But before [the deputy] could get very far with his explanation, Ms. Thomas held up her right arm. There was no phone in it. There had never been a phone in it because she has no right hand.
But before [the deputy] could get very far with his explanation, Ms. Thomas held up her right arm. There was no phone in it. There had never been a phone in it because she has no right hand.
How are you allowed to drive if you have just one hand? Don’t you need both hands to steer properly? Or does she have a special steering wheel like in formula cars that rotate just 90 degrees in each direction, so that you never need to switch hands?
It’s possible to drive without legs. It’s easy to drive with one hand. I’d wager it could be done with more skill than many drivers exhibit with only one limb.
My husband has cerebral palsy and so one working hand to steer with. As others have said, he used the ‘suicide knob’ to drive, except it was like. Installed professionally and he legally had to have it installed to drive. I’m unsure if there’s other ways, but that’s how it was done here.
Do you drive? I basically use only my left hand while driving. And my car is an automatic EV, so I don’t have to shift. Also I’m right handed.
I dunno. It’s just comfortable. It might be a remnant from when I used to drive manual shift, when I had to shift gears often, driving in the city. You definitely don’t need two hands to steer, though. And her stump could definitely do shifting no problem.
I don’t know how she did it, but the solution I’ve seen was to attach a spinner knob to the wheel. Cheap and easy to do. And gives mobility to somebody who otherwise wouldn’t have it
Right, that’s a good point
“suicide knob” is a classic device I’ve seen before. They were popular in the 60s or so. Named as such because they had a knack for snapping off. It’s still in use for people with various disabilities. However, it’s not especially hard to steer with one hand. I probably went 4 years after the driving test using only one hand with a palm spin. But then I got a car with a slightly slicker, heavier steering wheel and it didn’t work so well.
It’s perfectly possible to drive 1 handed without any special setup. I do it regularly. You just need an automatic (non manual) shift.
Clutch knee to steering wheel. You just can’t steer and shift at the same time. At least not until you figure out clurchless shifting