Car controls (view report contents)
Safety
If you have driven before, it may be better to opt for controls which are as close as possible to what is familiar. You are likely to learn how to use them faster, make fewer mistakes and feel more confident.
Automatic fire extinguishers
Fires in cars are very rare. However if you do have one it may be difficult to handle a fire extinguisher, and you may need to act quickly to give yourself more time to get out of the vehicle. Automatic fire extinguishers are fitted as a matter of course on all high tech conversions funded by Motability. They are a good idea for everybody. The fire extinguisher is fitted to the car, and is connected to a plastic tube which runs around the cabin and the engine compartment. If a fire breaks out, the tube bursts at the point nearest the fire to let out the extinguishing fluid. From conversion firms, from £30 to £300 (depending on the type and model) from adaptation companies.
Air bags
Air bags and hand controls
Air bags are fitted to most new cars. In an accident they inflate quickly to protect you by providing a cushion between you and any hard surfaces which may injure you in an accident. Removing the airbag or doing anything which would stop it working could be dangerous and could affect your insurance. If the airbag needs to be removed this must be done by the dealer who supplied the vehicle or an approved airbag specialist. Tell your insurer what you have done. There has been some concern about how hand controls may affect the working of the air bag. Tests and expert opinion suggest that:
- hand controls fitted to the rim of the steering wheel do not stop the bag inflating. The bag should not damage them, although they may get pushed out of place
- controls which have a bar across the steering wheel should not be used with an airbag, as it could push the bar into your chest
- joystick controls should not be fitted in front of the airbag, but to one side of it.
Side airbags
These can be mounted in the door or the seat. If your car has them:
- avoid adaptations which may get between you and the airbag. If you need to remove a seat which contains an airbag, ask the car’s manufacturer how this can be done safely. Check that removing it will not stop other airbags working.
Airbags and seating position
You could be injured by the airbag if you sit too close to it. Safety experts recommend:
- sitting as far back as is reasonably practicable
- if you have an adjustable steering wheel, tilt it down slightly so that the airbag is less likely to hit your head or neck directly.
Don’t end up in an uncomfortable driving position or one in which you have to strain to use the controls. Check that your driving position does not restrict your view from the car.
Electronic medical equipment
Both electronic medical equipment such as heart pacemakers and the electronics used in cars have to meet legal requirements which make sure they do not interfere with each other.
Secondary safety
The extent to which the design of a vehicle protects you in a crash
is known as secondary safety. Cars these days have many secondary safety
features, including air bags, strengthened areas to protect you, softer
materials and features such as steering columns which collapse away
from you in a crash. Car controls are not always well designed, and
some may get in the way of the protective features built into the car.
Our view is that controls should be designed with good secondary safety.
Where this is not possible you need enough information to be aware of
the extent of any risk you are incurring.
In our survey nearly nine out of ten people said that secondary safety
was important to them. However with some equipment safety comes at a
price. Some people worry that equipment redesigned to provide good secondary
safety would be too expensive. You need to balance risk against cost.
Some common sense rules based on research we carried out on this subject
in 1998 are:
- choose steering wheel balls (spinners) which clamp to the rim of the wheel rather than being fixed to a bar which goes across the steering wheel
- avoid push-pull controls or brake levers which have rigid bars or pivots close to your knee, because they
- could cause injury in a crash
- avoid adaptations in which bulky equipment is mounted in the footwelll
- avoid devices which will stiffen the steering column and prevent it collapsing progressively in a crash
- look for designs in which solid parts are protected by padding.
Report Contents
Introduction
Starting
points
Standard
equipment that may help
Some features
you can find on new Cars
Good design
The controls
Seating
Primary
controls
Gripping
the wheel
Other ways of
steering
Controlling
speed
Changing Gear
Parking brake
Pedals
Advanced
controls
Secondary
controls
Combined
Controls
Maintenance
Custom building
Moving controls
Safety
Who can drive
& other useful information
Finance
Helpful organisations
Mobility
Centres
Useful
publications
Addresses
