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If you don't you should. If you do, you should drive better and with greater ease. Various mechanical contrivances can allow you to be your own highly competent chauffeur, even though you may be more or less seriously handicapped physically. There remains the matter of a license.

The matter of allowing parals to drive automobiles presents a serious problem to the State. We parals may feel that the seriousness of the problem is overdone. Many of us may feel that the "reasonable precaution" used by some state examiners amounts to unreasonable discrimination. There is no point, however, in our contending that we can operate a car just well enough. To avoid adverse reaction, we must be able to do it better than the average able-bodied person.

I believe that at least one state is now trying to prove by actual records that physically handicapped drivers are more free from accident than the physically fit. This is an intelligent and helpful step. Further, it points a very definite opportunity to us, paral drivers. We should prove to the world that we are really better drivers and so change society's attitude from one of grudging consent to one of cheerful acceptance. In a larger sense that change in society's attitude toward parals in all phases of life is what we are fighting for. Nowhere can we draw up a more definite line of battle with an unenlightened prejudice than in the matter of auto driving.

I am illustrating and describing here a few primitive devices used by partially disabled persons as aids in controlling cars. I use the word primitive advisedly, for almost without exception, these devices merely allow a paral to get by as a driver. Parals have failed so far to make much use of our vaunted 20th century technical development.

The single lever for operating the foot pedals is illustrated in Fig. 1. The bar across the pedals is arranged so that the clutch may be disengaged before or at the same time braking action begins.

A double lever arrangement is shown in Fig. 2. The virtue in this is that, by one lever, the clutch may be disengaged for gear shifting without operating the brake. Using the other lever, which in turn engages the first lever, results in clutch release and brake action from the one movement.

Occasionally a paral may have little or no leg power and yet have normal or nearly normal muscular control of the feet. Fig. 3 shows a device for holding the knees so as to allow pedal operation with the good muscles.

Turning to less primitive devices, we have pneumatic clutch and booster brakes. Many kinds of automobile clutch and free-wheeling devices are now being used as stock equipment on cars. Fig. 4 shows an application of a vacuum brake using a special valve control to obtain the desired degree of braking action. This necessary special valve is the crux of the whole problem of power brakes. An absolutely satisfactory valve has not yet been perfected. If you are of an inventive mind, write the Group, and we will outline specifications.

The tendency in automotive design is definitely toward more and more automatic operation. The more automatic automobile operation becomes, the less difference physical disability will make, so it is a highly encouraging tendency. We should do our bit to encourage it.

I foresee the day when safety devices, such as are now commonly used by rail systems, will limit the auto driver's discretionary, or indiscretionary, powers. In other words, I believe we are coming to automobiles which will not go through a red traffic light, nor cross a railroad track with a train within a quarter of a mile, nor enter an arterial highway within danger of accident, nor go too fast around a dangerous curve, nor do any of the suicidal things the human brain will let it do.

Necessity is the mother of invention. Improved automatic operation is a necessity to parals, whereas it is not half so much a necessity to the physically fit. It behooves us then to do a bit of inventing on these lines.