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Special Needs Zone |
Here are some of our favorite web sites and organizations for additional information:
General Information:
Adapting Motor Vehicles for People With Disabilities
A free online brochure, from NHTSA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
To obtain this brochure offline, call NHTSA's DOT Auto Hotline: (888) 327-4236
The Disabled Driver's Mobility Guide
This guide includes good general information and state lists of disabled services and equipment dealers.
Contact: local AAA club or AAA Traffic Safety
1000-MS76 AAA Drive
Heathrow, FL 32746
Phone: (407) 444-7961
Fax: (407) 444-7951
The Association for Driver Rehabilitation Specialists [ADED]
711 South Vienna
Ruston, LA 71270
Phone: (800) 290-2344
Fax: (318) 255-4175
Driver evaluation and training and advice for vehicle modification
and adaptive equipment.
National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association
NMEDA
Executive Director: Dana Roeling
11211 N. Nebraska Avenue
Suite A-5
Tampa, FL 33612
Phone: (800) 833-0427 /
(813) 977-6603
Fax: (813) 977-6402
"Disabled Does Not Mean Immobile," a book by Rebecca Plank
Phone: (800) 833-0427
Explains the purpose of different adaptive equipment and gives safety tips
for conversions. Plank is founder of NMEDA and helped to create NHTSA's
driver disability brochure.
Conversions for People With Special Needs
General Motors estimates that more than 54 million Americans have some form ofdisability that may affect their mobility. More than 380,000 vehicles on the road today have been specially adapted for use by people with disabilities, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Differently abled drivers aren't the only ones who can benefit from a special-needs conversion. Passengers with disabilities may also need to ride in specially equipped vehicles.
People come in all shapes and sizes, and luckily, cars do too. The flip side is that the two don't always match up. While every car fits somebody, there isn't one car that will fit everybody. Obviously, the best way to find out if you fit in the car you're considering is to put it through a rigorous test drive. But you can also shop cars that cater to your body type with features that make getting comfortable a breeze. Here's what to look for...
Adaptive Technologies:
Bioptic Driving
Discusses low vision driving with a bioptic device, a small telescope mounted in
eyeglass lenses. Includes a state-by-state list of vision driving requirements.
BiOptic Driving Network
Serves the needs and interests of those with stable low vision who may be able to drive with a miniaturized telescope mounted in the (usually) upper half of a pair of spectacles.
Albinism, Low Vision, and Driving
Information about bioptic driving.
Driving Tips for Monocular Individuals
Includes driving tips and suggested vehicle devices.
Driving Tips for Monocular Individuals
Includes driving tips and suggested vehicle devices.
Kempf Equipements
Jean-Pierre Kempf was paralyzed in both legs by polio when he was 2 years old. Inventor
of a hand control system, he has been adapting vehicles since 1954. The site includes
descriptions of adaptations for paraplegic, hemiplegic, quadraplegic, and phocomelic
drivers.
Who Is Martine Kempf?
Martine designed a speech-recognition control system for electronic
vehicle functions, including operation of doors, mirrors, radio, automatic shifting, wipers, lights, horns and signals.
The Kempf Hand-Control System
Custom adaptations for drivers with muscular dystrophy and for quadriplegics
