Losing balance while driving.

[melikeconan]

I transfer to a powerseat when i drive. Everytime i turn left i either halfway lose my balance or i go all the way. To turn i have to keep my left hand on the gas/brake and i cant catch myself with my right hand cause i am trying to turn. My seatbelt wont hold me steady enough and having a velcro strap or using a gatebelt isnt very feasible if i am alone. Any suggestions would be most helpful and appreciated.

[Shaun]

Yup....I been there man.Have you tried changing the angle of your seat back? Where do you position your legs while your driving? What level are you? im 5/6 and transfer into a six way also...I had balance problems to,but they seemed to work themself out....If you want i can go snap some shots of my rig and let ya peep..

~We must save the princess,or die trying~..Mickey Mouse

[lilsister]

Could you either velcro or fasten a covered wedge of foam on the left seatback? Or get an extra set of seat belts, the old kind, and have it fastened to the seat back by someone to use as a chest strap?

[Broknwing]

Just a thought...Could you get a 5-point seat-belt to use? 'Ya know, like what they use in race cars...I know that there are catalogs that you can order that stuff...Maybe it would help you from falling to the side...

Also, may not be feasable, I don't know...Can you have trunk support cushions attached to your seat? Similar to like a lot of people need on their chairs?

Hope this is a helpful idea. Good luck & don't get in an accident or hurt because of this...Be careful

'Chelle
L-1 inc 11/24/03

[jd87]

Melikeconan,

i have the same problem in my car. i am a t6 para. i've noticed though that it's better in my car than my grandpa's truck because my car has bucket seats that hold me better than my grandpa's bench seat. I thought about some seats with better side bolsters, but probably pretty pricey, though.

Oh, and kind of off-subject i know, but i'm diggin' the pic of joe swanson from family guy! ALL RIGHT!!! LETS GET IT OOOOON!!!!!!

[Andy]

I suggest reclining the seat more if possible, and if that doesnt work, one way I found works great for tippyness is pushing forward on the steering wheel when turning, presses you into the seat preventing tips.

[melikeconan]

I lean the seat back some and it does help but i still feel a bit unbalanced around turns. We are looking into a 4point harness like they have in rae cars but the thing with thos are you have to either bolt or weld them some place. Right now i am using th gaitbelt. I can get the gaitbelt around me and tightened up but it just takes me a few minutes to do it. Shaun I am a T4 complete and if you dont mind snapping some pics i would appreciate it.

[dogger]

I had a full racing harness in the car I had when I was injured . It was great , I would recline the seat , clip the harness together , then return the seat to upright , which tightened the harness . There was no chance of being thrown sideways in the seat .

thank you ,
dogger

every day i wake up is a good one .

[This message was edited by dogger on 09-22-04 at 10:47 AM.]

[Mountaineer]

Hey Conan: How about a racing-style seat with four or five point seat belts? I drivwe from a power chair and also lean right when making left turns. Nearly lost control more than once. I had a wide lateral support installed on the right side of my chair and this works well.

[-scott-]

The problem with multi-point seat belts is that the belts are mounted somewhere on the vehicle frame or chassis. If you put one of these seats on a transfer base that swivels & raises & such, you run into a problem.

I've thought of this too & I do really like the idea though. I'm just not sure how well it'd work.

Does anyone know if there are any racing-style harnesses available to use with an OEM seat?

[Shaun]

Originally posted by melikeconan:

I lean the seat back some and it does help but i still feel a bit unbalanced around turns. We are looking into a 4point harness like they have in rae cars but the thing with thos are you have to either bolt or weld them some place. Right now i am using th gaitbelt. I can get the gaitbelt around me and tightened up but it just takes me a few minutes to do it. Shaun I am a T4 complete and if you dont mind snapping some pics i would appreciate it.

Sure thing man....

Im guessing your driving a van,right?

~We must save the princess,or die trying~..Mickey Mouse

[melikeconan]

Originally posted by Shaun:

Sure thing man....

Im guessing your driving a van,right?

~We must save the princess,or die trying~..Mickey Mouse

Indeed, you are correct.

[lynnifer]

Can you cross your feet while driving? Gives you more stability. If I don't cross my legs, I'll lose my balance on a corner too and my legs would flop back and forth in a turn.

[maryonwheels46]

I know it is not much but I had a knob put on my stearing wheel. It helped some.
Mary

[melikeconan]

I have nt tried crossing my legs. I have a turning knob on my wheel also. My dad and I think we may be able to hook a racing harness up. I will post some pics of where we think we can weld it.

[murrey]

Melikeconan,
You won't be in my area anytime soon will you?
This reminds me of a quad friend I have. We were out partying one time and he was driving the first time after his accident.
I was very trusting or maybe just careless at the time.So away we go on a cruise up to the lake. As we we're turning a corner he just fell over.We were turning onto a gravel road and there was a cemetery on the corner.Down through the ditch,through the fence and stopped in the cemetery.No harm done.His brother who was with us went and opened the gate and we went merrily on our way...

[murrey]

Melikeconan,
To help with your problem.I remeber seeing certain cars with "wrap around wing type sides" on the seats.
Possibly in a car like a porsche or maybe it was a toyota for all I know.Someone else may have that answer.It may not be the answer but I think that coupled with other ideas just may give you more support..

[-scott-]

to followup with what murrey said...

I know a guy (AB) with a pair of Corbeau CR1s in his Jeep... they provide a good bit more "wrap around" support than standard seats. The transfer would be a little trickier, but they might be worth a look... plus Corbeau makes other seats that might do the trick too, although they're not cheap.

Corbeau's website: http://www.corbeau.com/

http://face5.net/temp/elff_pic1.jpg
http://face5.net/temp/elff_pic5.jpg
http://face5.net/temp/elff_pic4.jpg

[This message was edited by SCI-Nurse on 10-01-04 at 09:34 PM.]

[-scott-]

p.s. note in the pics that he doesn't use a racing harness with those seats.

[Shaun]

OH CRAP! I said id take some pics for ya and i didnt.Sorry man,i dropped the ball....I'll get on it though...

~We must save the princess,or die trying~..Mickey Mouse

[Clipper]

If a racing harness doesn't work or is too expensive, do a search for harnesses made for aircraft seats. Very similar.