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After having a license for about 30 years, and PD diagnosed for perhaps
half that, Margaret had to give driving up.  The children (then teenagers
dependent on us for transport to sports venues etc) were instrumental in
this as they became very concerned about her slowed reactions.

Over the last ten or so years, Margaret's driving experience has been
limited to a battery-powered scooter that she uses on  the footpaths around
town.  Even here, she has found that her disabilities are bothersome.   I
used the term slowed reactions as a kind of shorthand but I suspect it is
as much a cognitive deficit as a physical one.    As an example, the
scooter she uses is a tricycle (a four wheeler would be possibly safer if
less maneuverable) which is very sensitive to the camber of the surface
over which it is travelling.

Despite the fact that she is travelling only at a walking pace, Margaret is
often just plain unaware that she is veering off towards a potentially
catastrophic encounter with the edge of the kerb.  If and when she does
realize her closeness to disaster, she is not helped by the slowness of her
reactions.   Sometimes she panics and just freezes at the handlebars; other
times it is just too late ;-)

Similarly, when she is negotiating a corner, she just has no idea of when
and how much she has to turn in order to take a smooth line through the
corner.  She tends  to leave initiation of turning to the last second and
either has to turn more sharply than otherwise would be the case, or runs
wide

So far no great damage has been done, but it would have been a very
different situation had she been driving a motor car........ No backseat
driver am I !

Take care
Mark.
(cg Margaret 65/27 years)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mark Atyeo.
61  6  286  2606
I always said I wanted to be somebody, I just wish I'd been more specific