TerryJ2
Well-Known Member
My difficult child is 17 and has finished both the classroom portion and behind-the-wheel portion of driver's ed. He has his provisional license beginning August 15. In the meantime, he drives while I coach, just like before.
Today, he did something he has done once before and nearly gave me heart failure.
He turned left in front of an oncoming car.
He insists that 1) he didn't see it, 2) he's got right-of-way, and 3) if the law says yield to oncoming traffic, there should be a sign or a yellow light.
Welcome to the rigidity of Aspie living.
I had him turn around and go through the intersection again. He still didn't get it because the semaphore (by the way, driver's ed never used the expression, "semaphore." They say "Signal light") was a regular green light and had no left turn arrow.
We found some other intersections. Same thing.
He pulled over in a parking lot and discussed the whole thing (voice getting louder as he got more insistent but still, under control). I got out of the car and walked toward him, pretending I was an oncoming car. Then, between that and his girlfriend in the backseat explaining it their own special language, he "got it." But he still argued that it should have been a flashing yellow light.
We drove through another intersection after that, that had a sign that said, "left turn traffic yield to oncoming cars." He said, "There! See, I told you! They should have a sign like that!"
I explained that it's costly to do that, or to rewire for flashing yellow lights, and that he should have been taught that. Period. He insisted that he never got it in classroom or behind-the-wheel. (We have a friend whose daughter was nearly killed that way. She was never taught that, either. And our easy child said the same thing.)
Each of these kids is about 5 yrs apart, so I can see that has not changed in the school system, nor has it changed in private lessons, because easy child took private lessons.
So he said he's going to have to remind himself of that "new" rule because it's not something he originally learned.
Whew.
I'm glad it didn't turn into a huge fight. We both did well. (And we happened to be on the way home from the psychiatrist, lol! The lithium really helps.)
My heartbeat is more normal now. It's been about an hour.
Today, he did something he has done once before and nearly gave me heart failure.
He turned left in front of an oncoming car.
He insists that 1) he didn't see it, 2) he's got right-of-way, and 3) if the law says yield to oncoming traffic, there should be a sign or a yellow light.
Welcome to the rigidity of Aspie living.
I had him turn around and go through the intersection again. He still didn't get it because the semaphore (by the way, driver's ed never used the expression, "semaphore." They say "Signal light") was a regular green light and had no left turn arrow.
We found some other intersections. Same thing.
He pulled over in a parking lot and discussed the whole thing (voice getting louder as he got more insistent but still, under control). I got out of the car and walked toward him, pretending I was an oncoming car. Then, between that and his girlfriend in the backseat explaining it their own special language, he "got it." But he still argued that it should have been a flashing yellow light.
We drove through another intersection after that, that had a sign that said, "left turn traffic yield to oncoming cars." He said, "There! See, I told you! They should have a sign like that!"
I explained that it's costly to do that, or to rewire for flashing yellow lights, and that he should have been taught that. Period. He insisted that he never got it in classroom or behind-the-wheel. (We have a friend whose daughter was nearly killed that way. She was never taught that, either. And our easy child said the same thing.)
Each of these kids is about 5 yrs apart, so I can see that has not changed in the school system, nor has it changed in private lessons, because easy child took private lessons.
So he said he's going to have to remind himself of that "new" rule because it's not something he originally learned.
Whew.
I'm glad it didn't turn into a huge fight. We both did well. (And we happened to be on the way home from the psychiatrist, lol! The lithium really helps.)
My heartbeat is more normal now. It's been about an hour.