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The "Miracle Drive" described above is not mere theory. We have tried it here at Warm Springs. It measures up to the claims made for it.

The story back of the "Miracle Drive" is a story of a search for a driving control to lessen the possibility of accidents due to errors of human judgment. It was not developed for physically handicapped people. It was devised to make driving safer for able-bodied persons by making the manipulation of driving and braking controls more automatic. However, the benefits to the disabled are none the less great because they are incidental.

Mr. Larson of the Velvet Power Brake Company, visited Warm Springs late in November, 1933, and took the writer for a trial ride in a Ford V-8 equipped with the Miracle Drive. Other patients tried it and all agreed that it was the most advanced driving control that they had seen.

We tried it going down hill. The engine compression may be used for braking on moderate grades and the change over to brake application on the wheels is only one of releasing the throttle treadle a little. The power brakes are so smooth in action that perfect control is possible without jerk or strain.

We tried it going up hill by stopping on a steep grade. Probably this is the most severe test of driving control -- stopping and starting again on a steep hill. Stopping merely requires easing upon the accelerator treadle. When the treadle is fully released, the clutch is disengage and the brakes are on. An ingenious mechanical auxiliary serves to keep the brakes on when the engine is turned off. This eliminates use of the emergency brake, or hand brake, for this purpose.

Starting from a stop on a steep hill is simplicity itself. The car is put in low gear and the accelerator is advanced. This simple action releases the brakes, re-engages the clutch, and accelerates the motor for a smooth, sure start. The action is so continuous that there is no rolling backward before power is applied and forward motion begins. This eliminates the greatest source of "stalling" trouble.

Quick stops were tried; and slow, smooth stops were tried. Under all conditions this new drive seemed to measure up to requirements. While the equipment used was operated conventional accelerator treadle, the foregoing article indicates that the drive may be adapted for almost any type of disability. The principle is right. It only remains to get this principle into quantity production so that a better driving control may be available to all physically handicapped people at a very moderate cost.