My latest mod - a left foot accelerator

[Bonehead]

I ruptured my achilles tendon a week ago (don't let them fool you about Pickleball being "safer" than tennis). To make matters worse, it's my right leg, and I was facing having to rely on friends and shelling out a lot for Door Dash & Instacart for many months to come while I have to wear a cam boot.

I discovered a device called a Left Foot Accelerator designed exactly for this situation. It does what the name implies - it creates a new accelerator pedal on the left side of the brake pedal, allowing you to control both with your left foot.

The first ones I looked at on Amazon required the device to be bolted into the floorboard after drilling holes through it, something I wasn't willing to consider since I'm on the Ford Options plan.

But then I found a "transportable" version that is attached to a very heavy metal plate with velcro on the bottom, which I purchased. It requires some adjustments to fit your particular vehicle.

And it obviously requires some practice. I tried it out on private roads at slow speeds, and it's surprisingly easy to do. Making this all much easier is one-pedal drive, adaptive cruise control, and Blue Cruise.

I only plan on using it for short distance drives to the market and such, but it's well worth the $158 I paid on Amazon (20% off for Prime Day!).

(The "pedal" on the right side doesn't move, it's just there to prevent you from accidentally hitting the "real" accelerator". You can see a white roller which is attached to the left pedal, which is what engages the real accelerator.).

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[JohnFoxeSheets]

Very cool. Looks like a good option for those in your situation.

 

[Snakebitten]

I second the "very cool".

I recently (3 months ago) broke my left femur and knew how fortunate I was that it was my left. It's all about being able to drive!

I don't know if I would have discovered this option. Hadn't ever considered such.

Good luck.
Be careful driving.
And get well.

So pickle ball?
Go figure.
I foolishly put on a pair of rollerskates. Turns out that although ~70 might not be too old to learn to skate, it IS too old to fall. ??

 

[tbrumleve]

I have a spinal injury that cut off movement, and all sensation from my right leg (most of the right sciatic nerve) many years ago. It took me a week to relearn how to drive with lifting my right leg fully to work the gas. It was a stick no less. I got it to work. When I got the Mach E, the one pedal driving was glorious. I can lift my right foot enough that 1PD is perfect. Less lifting the leg to move pedals. There’s no issue getting to the brake, it’s just more work for the weak leg. This, however, might make it more safe for my situation. Left leg is perfect. I could quickly learn to use my left leg for driving. Thanks for the info, and the rabbit hole I’m about to dive into. ?

 

[jdofter]

I ruptured my achilles tendon a week ago (don't let them fool you about Pickleball being "safer" than tennis). To make matters worse, it's my right leg, and I was facing having to rely on friends and shelling out a lot for Door Dash & Instacart for many months to come while I have to wear a cam boot.

I discovered a device called a Left Foot Accelerator designed exactly for this situation. It does what the name implies - it creates a new accelerator pedal on the left side of the brake pedal, allowing you to control both with your left foot.

The first ones I looked at on Amazon required the device to be bolted into the floorboard after drilling holes through it, something I wasn't willing to consider since I'm on the Ford Options plan.

But then I found a "transportable" version that is attached to a very heavy metal plate with velcro on the bottom, which I purchased. It requires some adjustments to fit your particular vehicle.

And it obviously requires some practice. I tried it out on private roads at slow speeds, and it's surprisingly easy to do. Making this all much easier is one-pedal drive, adaptive cruise control, and Blue Cruise.

I only plan on using it for short distance drives to the market and such, but it's well worth the $158 I paid on Amazon (20% off for Prime Day!).

(The "pedal" on the right side doesn't move, it's just there to prevent you from accidentally hitting the "real" accelerator". You can see a white roller which is attached to the left pedal, which is what engages the real accelerator.).

I had a Veigel electronic left-foot accelerator installed in my Mach e after nerve damage to my right foot from back surgery. It looks and feels exactly the the original and with one-pedal drive it is very easy to use. It’s a bit pricey, but worth it if you love driving.

 

[lonndog]

I foolishly put on a pair of rollerskates. Turns out that although ~70 might not be too old to learn to skate, it IS too old to fall. ??

I'll hit 70 (years, not MPH) in June of '25, but I'll probably still be riding my skateboard up and down our long driveway to take down/bring back our trash, recycle and green waste cans. I hope...

 

[azerik]

As someone who’s in the same boat with a left paddle I thank you in advance. My surgery will probably happen at the end of the month, have to pick which foot as both are trashed, but this is an option I didn’t explore at all. Thank you again.

 

[Bonehead]

I'm adding a warning about using these types of devices. They require an inordinate amount of attention to use safely. My biggest concern was that in an emergency situation it would potentially be dangerous as the instinct would be to attempt to use your right foot to brake.

Well, after some months of using it successfully, I faced that situation. Driving around 45-50 mph in the slow lane on a 4 lane highway, someone in the fast lane cut me off. I swerved to the right to avoid collision. In that instance I panicked and wound up hitting the accelerator with my left foot instead of the brake. I jumped the curb, hitting it pretty hard. Thank God there was nothing but a grassy area with nothing to collide with. I brought the car safely to a stop on the grass. Thankfully the only damage was to my axle, suspension, wheel, and ego.

 

[devmach-e]

I'm adding a warning about using these types of devices. They require an inordinate amount of attention to use safely. My biggest concern was that in an emergency situation it would potentially be dangerous as the instinct would be to attempt to use your right foot to brake.

Well, after some months of using it successfully, I faced that situation. Driving around 45-50 mph in the slow lane on a 4 lane highway, someone in the fast lane cut me off. I swerved to the right to avoid collision. In that instance I panicked and wound up hitting the accelerator with my left foot instead of the brake. I jumped the curb, hitting it pretty hard. Thank God there was nothing but a grassy area with nothing to collide with. I brought the car safely to a stop on the grass. Thankfully the only damage was to my axle, suspension, wheel, and ego.

Glad you are okay. And hopefully the car is fine...

 

[Bonehead]

Glad you are okay. And hopefully the car is fine...

Thank you. And after a $1K deductible, it was.

 

[Coffs]

Why wouldn't you just put it in 1PD and use your left foot on the 'usual' pedal?

 

[Bonehead]

Why wouldn't you just put it in 1PD and use your left foot on the 'usual' pedal?

At first I tried driving a bit on a private road that way before getting the left foot pedal. It's possible but way more awkward - the large cam boot on the right leg doesn't allow for much space to do that.

 

[devmach-e]

I was in a cam boot after I broke my ankle last year. Or rather transitioned to a cam boot after being in a no-weight-bearing hard cast for 7 weeks. No driving for those 7 weeks. Basically became a shut-in.

But when I got the cast off, I was put into the cam boot to help support the healing. But the doctor said I could drive with the boot off. So I'd hobble out to the car in the morning in my boot, get my butt in the seat, take off the boot, put on a regular shoe, and drive to work. Once getting there, take shoe off, put boot on, carefully walk into office using cane, and carefully walk as much as possible around the office to start building muscle mass. After 4 weeks, no more boot.

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