Ricky West partially sighted off road driving experience 29th January 2022
““Losing my sight in my teens meant that I never had the chance to drive. I’ve always wanted to and wondered if I’d ever get the chance. So, for my 60th birthday present, my kind and thoughtful wife bought me a driving lesson from Driving Ambition.
I have always been an observant passenger but could I be the one at the controls? All those familiar terms were making me edgy – ‘releasing the clutch’, ‘biting point’, ‘changing up through the gears’ - not to mention, ‘fish-tailing, ‘kangarooing’ and ‘stalling’. Could I even manage to keep the vehicle on the straight and narrow? Would my reactions be so slow I’d have the car off at the first corner? Would I get into a fluster and fall to pieces? Surely what I would need was the most easy-going, calm and encouraging of all instructors. Fortunately, Mark Prewett turned out to have exactly those qualities – with an extra turbo-boost of patience ready just in case.
We had a blast! I quickly overcame my nerves and, in minutes, started to enjoy the experience. I was able to control the car with a degree of confidence – gears, brakes (pedal and hand), acceleration, steering. Mark’s easy-going instructions and smiling (possibly through gritted teeth) my 90-minute lesson passed in a trice. It did occur to me that if any of those other road users knew that the man in charge of the nifty, gold Fiesta, bombing along in fourth gear, was on his first lesson .
I can absolutely recommend Driving Ambition. My wife tells me that all the arrangements building up to my adventure were handled efficiently and courteously. The lesson itself was not only enjoyable I found it to be a really informative and revelationary experience – about driving and indeed myself. Mark is a true professional and I am very grateful to have had the benefit of his thirty-plus years of driving instruction on my side.
Meredith Vivian. 8th August 2021””
Meredith Vivian’s off road driving experience
To book an off road experience for someone who is blind or partially sighted please call 01280 704721 or email Ldriving@aol.com
Gift Vouchers available by email today (valid for 12 months)
We have had many groups and individuals over the years especially from New College for the blind (Worcester) and referrals from the RNIB
Based at Turweston Aerodrome, Brackley Northamptonshire NN13 5YD. Lessons on private land with a DVSA approved driving instructor (cars)
Video of Tess Lewsey having her first ever drive - Partially sighted off road driving experiences
Well done to Joseph Pomeroy . A brilliant first off road driving lesson on 4th October 2020. Well done Joe from Mark Prewett . off road driving experiences for the partially sighted
Sandi Wassmer registered blind in 2008
I didn't start losing my sight until I was in my 20's, so as a standard rite of passage for a teenager, when I was 16, I got my driver's licence. But unlike a lot of females who see driving as a mechanism to get from A to B and not something that involves pleasure, I was the quintessential boy racer. I loved driving and I loved driving fast.
But once the RP kicked in, and I knocked the wing mirror off of a parked car whilst trying to park mine, I stopped driving; this was my first big sight loss milestone in the erosion of my physical independence.
And over the years, I have longed for it like some sort of lost love. And it is not just about having the freedom to hop in the car and go wherever your heart desires, but the independence that goes along with having access to what is essentially a very powerful and, for many living in rural areas without public transport, essential mobility aid.
And for many years, that was how it was, and so I adapted and found different ways of getting around, but the pure pleasure of putting the pedal to the metal was forever denied me, or so I thought....
Then my gorgeous husband got on the wonderful world wide web and found a place, called Driving Ambition, that offers 'Driving Experiences for Visually Impaired' people and he booked me in for one.
And so, on a sunny Saturday morning, I set off to Turweston Aerodrome with my film crew - hubby and Tracey the Tree Hugger. Driving Ambition primarily provide driving lessons for under 17's as the aerodrome is private land and this is also how they have been able to extend their service to visually impaired folk.
We arrived 15 minutes early and I had a sharp shot of reality. Not only have I not driven in 25 years, I have never driven a manual car, nor have I ever driven in the UK, which to me is the wrong side of the road!
But it didn't take long for Mark Prewett, the owner of Driving Ambition, to set my mind at ease. He was amazingly calm under the circumstances, but also had the perfect balance of kindness, respect, authority, compassion, confidence and sense of humour that made it seem as if this was the most ordinary thing to be doing. The fear rapidly dissipated and was replaced by sheer excitement.
I pretty much figured that I was going to fumble with the stick shift, stall a few times, go round in circles in the parking lot and, if I was really lucky, meander down the long road at 10 miles an hour. Boy, did I ever misjudge that one.
In just 5 minutes. I got my head round the basics - getting in gear, using the pedals and hand brake, u turns, figures of 8, getting on the road and gently accelerating, but after these were accomplished with ease, Mark gave me a challenge: I was to weave between 8 cones. I laughed and offered him a side bet that I would knock them all over, but lo and behold, they all remained standing, so I asked if I could do it without instruction on the way back. As I have double vision, I fashioned a funky set up where I closed one eye and as the cones were the only objects available and I could ever so vaguely work out where they were, I went for it and didn't knock over a single one.
I screeched and laughed like a wailing banshee, full of the joys of life, but the need for speed was still burning inside of me and I asked Mark, "How fast can I go?" and he said, "probably between 40 and 45", and with that we set off on the long straight road. I slowly put my foot down on the accelerator, and then he said those glorious words, "put your foot to the floor".
Yowza. I got to 52 mph! I was free. I was mobile. I was able. It was exhilarating and liberating and a big honking shedload of fun. And he not only let me do it again, but got me to do a three point turn, then park the car in an angled space with rather startling symmetric precision.
And then my hour was up and we got out of he car as my crew headed over. Apparently, they didn't need to ask how it was, as they could hear me laughing all the way through. And as I thanked Mark profusely for such an incredibly unexpectedly marvellous experience, I had my Terminator moment and, with a cheeky grin, said "I'll be back".
Sandi Wassmer registered blind in 2008
