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Patty B. Samba Member
Joined: July 14, 2005 Posts: 2181 Location: Brampton, Ontario, Canada
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Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 8:34 am Post subject: Being hard of hearing or deaf and driving a stick. |
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My 17 yr old son is HOH, hard of hearing. He has what is refered to as a severe hearing loss and has worn hearing aids since he was a year old.
Just recently he got his G1 license He is pretty excited to learn how to drive a standard in our 1969 Beetle--not many can say that these days lol!
We have been taking him out to abandonned factory driveways so he can learn the mechanics of stick then when he has that and some spacial awareness down we'll head out into the street. He's doing really well. Then his auto shop teacher came around and told him how he's at a disadvantage driving stick because he can't hear the clutch----the guy is very supportive of him in every other way in the shop but he felt this a bit of a blow. We told him he is wrong.
We have been teaching him to feel the car, use all the other cues as well as what he can hear. We have had lots of discussions how non HOH people like those driving with loud radios, drivers with audio ear plugs or even people who may have un recognized hearing lose handle driving standard transmissions. Let alone modern cars are pretty sound proof to begin with!
I'm curous to hear other HOH driving stick experiences or stories or thoughts. I know there are deaf and HOH members here, it would be nice to know what your experience has been in learning to drive a stick, learning to drive in general would be good too, it'd be nice to share with our very eager young driver! =) |
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Da TOW'D Samba Member
Joined: December 25, 2005 Posts: 1321 Location: Bella Coma Canada
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Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 8:40 am Post subject: Re: Being hard of hearing or deaf and driving a stick. |
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Hi Patty
maybe a tachometer would help with the shifting
best wishes
Hank _________________ '57 type 1 Blackberry
'58 SC Ruf
'62 type 3 Notch
'92 Eurovan Willy DD
and NUTS |
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williamM Samba Member
Joined: August 07, 2008 Posts: 4333 Location: southwest Arizona
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Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 8:51 am Post subject: Re: Being hard of hearing or deaf and driving a stick. |
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X2- get one with the "shift light" that is brilliant and lights up at an RPM you set- I would mount it up high so it can be seen, or maybe even a remote light wired to the dash- This set up would be a "cool" addition to any car, and not be a "OOOH look I'n handicapped" device drawing attention.
Also needs a flash card about his condition and readily roll down the window when the cops pull him over (He's 17 right?-- ya just checking.)
Most distributors will fit the bus rotor that limits RPM from a spring loaded grounding device that really screws up the way the engine ignition when it hits a certain RPM- This is quite noticeable and may help prevent running in wrong low a gear which most drivers would hear and look to see what is wrong. _________________ some days I get up and just sit and think. Some days I just sit.
opinion untempered by fact is ignorance.
Don't step in any! |
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Luft kühl Samba Member
Joined: January 21, 2009 Posts: 1178 Location: Allentown, PA
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Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 10:03 am Post subject: Re: Being hard of hearing or deaf and driving a stick. |
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There is no need to install a tachometer (or shift light). The shift points are clearly marked l, ll, and lll in red on the speedometer at approximately 15, 35, and 45 mph. |
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Pruneman99 Samba Member
Joined: February 22, 2012 Posts: 5013 Location: Oceanside
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Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 10:18 am Post subject: Re: Being hard of hearing or deaf and driving a stick. |
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Actually I doubt he needs anything extra. He's been HOH his whole life and has relied on other senses to make up for it. It's normal for him. Normal hearing ppl might learn to drive a stick by sound, and less feel, but he will just learn more by feel (throttle position, speed, acceleration, vibration, and torque). Nothing wrong with that, it's just a different method. It's a non-issue IMO. Keep on buggin'! |
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DuaneL Samba Member
Joined: February 02, 2012 Posts: 511 Location: Spokane WA
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Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 10:19 am Post subject: Re: Being hard of hearing or deaf and driving a stick. |
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Luft kühl wrote: |
There is no need to install a tachometer (or shift light). The shift points are clearly marked l, ll, and lll in red on the speedometer at approximately 15, 35, and 45 mph. |
Those are not shift points they are the highest safe sustainable speed for each gear, hence the reason there is no mark for fourth. _________________ ____________
1971 std bug, 1776, ACN Super Stock 34-3, dvda dist, 27x8.50 14 tires |
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Luft kühl Samba Member
Joined: January 21, 2009 Posts: 1178 Location: Allentown, PA
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Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 10:25 am Post subject: Re: Being hard of hearing or deaf and driving a stick. |
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The reason that there is no mark for fourth, is because there is no fifth gear. |
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Pruneman99 Samba Member
Joined: February 22, 2012 Posts: 5013 Location: Oceanside
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Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 10:26 am Post subject: Re: Being hard of hearing or deaf and driving a stick. |
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DuaneL wrote: |
Luft kühl wrote: |
There is no need to install a tachometer (or shift light). The shift points are clearly marked l, ll, and lll in red on the speedometer at approximately 15, 35, and 45 mph. |
Those are not shift points they are the highest safe sustainable speed for each gear, hence the reason there is no mark for fourth. |
Hence, time to shift.. No 5th gear to shift to in any of my VW's |
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Erik G Samba Member
Joined: October 16, 2002 Posts: 13269 Location: Tejas!
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Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 10:32 am Post subject: Re: Being hard of hearing or deaf and driving a stick. |
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I have a friend here in TX that is deaf and built his award winning '59 ragtop from scratch
There is a whole group called Deaf-Volks, I know they are dedicated and do a lot of camping and long trips with non deaf volks _________________ Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery! |
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DuaneL Samba Member
Joined: February 02, 2012 Posts: 511 Location: Spokane WA
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Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 12:24 pm Post subject: Re: Being hard of hearing or deaf and driving a stick. |
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Pruneman99 wrote: |
DuaneL wrote: |
Luft kühl wrote: |
There is no need to install a tachometer (or shift light). The shift points are clearly marked l, ll, and lll in red on the speedometer at approximately 15, 35, and 45 mph. |
Those are not shift points they are the highest safe sustainable speed for each gear, hence the reason there is no mark for fourth. |
Hence, time to shift.. No 5th gear to shift to in any of my VW's |
Ok mentioning no mark for fourth might not have been a good idea but according to the owners manual for these cars these so called "shift points" are actually the highest safe speed you can maintain for a length of time in those gears I don't know about you but I am in fourth well before 45 (if I am on a road with a 35mph speed limit but yes if I was racing a honda then I might go to 45 or higher before shifting)(O.K. it is a pet peeve of mine of people constantly referring to these as shift points when the manual clearly states they are not)
And from the August 1965 bug owner manual page 18 under gear shifting second sentence.
"The red lines on the speedometer indicate the maximum speed for each gear." _________________ ____________
1971 std bug, 1776, ACN Super Stock 34-3, dvda dist, 27x8.50 14 tires |
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gt1953 Samba Member
Joined: May 08, 2002 Posts: 13846 Location: White Mountains Arizona
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Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 4:54 pm Post subject: Re: Being hard of hearing or deaf and driving a stick. |
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HOH driver should not have issue learning and driving a VW. I mean the clutch is felt, brakes too. Shifting shouldn't be an issue, just don't lug it up a hill at 45 mph in 4th gear. _________________ Volkswagen: We tune what we drive.
Numbers Matching VW's are getting harder to find. Source out the most Stock vehicle and keep that way. You will be glad you did.
72 type 1
72 Squareback
({59 Euro bug, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69, 73 type ones 68 & 69 type two, 68 Ghia all sold}) |
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KTPhil Samba Member
Joined: April 06, 2006 Posts: 33991 Location: Conejo Valley, CA
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Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 5:08 pm Post subject: Re: Being hard of hearing or deaf and driving a stick. |
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Agreed, the feel from a VW is part of their appeal, and makes shifting natural as you approach higher rpm.
I also agree that there is more risk of lugging than from over-revving. For example, my fastback is quieter than a Bug, and with a tight muffler and all windows closed, it's now smooth and quiet, right down to about 1200-1500 rpm, which is fine when coasting to a stop, but wrong to boot the throttle at so low a speed. With a loud stereo, it is almost like a "real" car in its quietness (don't laugh!). So the tach may help, but more to indicate too low an rpm than too high. |
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Cali_Army_Guy Samba Member
Joined: March 19, 2015 Posts: 2094 Location: Stockton, CA
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Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 8:05 pm Post subject: Re: Being hard of hearing or deaf and driving a stick. |
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DuaneL wrote: |
the highest safe sustainable speed for each gear |
Yeah that's also known as the point in which to shift. _________________ 2015 VW Passat Wolfsburg Edition
1966 VW Beetle - Sold |
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hitest Samba Member
Joined: September 30, 2008 Posts: 10296 Location: Prime Meridian, ID
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Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 8:22 pm Post subject: Re: Being hard of hearing or deaf and driving a stick. |
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I may on another planet with this, but when I was young I had stereos that were always on and always way louder than my clutch. He'll get it by feel in no time and will dominate over those who have to rely on visual and aural helpers to know how and when to shift. This includes his teacher.
I do hope he can learn the feel of healthy, balanced engines too. His car has to be in tip top condition or he will not learn to feel when his engine is developing an issue. _________________
EverettB wrote: |
I wonder what the nut looks like.
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'62 L390 151, '62 L469 117, '63 L380 113, '64 L87 311, '65 L512 265, '65 L31 SO-42, '66 L360 251, '68 L30k 141, '71 L12 113, '74 ORG 181
FU#5 |
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vwracerdave Samba Member
Joined: November 11, 2004 Posts: 15302 Location: Deep in the 405
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Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 9:38 pm Post subject: Re: Being hard of hearing or deaf and driving a stick. |
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All he needs is a tachometer to see what the engine is doing. The rest he can feel with his ass, feet, and hands.
When I drag race I wear very thin driving shoes so I can feel what is happening. _________________ 2017 Street Comp Champion - Thunder Valley Raceway Park - Noble, OK
2010 Sportsman ET Champion - Mid-America Dragway - Arkansas City, KS
1997 Sportsman ET Champion - Thunder Valley Raceway Park - Noble ,OK
Featured in Dec. 2001 HOT VW's Magazine page 63
Watch my racing video's http://www.youtube.com/user/okvwracer/videos |
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mark tucker Samba Member
Joined: April 08, 2009 Posts: 23937 Location: SHALIMAR ,FLORIDA
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Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2017 3:31 pm Post subject: Re: Being hard of hearing or deaf and driving a stick. |
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it kinda depends on how he wants to drive it and a few other factors too. tach is nice, but if the hearing aids work good I doubt he will need any thing. a good basic understanding of what and what not to do and how it feels to do it. in reality these cars are no different than most any other car. |
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Patty B. Samba Member
Joined: July 14, 2005 Posts: 2181 Location: Brampton, Ontario, Canada
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Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2017 5:54 am Post subject: Re: Being hard of hearing or deaf and driving a stick. |
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Thanks to everyone for your replies!
It's really interesting now to drive with him since he's had some driving time--he'll comment on my gearing lol 'Nice smooth shift Mom', 'Whoa what happened there? ' No questions of whether or not I'm in the right gear or not yet lol . He is developing an 'ear' both in his head and backside lol Funny thing about the tach idea is I think my non HOH kids might have more use for one than the HOH kid lol----we intend to teach them the same --feel, hear, see, know the mechanicals so you know in your mind what's happening under your foot. |
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TDCTDI Samba Advocatus Diaboli
Joined: August 31, 2013 Posts: 12846 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2017 6:05 am Post subject: Re: Being hard of hearing or deaf and driving a stick. |
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I didn't think any 17y/o could hear a damn thing their parents said. While it definitely helps, driving an old car is more than just listening for when to shift, & since he hasn't been able to depend on audible inputs for most of his life, I'm sure that he has learned to take advantage of all the inputs from all his other senses. _________________ Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.
GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!
An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.
Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it. |
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ach60 Samba Member
Joined: May 14, 2001 Posts: 4139 Location: Santa Maria
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Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2017 4:15 pm Post subject: Re: Being hard of hearing or deaf and driving a stick. |
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Ich Denke, dass der Auto-Geschäftslehrer das nicht weiß(kennt), worüber er spricht.
I THINK THE AUTO SHOP TEACHER DOESN'T KNOW WHAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT.
I SAID
THE AUTO SHOP TEACHER IS FULL OF IT _________________ Good Luck
Al |
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cdennisg Samba Member
Joined: November 02, 2004 Posts: 20267 Location: Sandpoint, ID
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Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2017 9:32 pm Post subject: Re: Being hard of hearing or deaf and driving a stick. |
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Interesting timing for this question. My 12 YO daughter, though not HOH, was quizzing me while I drove her to school recently. She was wondering how I knew when to shift gears in my 5 speed Toyota. I do not have a tach, so I tried to describe the "feel" of the engine and just how to know when it is time to shift. She'll get it when the time comes to learn, but it seems a bit foreign to her at this point.
Good on you for teaching your kids how to drive a stick shift car, VW or otherwise. It is becoming a lost art. Learning to operate a motorcycle an back up a trailer are other good things. My daughter will know both as a part of becoming an adult. _________________ nothing |
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