|
Suggestions for rehab specialists who become involved in the provision of low
vision driver education training and assessment services.
By Chuck Huss,
C.O.M.S.
Please find listed below some suggestions that you may want to
use or follow when working with typical new low vision driver candidates who
enroll in your program of formalized low vision driver education training and
assessment.
1) Determine student's present level of pre-driver readiness
and awareness skills (see copy enclosed).
2) If you discover deficits in areas as indicated above,
address these issues one at a time via using the professional services of a
rehabilitation specialist (O&M Specialist, O.T.R., C.D.R.S, etc.) with
experience in formalized low vision driver education training and assessment
practices.
3) Though some may disagree, we choose to introduce basic
defensive driving skills including but not limited to eye lead, head and eye
scanning , 3-4 second following distance, mirror usage etc. to new students on
entrance to our formalized program of low vision driver education training;
prior to introducing and reinforcing the use of their prescription BiOptic
telescopic lens system.(BTLS).
In addition we introduce and reinforce the concept of critical
object/condition awareness, starting with the larger roadway characteristics
(intersections, fixed hazards …. for ex. dips in the road, blind curves,
bushes, hillsides, etc within or adjacent to a roadway), traffic control devices
(pavement markings) and road users (buses and trucks) before going to smaller in
size critical objects/conditions in all 3 areas.
The rationale behind the latter approach is that, especially
for those who never expected to drive, the totally new driver candidate may not
be aware of the dynamics of the driving task.. IF STUDENTS DO NOT FEEL
COMFORTABLE WITH THE BIG PICTURE OF THE DRIVING SCENE, THEY WILL EXPERIENCE
CONSIDERABLE DIFFICULTY IN FINDING DETAIL WITHIN THE BIG PICTURE WITH OR WITHOUT
THE BTLS !!!
In many cases where students fail to illustrate big picture
awareness , the student is encouraged to return home and reinforce observing
(for at least the next 6-12 months in most cases) what other drivers and other
road users are doing to drive safely.
4) Starting week No. 2 of training, we then introduce the
proper and appropriate use of their prescription BiOptic telescopic lens system
to the student, including adequate coverage of the optical and non-optical
considerations one must be apprised of when utilizing such devices under dynamic
conditions (see enclosed complimentary copy of my presentation made at the EYE
AND THE AUTO and attachments).
As indicated the latter is first conducted on foot outside
(and inside if further reinforcement is needed) under controlled conditions;
then reinforced in a passenger in car mode (over 20-25 different routes of
travel, covering all aspects of Doron Corporation's S.I.P.D.E. System (Search,
Identify, Predict, Decide, and Execute); and then integrated into the actual
driving task as proficiency in the use of the BTLS is attained by the student.
Please note, students are asked to wear their BTLS starting
day 1 of our concurrent training program (receiving classroom, passenger-in-car
and behind-the-wheel instruction all in the same day, 5 days a week, by staff
employed at the same facility) even before BTLS instruction is provided ….to
enable them to become accustomed to wearing the latter. Integration of BLTS
usage into the driving task is kept selective and minimal to begin with; then
encouraged more often as needed as their driving skills develop and mature.
5) When introducing the detection and identification of
critical objects during the passenger-in-cart phase, we encourage training
instructors to isolate out and reinforce the location and awareness of one kind
of object/condition at a time, larger type of objects/forms … then smaller
ones (for ex….. " as soon as you can first detect a t-shaped intersection
on the right or left side of our travel path, tell me so " or "
anytime another road user (on two feet or four feet, 2 wheels or 4 wheels)
approaches, enters or crosses our intended path of travel , please tell me '' or
" as we approach each intersection tell me as soon as you can: if we have
to stop, the shape of the intersection, how many stop signs there are, and when
it is safe to proceed '', etc.).
Then integrate the latter individual SIPDE hazard perception
skills into the big picture ….. reinforcing all of the latter together.
6) We encourage that non-rated driving performances, with a
second driver evaluator positioned in the left rear seat, do not take place
until the end of week 2 … or when the student and primary driver educator have
established rapport and confidence in one another.
7) Weeks 3 & 4 …once the basics are down, then introduce
the concepts of collision traps, separation and compromise principles, joining
and leaving traffic formations, changing lanes, principles of passing,
expressway dynamics etc. (copies of curriculum guide and audio-visual training
lists are available upon request).
Note, a few years ago, the West Virginia Rehabilitation Center
purchased 10 new driver simulators and updated its audio-visual library via the
acquisition of Doron Corporation's S.I.P.D.E. laser disc video series and
appropriate video projection equipment to improve its classroom phase of driver
education training.
What a difference the latter makes when an instructor wants to
reinforce a point of emphasis with low vision students via still framing driving
scenes or advancing/ reversing the still frame one frame at a time without
distortion or fear of burning a hole in film as was the case with older 16 mm
films.
8) Week 5 …. here we begin to transition from what we call
spoon-fed instruction to that which emphasizes more independent decision-making
type of driver training exercises and rated on-road driver assessments ….for
ex.. give the student route instructions like …." at the 2nd traffic
light turn left ''.
See enclosed articles which provide an overview of our
standardized driver performance measurement (DPM) test route which Fred
Vanosdall, Traffic Safety Specialist, Michigan State University, now retired,
set up and trained several of us in WV to incorporate into our training
program..
The latter outcomes serve as an ongoing assessment of each
student's developing driving skills and advises student and instructors what
areas need to be emphasized during the remaining weeks of training (weeks 5-8),
prior to any consideration of application for driver licensure.
In closing, the above document is intended to provide readers
with a preview of what we have refined at the West Virginia Rehabilitation
Center over the years for rehabilitation specialists who become involved in the
provision of formalized low vision driver education training and assessment
services.
If additional information is needed, please feel free to call
or write:
Charles
P. Huss, C.O.M.S. Coordinator, Low Vision Driver Services
West
Virginia Rehabilitation Center P.O. Box 1004 Barron Drive Institute, WV 25112
TEL: 304-766-4803 FAX: 304-766-4816 Charles P. Huss is an Academy
Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist with 25
years of teaching experience with visually impaired
individuals [K-Geriatrics].
| 
