27 replies to this topic

[denzal28]

My sister lost her left leg above the knee and total use of her left arm when she was 20,she's 45 now, she didn't pass her test until after the accident so naturally she only has an automatic licence, have the dvla put any similar restrictions as to what you can or can't drive and if adapted would these adaptations need any form of certification? My sister has a box on the wheel with important buttons on, lights, indicators, horn, wipers etc but she doesn't actually need it anymore as she can indicate/wipe the windows with her finger tips, the lights are automatic including the dip-main beam. That said I'd imagine her insurance would still insist on it being fitted.

Auto mini with cranked pedals would be really easy to get you started, if you use it lots and enjoy it then look into a fully adapted manual car?

I'm thinking an injection mini with an electronic actuator controlling the hydraulic clutch and a throttle cut out wired into the ecu just like many modern motorbikes have, any pressure on the gear lever cuts the fuel and puts the clutch in for you, maybe a clutch button on top of the lever for being stationary or the clutch actuator wired into the brake switch. The pedals could be altered to just brake where the clutch was and the throttle where the brake was.

Could you operate the throttle with your prosthetic leg if it was light enough and the pedal made to suit, maybe something like a bicycle pedal welded on to take the angle of an ankle movement?

I see a lady on a large race bike at various biker meets, she's got one arm and she copes well, side stand pops down when she stops and her prosthetic arm up to the elbow is attached to the bike at all times, the bike isn't automatic either so anything is possible.

Best wishes with this project.

 

 

Hello Buddy,  Respect to your sister, Bigup the amputee massive lol....my licence is restricted to adapted but doesnt list any kind of adaptions etc and nothing on DVLA  listing what may/maynot be used. Insurance wise is normal so long as i tell them im a amputee alls cool

 

Prosthetic leg wise i cant use in anyway, I have whats called a locked Knee type, a bit like a go-go-gadget leg thats got a little lever at the top that releases the knee for me to sit only otherwise its locked straight so in general i find my life easier without wearing it.... and its heavy when you only have half of the thigh muscle and a free floating bone thats not connected to anything due to no knee.

Edited by denzal28, 12 September 2018 - 12:46 AM.

[denzal28]

Some great ideas from you folks going around my head, please keep them coming.

 

Another problem i need to over come with all this would be hill starts, needing to release the handbrake etc all in one go??...... I refuse to give in to this and believe with the help from you guys we can find a way somehow !!

[denzal28]

My girlfriend's step grandad has 1 leg and a mini. He doesn't drive it anymore and it's burried in the garage.

It's an automatic and the accelerator has been modified for hand operation, I could look into it further next time we see them and see how it's been done?

He used to go everywhere in it, IMM and mini meets all over, it got put in the garage when it broke down on the way back from a show and has been there ever since.

 Please mate if you could, I need all the help i can get

[yeti21586]

My farther inlaw has a modern car, with hand controls, you pull to go and push to brake, the leaver attaches to the legs of the pedals so that my mother in law can still drive it as she has use of her legs. There's is an auto Honda things, but I see no reason why a similar set up can't be reproduced, you could then still do clutch with your left leg and throttle and brake with the hand.

YetI

[yeti21586]

Similar to this



But obviously for an English car

[MikeRotherham]

My sister has the pull to go and push to stop setup on her Nissan Qashqai. Its a fairly common adaption in this country. Perhaps may need some modification as there is less space around the pedal area on a Mini.

[cheesebadger]

Hi,

 

I was thinking about such a device the other day, after one of my friends broke his back playing rugby (I was wondering how I could continue to drive my mini if the same happened to me).

 

To give you a bit of background, I am a Mechanical Engineer as my day job.

As my final year design project I modified a SV650 motorbike for a paraplegic rider. I designed, manufactured and tested this myself. It is now used as a track day bike, and the owner has set up a charity called the BikeExperience, where anyone can have a go. Unfortunately, due to the timescales of the project, I never managed to get it signed off for road use.

 

There are a lot of questions running around in my head...

• Regulations?
• Insurance?
• Specifics of your situation?
• Budget?
• Timescales?

Where are you based? I would be more than happy to help out. It sounds like a perfect excuse for a meet up and chat if you aren't too far away (happy to do it online otherwise!)

 

Cheers,

Rich

[CityEPete]

[denzal28]

Hi,

 

I was thinking about such a device the other day, after one of my friends broke his back playing rugby (I was wondering how I could continue to drive my mini if the same happened to me).

 

To give you a bit of background, I am a Mechanical Engineer as my day job.

As my final year design project I modified a SV650 motorbike for a paraplegic rider. I designed, manufactured and tested this myself. It is now used as a track day bike, and the owner has set up a charity called the BikeExperience, where anyone can have a go. Unfortunately, due to the timescales of the project, I never managed to get it signed off for road use.

 

There are a lot of questions running around in my head...

• Regulations?
• Insurance?
• Specifics of your situation?
• Budget?
• Timescales?

Where are you based? I would be more than happy to help out. It sounds like a perfect excuse for a meet up and chat if you aren't too far away (happy to do it online otherwise!)

 

Cheers,

Rich

Hi Rich, I take my hat off to you fella for the SV650.

 

Im in nottingham buddy and would love to meet up for any ideas, input etc.

Insurance not a problem as long as i declare the situation.

Timescale, well im in no immediate rush as im fully rebuilding my mini at the min and got it down to a bare shell so plenty of space for any modding needed.

 

 

Budget, Ive not really got one as it is what it is.

Cheers, Jay

Edited by denzal28, 13 September 2018 - 12:29 AM.

[denzal28]

Even that might do lol

[denzal28]

My farther inlaw has a modern car, with hand controls, you pull to go and push to brake, the leaver attaches to the legs of the pedals so that my mother in law can still drive it as she has use of her legs. There's is an auto Honda things, but I see no reason why a similar set up can't be reproduced, you could then still do clutch with your left leg and throttle and brake with the hand.

YetI

Hello buddy, Yes I've seen those type but I dont think i could get on with that setup at the minute.

But if needs must

[cheesebadger]

Hi Rich, I take my hat off to you fella for the SV650.

 

 

Im in nottingham buddy and would love to meet up for any ideas, input etc.

Insurance not a problem as long as i declare the situation.

Timescale, well im in no immediate rush as im fully rebuilding my mini at the min and got it down to a bare shell so plenty of space for any modding needed.

 

Budget, Ive not really got one as it is what it is.

Cheers, Jay

 

 

Sounds like we could get the beginning of something sorted...

PM'ed

[paulrockliffe]

I think the first step is to decide how you want to control it.  I'd be sticking with left-foot clutch because I can't imagine trying to do acclerator or brake with that leg, it'd be too wierd.  I've tried left foot on the brake before and there's no modulation!  It's also going to be easier to leave the clutch as it is I'd think.

 

I wouldn't bother with anything that retains the original throttle pedal, because it's an unnecessary complication for your circumstances.  There are loads of hand-throttle options out there, or you could have your own made up to suit fairly easily.  I think my approach would be right hand paddle accelarator, left hand paddle to brake, and look at robbing the drive-by-wire bits off something else, you can mount these over on the passenger side out of the way, something you can program to get the response you want and paddles that you can change the springs in to give you the right feel there too.