Hand-driven vehicles

Early hand-controlled cars were hard to use because one hand steered while the other had to control levers for the brake, clutch, and throttle. The invention of automatic transmission cars made safer, more user-friendly hand controls possible. EPVA worked with Veteran’s Affairs to get financial support to buy their own cars.

A color photograph of a museum exhibit replica showing the mechanical hand-control levers attached to the steering column and pedals of Franklin D. Roosevelt's car.

Date: 2013

Image Description: A color photograph of a museum display replica depicting the mechanical hand controls used in President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s automobile. The exhibit features a vintage three-spoke steering wheel mounted on a beige dashboard housing two circular gauges, with metal hand levers extending from the steering column and floor to operate the clutch, brake, and accelerator pedals below.

A black-and-white photograph of a man in a manual wheelchair positioned beside the open driver's door of a two-door sedan, preparing to transfer into the car.

Date: c. 1970s

Image Description: A black-and-white photograph viewed from behind of a man seated in a manual wheelchair next to the open driver-side door of a dark two-door Oldsmobile Cutlass coupe in a parking lot. He rests his left hand on the steering wheel and his right hand on the open door frame as he prepares to transfer from his wheelchair into the driver’s seat. In the background, several other cars and a “New York Telephone” utility van are parked along a tree-lined street.

Source: Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association (EPVA) Collection

A black-and-white photograph of two men in wheelchairs and two standing men gathered beside a vintage sedan outside a brick hospital building.

Date: c. 1940s

Image Description: A black-and-white photograph showing four men gathered next to a shiny Oldsmobile sedan with a 1951 New York license plate parked on a driveway in front of a large multi-story brick hospital building. Two of the men are seated in manual wheelchairs—one in a suit and one in a work shirt—while an older man in a three-piece suit and fedora stands beside the car holding a cane and a man in a white medical coat stands behind them.

Source: Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association (EPVA) Collection

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