Driving with Hand Control Car Adaptations
Howell Ventures Sure-Grip hand controls installed in a car
Hand controls are products designed to allow the driver to operate the accelerator and brakes controls of their car using their hands when they cannot do so safely using their feet. Hand controls are mechanical in nature and typically consist of rods or wire linkages attached to the gas and brake pedals on one end. The rods or wire linkages are attached on the other end to a handle assembly which is mounted to the steering column. The handle assembly is attached to the vehicle's floor and not to the steering column on floor mounted styles. The handle is used to operate the gas and brakes through the rod or wire linkage. Pushing the handle forward operates the car’s brakes in all styles. Pulling straight back, pushing downward towards the lap, rocking the handle backward, or twisting the handle operates the car’s accelerator. Note: We will discuss electronic or hi-tech hand controls in another section of this website. Hand controls are installed in vehicles with power brakes, power steering and automatic transmissions. They are available in different styles of operation. In the last year, hand control manufacturers have expanded their offerings to the point that just about all hand control manufacturers make a version of their hand control for each style.
There is no one single style of hand control operation that is better than another. The choice of the style of hand controls should be based on the client’s abilities, comfort in using the style of hand controls, ability to operate secondary functions, and price. Some other factors which might rule out certain styles of hand controls are your size and the driving compartment size. The ideal way to find out which hand control you like is to test drive with various styles during an on road evaluation.
Hand controls are mounted for left hand use and are mounted to the left side of the steering wheel except for the floor mounted versions which are generally mounted on the right side of the driving compartment. Floor mounted hand controls can be mounted on the left or right side. Whether to mount the hand controls on the left or right side will depend on how you are entering the vehicle (if through the driver side door, left mounted hand controls might get in the way) and which arm has more functional ability (generally you steer with the more functional arm). A driver rehabilitation specialist will help you determine this at an evaluation. Different style grips can be installed on the hand controls to meet client needs such as a Tri-pin or V-grip. Operation of the vehicles secondary controls is also an important consideration because one hand will normally be dedicated to steering and the other to operating the hand controls. Neither hand can be removed from the primary control it is operating in order to activate a secondary control switch. There are numerous ways to control secondary functions that will be covered on another part of this website, but usually the easiest method is to transfer switch operation of the essential secondary functions to the hand control itself. This prevents the hand that is operating the gas/brake from having to come off of the hand control in order to operate the secondary control. Turn signals, dimmer, or horn switches (usually a maximum of two functions) can be relocated to a switch mounted on the handle of the hand control. Depending on the model being used, the Menox can control brake latch, cruise control, horn plus turn signals, headlight dimmer, and windshield wiper. The Howell Ventures Sure-Grip can also accommodate the Sure-Switch which can control up to four secondary functions. Again, this is something that a driver rehabilitation specialist will help you determine at an evaluation.
Prior to Getting Hand Controls
It is an industry best practice that a driver rehabilitation specialist prescribe the hand controls. The majority of the adaptive equipment installers follow this practice. NMEDA Guidelines mandates that all members follow this practice. You must also be properly trained on the adaptive equipment that you will be using. The style of hand control must meet your abilities to physically operate the control. Most installers will require all of the following prior to agreeing to install hand controls in your vehicle:
1. The vehicle has been inspected and is in good mechanical condition.
2. The hand controls are prescribed by a driver rehabilitation specialist, preferably a certified driver rehabilitation specialist.
3. That you have been properly trained with the hand controls so that driving out of the installer’s shop isn’t the first time you’re actually driving with hand controls.
4. That you have the proper state driving license with any necessary restrictions. Many states require a license restriction to be placed on a valid driver’s license that requires the licensee to only drive in a vehicle with the proper adaptive equipment.
The hand controls should never
interfere with a non disabled person’s ability to operate the vehicle using
the OEM (vehicle’s original) gas and brake pedals. This is a very important
point. It is the non disabled driver who attempts to operate the vehicle
using the hand controls that causes the majority of the hand control related
accidents. Howell Ventures Sure-Grip uses a simple mechanical lock out
design to prevent untrained drivers (family members, mechanics, etc.) from
attempting to drive the vehicle using the hand controls.
Safety Considerations with Hand Controls
Sometimes the installation of hand controls will require cutting into the driver knee bolster or disabling the driver knee bolster air bag if your vehicle is equipped with one. A knee bolster is the lower panel on the dash and is designed to prevent submaring of the occupant by holding the person in place and absorbs energy from the seated occupant’s knees in the event of a frontal vehicular crash. Knee bolsters started as not much more than foam covered metal plates installed under a vehicle’s lower dashboard. In the event of a frontal crash, the driver would slide forward and their knees would impact the knee bolster creating a lot of stress on the person's thigh bone and hips. You can imagine that a lot of bones were breaking with this safety design because the forces were carried almost entirely by the thigh bone. A knee bolster air bag is a small airbag that deploys against the person's lower legs. Basically a smaller version of the steering wheel airbag that most people are familiar with. Sometimes the airbags contact the occupant directly but mostly they push the lower panel or bolster out in front of it. The stresses are distributed along the person's lower legs, preventing the axial stresses on the thigh bone, and because it comes out to meet the person's body, does a much better job of holding the person in place and minimizing overall stress on the lower extremities. You should discuss this safety issue with your hand control installer as there may be ways to prevent disabling this safety feature and it can be vehicle specific. Although there are no federal laws that govern the manufacture of hand controls, the SAE Society of Automotive Engineers have come up with SAE Standard J1903 – Recommended Practice Automotive Adaptive Driver Controls, Manual. NHTSA published the Hand Control Usage and Safety Assessment in August 2001. NHTSA found that hand controls minimally effected vehicle safety regarding leg injuries.
Other Vehicle Adaptive Equipment Usually Installed when Installing Hand Controls
Since the hand controls will be used to operate the vehicle's gas and brake pedals, it is important that the client's feet or other objects cannot accidentally push on the pedals at the same time. It is common practice to always utilize gas and brake pedals in conjunction with hand controls. There are many different brands on the market but MPD is the most popular brand. They have options to fit a standard vehicle, a lowered floor van, and pedal guards if the client needs additional room. All pedal guards should be easily removable without the use of tools. This is important because only the properly trained and licensed disabled driver should operate the vehicle using the hand controls. All other drivers must operate the vehicle using the standard gas and brake pedals. It is important that family members, aids, and friends who may at times also be driving your vehicle be trained on how to remove/install the pedal guards.
Another item that is common practice to install in conjunction with hand controls is a spinner knob. This device attaches to the steering wheel. Again it is removable without the use of tools to allow the vehicle to be operated by a non disabled driver. The spinner knob allows the client to operate the steering wheel securely using only one hand. Some people have a difficult time understanding why this product is needed if they have no disability in the hand being used to operate the steering wheel. They argue that they can "palm" the steering wheel through turns. A steering device, although useful in all driving situations, is definitely needed whenever sharp, quick turns are required such as in avoiding a collision. That is not the time to loose grip of the steering wheel and therefore control of the steering wheel.
Styles of Hand Controls
Push for brakes – pull down at right angle for gas hand controls
Brakes are applied by pushing away from the driver toward the brake pedal. The gas is applied by a downward movement toward the driver’s lap and at a right angle to the brake.
The original style of hand control. Lots of people are familiar with them and many shops will install. Very economic solution.
Manufacturers of these types of hand controls:
MPD #3500, MPD #3502 hand control
MPS Monarch Mark 1-A hand control
Wells Engberg #CP-200 hand control
Howell Ventures Sure-Grip hand control
Drive-Master Ultra-Lite XL hand control
Push for brakes - rock downward for gas hand controls
Brakes are applied by pushing away from the driver toward the brake pedal. The gas is applied by rocking the handle rearward towards the driver.
Very comfortable operation.
Manufacturers of these types of hand controls:
Howell Ventures Sure-Grip hand control
MPD #3300 hand control
MPS hand control
Twist for gas - push down for brakes hand controls
Brakes are applied by pushing away from the driver toward the brake pedal. The gas is applied by twisting the handle like a motorcycle accelerator.
These types of hand controls are popular for those who like the operation of a motorcycle style control.
Manufacturers of these types of hand controls:
Wells Engberg CT-100 hand control
Howell Ventures Sure-Grip hand control
Push for brakes - pull back for gas hand control
Brakes are applied by pushing away from the driver toward the brake pedal. The gas is applied by pulling back.
Manufacturers of these types of hand controls:
MPD hand control
MPS hand control
Menox hand control
Push - pull, floor mounted hand controls
Brakes are applied by pushing away from the driver toward the brake pedal. The gas is applied by pulling back.
These types of hand controls are especially useful for clients with long legs who might find interference with their knees and some of the other hand control styles. These controls are more expensive. The Menox hand control allows for the operation of the most secondary functions and has a brake latch which allows the brake to be latched in place at a stop (and the hand removed). This style of hand control allows for operation by either the left or right hand. Because no part of the hand control is attached to the steering column, these hand controls do not require disabling the knee bolster air bag and do not require adjusting for changes to the steering column tilt.
Manufacturers of these types of hand controls:
MPD #3700 hand control with tri-pin grip for full size vans and lowered floor minivans only
Menox hand control
Operating Secondary Controls with Hand Controls
Because one hand will be on the hand control controlling gas/brake, your other hand controlling the steering, the driver rehabilitation specialist will need to assess how you will operate secondary controls. Secondary controls are the operation of the the headlights, windshield wipers, turn signals, etc. We go into this much more in our webpage on secondary controls, but the headlight dimmer and horn are typically routed for control through button switch operation on the hand control. MPD, MPS, Wells Engberg offer the ability to operate two secondary functions (most likely horn and dimmer). Howell Ventures Sure-Grip hand controls feature the Sure Switch which can operate four functions (most likely horn, dimmer, left turn signal, right turn signal). Menox hand controls are capable of operating all secondary functions (brake latch, horn, dimmer, left turn signal, right turn signal, windshield wiper).
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