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Although some forms of automotive adaptive equipment designed to enable people who are physically disabled to drive have been on the market for many years, development has been slow until the last 10 to 15 years. Advanced-design, reliable devices have recently become available to allow persons who are severely disabled to gain transportation independence. Equipment for ingress/egress, primary and secondary control, and occupant protection have come on the market or are nearly ready for procurement. Much remains to be done, however, especially in integrating this equipment into a system for transportation. Primary controls (throttle, brake, and steering) and occupant protection still require much research and development. Cost, liability considerations, and a small market demand restrict development, but real progress has been made.

Four representative vehicles used in a previous open-loop comparative study were tested with a sampling of volunteers from the general public. The tests included pre-planned and simulated emergency maneuvers. Various vehicle input and response parameters were measured, and the results were used to evaluate current open-loop test maneuvers and parameters. In addition, the degree to which this sampling of drivers utilized the full capabilities of the vehicles was determined. Drivers rarely use the full capabilities of vehicles and tend to adjust their inputs to neutralize differences among vehicles.

Contemporary housing design for the elderly features faucet handles of various shapes in the kitchen and bath. Often the elderly users cannot properly grip the faucet handle, whose shape does not allow for sufficient torque to be developed to shut off the water flow. Twenty-three elderly females turned seven different faucet handles in the clockwise and counterclockwise direction, exerting comfortable levels of torque. The only handle that consistently allowed a torque force to be developed superior to that needed to operate working installed water faucets was a medical-type "paddle." A comparison of the torque needed to terminate water flow in actual water faucets with the torque developed by the standing and seated subjects showed that the nonpaddle handles did not allow subjects to generate sufficient torque to terminate the water flow. The blunt edges of the nonpaddle handles caused substantial hand pain.

Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation, Austin ; Mode of access: Internet. ; Author corporate affiliation: Texas Transportation Institute, College Station ; Report covers the period Sept 1987-Nov 1988 ; Subject code: CDB ; Subject code: FDC ; Subject code: FGB ; Subject code: SDCD