Driving as a Wheelchair User

If you want to learn how to drive as a wheelchair user, there are two distinct paths you can take: the way you’re supposed to do things, and the way people often do things. My driving experience as a wheelchair user fell in the latter, “just figure it out” category. There were three main reasons for this: cost, time and lack of access to services. I came to my disability by way of a spinal cord injury when I was 17. To me, as with many young people, driving meant freedom and independence.

Getting back behind the wheel was one of the first priorities after getting home from rehab, but there were no adaptive driving instructors or evaluators in my town in Alaska, and I certainly wasn’t going to spend the time or money to fly to Seattle, go through evaluations, have a mobility dealership install hand controls and then have the car barged back to Alaska. So, I had my father — a mechanic by trade — install a set of hand controls and a spinner knob. I relearned how to drive the way I learned before my disability: by driving.

Of course, there are problems to this approach. Most people don’t have a mechanic in the family who can properly install a set of permanent hand controls. “There are a lot of people who go online and buy the cheap, $150 temporary hand controls because they don’t want to [go through a dealer] or can’t afford it,” says Jemal Mfundshi, a wheelchair user and C6-7 quad who works for United Access, a mobility equipment dealer in Portland, Oregon. “For some people it works well and they’re safe. There are many people who have done that and didn’t choose the right product or didn’t install them properly. I’ve seen people wreck because they just shouldn’t be driving, period.”

Mfundshi is obviously coming from a dealer’s perspective, but he does make an important point: If you get the DIY approach wrong, your safety isn’t the only thing compromised, because it also affects the safety of passengers, pedestrians and everyone else on the road. The safest option — and most expensive — is to go through a full evaluation (often $200-400) with a certified driving rehabilitation specialist, and to work with a licensed mobility equipment dealer so you can see what kind of vehicle and equipment options are best for you and have them professionally installed. Jane Wierbicky goes into the details of what the evaluation/dealer route entails on the next page. But whatever your path back to driving, don’t let words like “accessible,” “specialist” and “certified” suck the soul out of your automotive fantasies. Remember that evaluations and hand controls are a means to an end: a world where you get to drive where you want, when you want.

Member Tip:

“There are more interesting choices today than there ever have been for people who want to roll into their vehicle. A great way to start is by attending an Abilities Expo where you can talk with vendors and check out an array of accessible minivans, SUVs, pickup trucks and more.”

— Randall Duchesneau, Philadelphia

United Spinal Resource Center’s Most Frequently Asked Question

How do I get started with driving as a wheelchair user?

Resource Center SCI Nurse Specialist Jane Wierbicky:
Many people want to know if they’ll be able to drive after spinal cord injury or other neurological diagnosis. With the right adaptive equipment, driving is possible for many wheelchair users, including people with limited arm/hand function. If you want to get on the road, discuss your driving goals with your health care provider(s) to determine if you’re ready from a medical standpoint — for example, your spasticity is under control, and your medications will not interfere with your driving.

When you’re ready, ask your doctor for a referral to a Certified Driver Rehabilitation Specialist for a driving evaluation. A CDRS will:

• Evaluate your potential for driving by assessing your abilities and limitations and develop a driving plan.
• Help you identify appropriate adaptive equipment for your needs, and the vehicle features that best support your driving goals.
• Provide a written prescription for needed adaptive equipment.
• Create a training plan.
• Help you navigate the driver’s license requirements for people with disabilities in your state, which vary by state.

To find a CDRS, contact your local rehabilitation facility to see if they offer a driver rehabilitation program. The Association of Driver Rehabilitation Specialists offers a resource for locating specialists. There are many advanced assistive technology options available to suit your wheelchair and function. If you’re able to independently transfer into a driver’s seat, you may also be able to independently load a manual wheelchair into your vehicle. Various wheelchair lifts can help you stow your wheelchair. If you’re unable to safely transfer or you use a power wheelchair for mobility, you may need a vehicle that allows you to drive or push the wheelchair into the vehicle. Some wheelchair users drive the vehicle from their wheelchair and use power lock downs to stabilize the wheelchair.

Some examples of adaptive equipment:

Steering: Spinner knobs make steering easier with one hand, such as the tri-pin spinner for people without finger function.

Gas/Brake: Hand controls can be mounted on the left or right and can be individualized by using different motions such as push-pull, push-twist and more.

Secondary driving controls: Wipers, headlights and other controls can be operated in different configurations depending on need, such as touch pads, headrest or elbow switches, voice activation and more.

The National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association website (nmeda.org) provides consumer information on adaptive driving equipment.

The process of getting back on the road is costly. We recommend contacting your state vocational rehabilitation agency to learn about financial assistance if your vehicle will be used for work/school. If you’re a veteran, contact the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to learn about available benefits. Many people use grants, loans and fundraising to cover costs.

United Spinal Resource Center Recommendations

Driving After Spinal Cord Injury, MSKTC
Published by the Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center, this fact sheet is full of answers and breaks down the basics of returning to driving into simple bullet points and handy photos.

Best New Mobility Articles

Baja or Bust
Kirk Williams (left) recounts his first international road trip in “Spock,” a Ford Transit van that he had converted into an accessible living quarters and adventure-mobile. He explains his vehicle setup, the how-tos of undertaking a multimonth road trip as a quad and why he was glad he took the plunge.

Motorvation: All About Hand Controls
Our late automotive columnist Michael Collins goes over a range of hand control options, from the basic to the complex, and talks with many drivers about how they adapted to driving post-disability.

Everyday Advocacy: Changing Hand Controls
Mike Collins uses an inquiring letter from a reader as a jumping-off point to tackle a number of questions on the legality of setting up hand controls.

Video Resource
Go to youtube.com/newmobilitymedia to view “Driving as a Wheelchair User,” which shows different wheelchairs users’ driving setups.