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I have mentioned already several times that I am again an
active car driver.
I have already introduced the wheelchair loading system of my car, but I have completely disregarded all the special modifications inside the car.
To begin with, basically driving a car is very, very simple, if you only have obtained your wheelchair car driving licence.
(see older blogpost).
The wheelchair is placed on the side of the driver’s door of the car and one glides from the wheelchair with the help of a
foldaway slide board
across the gap called door sill to the driver’s seat. The door sills are getting wider and wider due to the side-collision protection. It facilitates the process if the driver’s door has been opened completely before.
Then as reported 2x click-clack (see older blogpost) and the wheelchair is loaded behind the driver’s seat with the wheelchair loading system!
(Well, at least roughly, if the agency for technical relief or the fire department are nearby to help.)
There are the most different
hand throttle systems,
depending on the needs of the driver. Usually the car has an automatic gearbox. A relatively common equipment is that you have a transmission mechanic near the thigh with which the foot pedals are pressed with arm and hand.
In my case it is working like this that for accelerating a perceived
door handle (hand throttle)
is pushed downwards, and for breaking the complete construction is pushed forward. This is quite fun if the “sport button” is pushed, you have 140 horsepower beneath the butt and you just have to bend your hand. This happens approximately once in 6 weeks because afterwards my butt is always hurting.
The small black switch
is pure luxury. With it you can blink, honk, activate the windscreen wipers and turn on the emergency flasher. With the second switch you can turn up the headlights. The button on the left is the fixing brake. Light and rain sensor go without saying.
For steering I am using a
steering fork,
It is comparable to a tuning fork in which I can lay my hands, and I turn the steering wheel with my arm, because I can’t grab a turning knob which is known from a tractor (see first picture above). Instead I would still be allowed to drive a tractor with hand throttle (see blogpost wheelchair driving licence).What a joke.
The modification of the hand brake
reminds a little of modern art, but works when needed. Good that my car has a “P” (parking) position.
In front of the pedals there is a removable plate mounted so that nothing happens if my body decides to kick with the legs what actually happens from time to time.
• A set of harness belts is a must due to my missing abdominal muscles.
• I have set a speed control button next to the hand throttle.
• An air condition is not bad if one can’t sweat any more.
• A remote-controlled park heating should be installed as well,
because scraping ice in the winter is quite difficult for a wheelchair driver.
In spite of these modifications any pedestrian can drive the car as well if he removes the safety plate from the pedals.
Thus the value of a boring Astra increases suddenly, and nobody notices it, if you are not “posing” with your wheelchair loading system.
A small lottery winning does not harm to help financing the car.
Translator BL
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