. But I did it, and the next 5 miles of stoplights, passing cars, yield signs and bike riders were totally and blissfully uneventful. I let her drive home, though.
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