First of all, THANK YOU ALL for your advice and kindness in my last post. You are all wonderful people!
I took your advice of going slowly, and today I sat in the car (alone), played around with the lights, moved the mirrors and the seat.
My anxiety spiked, but reading your comments and encouragement helped A LOT. I spent around 20 minutes there, breathing and pushing buttons.
I can do this! Slowly! The most important step is the next one
I didn’t read your other post until just now. There are a lot of comments and I’m sure everything has been said already. First things first, if you struggle to see over the steering wheel, get a cushion (some cars have height adjustment on the seats so check that too). If that then means you can’t reach the pedals you may need a smaller car. Being able to see and reach the controls is the most important thing.
Beyond that, go slowly, take short trips on empty roads or around car parks to build up confidence and work your way up. No passengers!
I’m a short person. I tend to have the seat adjusted nearly all the way up (so I can see enough put the window lol) and nearly all the way forward (so I can reach the pedals lol).
Might be a good idea to look into extensions for the pedals, if the airbag deploys while you are too close it could do more damage than the wreck. Be safe 🙂
I mean, every car I’ve ever been it also has had an adjustable steering wheel. I move the wheel further from me because otherwise I’d have to crunch up my arms to steer.
As long as you have about 10-12 inches of space between the wheel and your chest I think you are fine.
I’d highly suggest a trusted passenger who can take over driving if needed.
Emphasis on the trusted. They also need to trust you, no back seat driving.
If the OP isn’t going far then this shouldn’t be required - just ditch the car somewhere and walk back if necessary.
It’s a lot easier to fiddle with controls and work stuff out if there isn’t somebody observing.