No Pedal Driving - How a Wheelchair Driver Controls a Wicked Nice Mach-E

[TruWrecks]

Since I have mentioned it before but have not shown it yet I thought I would give everyone a look at how someone that uses a wheelchair can drive a wicked nice Mach-E.

This is the Veigel Classic II Right side hand control. It controls throttle by twisting and brakes by pushing forward. Reminds me of driving a motorcycle or ATV in a way.

The plate on the steering wheel is a spinner that allows me to turn the wheel more than one rotation with one hand so I only need one hand for the wheel and the other for brakes/throttle. The small D-Pad with the arrows will eventually be hooked up to turn signals, wipes, horn and high-beams (Once Veigel completes the programming).

This was the first Mach-E in the world to get this setup so it took 2 days of engineering the mounts and fitting and bending the control rods to fit so they worked and look good.

The controls don't interfere with pedal operation. If an able body person needs to drive my car the Classic II can be folded down to the rear and it will not function but the pedals will. With the flip of a switch the Classic II is back in action for me.

My wheelchair fits nicely in the rear hatch.

When I can I take my dog with me in the back seat. I got a dog friendly hammock style seat cover to keep the seats clean and protected.

This is June. She's my best friend. She helps with stability and stress.

Feel free to ask any questions.

 

[macchiaz-o]

Doug, this is very cool. I haven't seen driver mobility aids up close like this before. Thank you for sharing and explaining how it works.

June has a serious look about her. I dig it.

I took a pause just now to read about the Ghost Stallion. It's a fascinating but foreboding tale.

 

[TruWrecks]

Ford's factory option looks like a metal pipe welded to the bottom of the steering shaft. It looks like crap and it is clunky at best compared to the Classic II.

 

[67 Stang Convertible]

Very Cool. When you get a chance a video of driving it would be interesting. Like the other poster, never seen it up close before.

 

[TruWrecks]

Very Cool. When you get a chance a video of driving it would be interesting. Like the other poster, never seen it up close before.

I'll have to see if I can mount my camera or phone someplace that will get a good angle of the controls, but sure. Might be a day or two since I reherniated a disc in my lower back 2 days ago and I'm dealing with that at ten moment.

 

[phil]

One-pedal driving isn't good enough for you? Some people...

 

[EELinneman]

Post of the year! Doug, thanks for sharing this. It's wonderful to see the adaptation. Enjoy your ride!

 

[Gimme_my_MME]

One-pedal driving isn't good enough for you? Some people...

 

[highmesa]

This is awesome. Well done.

 

[HuntingPudel]

Great PSA Doug and June! Good to see stuff that is useful and necessary that we don’t know about.

 

[JGuske23]

very cool and thanks for sharing!

 

[phidauex]

Nice setup, the spinner in particular looks well designed and easier to control than the old knob-style steering spinners.

Are there any mobility controls that work by actually injecting a new pedal position signal into the ECU? I'm sure that raises the technical difficulty considerably but it would make for an even cleaner install, and possibly other unique modes like access to the steering wheel controls, but from the hand control. On the other hand, there is something pleasantly straightforward about simply manipulating the existing pedals.

 

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

Since I have mentioned it before but have not shown it yet I thought I would give everyone a look at how someone that uses a wheelchair can drive a wicked nice Mach-E.

this is an amazing post; thank you for posting it.

 

[TheVirtualTim]

This is pretty cool. My aunt and also a friend's mom (when I was growing up) both had cars with hand-controls added. But back in those days only *certain* cars could be adapted ... so they were fairly limited on what models they could buy.

How open are your car buying choices today? Are most cars adaptable?

Also curious... does the d-pad used to control turn-signals, high-beams, etc. interface via any industry standard (e.g. plug something into an OBD port?) to make the car more accessible or is this primitive wiring and splicing that needs to be done? Just wondering if manufacturers make it easier.

 

[kulaga]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing and educating those of us that have never seen adaptive driving controls.

Sponsored