Cruise control
 

Has anybody heard of cruise control for a golf cart? My wife has trouble pushing the pedal on long rides, it bothers her surgically repaired knee.

More importantly, does she have trouble hitting the brakes???

No, just just sustained extension of her knee causes her problem.

Might try contacting the dealer that sold your golf cart to you and see if such cruise control is available

Perhaps consider an electric golf cart. I suspect the "gas pedal" is actually some sort of rheostat, that could be wired to a "knob" of some sort?

Just a guess.

That's a scary thought-- someone on cruise control who can't work a brake pedal. I guess she already tried using her other foot?

Instead of cruise control, I'd look for a cart designed for a paraplegic, with all hand controls. The throttle would be easy to rig on an electric cart. But hand brakes are going to be tough to rig on any cart, and, sorry, I have a hard time understanding how someone who can't work a gas pedal could work a brake pedal safely.

I'd suggest a knee brace for added support.

That’s exactly what I was thinking.

Shorter people sometimes use a block of wood attached to the gas pedal to make it easier to reach. That might help reduce the knee extension that is causing her discomfort.

Never seen cruise control on a golf cart. Don’t know if it’s possible or not. But I did buy a used golf cart one time that had an extension block on the gas pedal. And yes I was told it was for short people who legs couldnt extend that far out for long periods of time this made it easier for shorter people. I don’t know if it would help but thought I would mention it. I’m sure you can Google it I’m sure Amazon has them as well as the golf cart stores in The Villages sure have them it’s just a piece of plastic that snaps onto the gas pedal that is about 3 to 4 inches high might even have one for the brake pedal

Someone in TV sells a plastic pedal extender that uses velcro to hold it on the pedal. Ask at the Golf Cart stores. I think they gave me his name. It really helped. A cushion behind the back also helps.

Block for Accelerator Pedal
 

Villages Golf Cars sells an accessory for the Accelerator pedal — it does help.

I would be more concerned about her inability to extend her knee after surgery. Maybe it’s a fresh post surgical knee? I would think some quad exercises would help improve that. I’ve had double knee replacements and their number one goal in therapy is complete knee extension as well as adequate flexion. She may need more PT. Or spend time walking to strengthen her quads. Just a thought.

How about you drive the cart?

Please do not consider cruise control an option. We actually have traffic on our golf cart paths with lots of stops and sharp curves. Cruise control would rarely be useful and is a recipe for disaster. Just my opinion but since I share the road I would like it to be safe for everyone.

Ask about the pedal extension available at all the villages golf cart stores easy to put on or take off if other driver doesn’t need it.

she should not be driving you should do it for her

Call a few Golf Stores and ask if they have hand controls for Pedal and Brakes.
The Villages does rent handicapped golf carts. Call and ask if they are hand controlled.
Do a search as well on your Internet.
I wish you luck locally.

Common sense says she shouldn’t be driving a golf cart.

My wife had the same problem (no bad knee, just short). We looked into extensions, etc., but the best solution to the problem was a padded cushion maybe 4" thick, behind her back. No problems now.

I have a couple at the house. Let me know if you are interested in a pedal extender.

Common sense is not very common anymore

Cruise control on a golf cart is just wrong on all levels.

Hi,, I may have an answer tfor the problem. I have a right leg that is damaged from surgeries. I installed a left foot adapter which
moves the gas pedal to left foot control. Take a short time to adapt, but works very well. Left foot controls both gas and brake.
If you wnt to see ior try it, just give me a call. (leave message,, I will get back to you. 352-399-6299

Who'da thunk people would be driving golf cars with bad knees. I was concerned enough about the drunk drivers.

I wonder if there's padded bumper options for these cars, kinda like the bumper car ride at the carnival. Strap yourself in, here we go!

:popcorn:

I did a quick search for HAND CONTROLS for handicapped and found there are solutions that may work. You may want to check hnder handicapped.

Cruise Control…. That would be very dangerous. She probably should not drive for long distance !

A friend bought me an extension to use on my gas peddle. It makes driving much easier since my leg does not have to be fully extended. Villages Golf Cart store sells them.

Get a pedal extension, it might help

Except for the first post, welcome to the "I never read previous posts" club. And people wonder why simple questions lead to 100+ posts:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

A block on the pedal is not the answer imo. It angles the foot closer to the driver but higher off the floor. When using it the heel of the foot cannot rest on the floor. Very uncomfortable and hard to sustain for long periods of time.

She should wear stilettos.

The total knee replacement post-op knee extension exercises were without a doubt the most painful part of the procedure. But if you don’t suck it up and power through them, you never get the proper range of motion.

To be fair, one responder was actually offering to -give- them a pedal extender, so they get a pass... :thumbup:

agreed

In a retirement community I would expect at least half of everyone driving a golf cart has bad knees, probably only second to the number of people driving with bad backs. Drive on : )

Exactly! The thought of cruise control on a golf cart is a terrifying thought. They are NOT cars. They do NOT have the stability or any of the safety features of a car. The thought of her pedal to the medal and taking a corner or curve wrong, or having to unexpectedly dodge a dog, a walker or a cyclist is scary as heck.

Like it or not we ALL start declining in our cognitive and reaction times as we get older. We have physiological challenges that impair or ability to quickly respond to situations.

I feel for your wife, but putting her and the rest of us in an unsafe situation doesn’t help matters at all.

Getting a cart with hand controls designed for someone with physical challenges would be a good choice.

Another option might be to get one of the “pedal blocks” they sell and mount to the pedals for really short people. That might be able to keep her leg in a comfortable position

Another option is to upgrade to a nice seat that has forward/backward adjustments so that she can sit closer to the pedals and keep that leg from hyperextending. The villages golf cart shop has a couple of models of these seats that adjust this way.

One last comment (as a woman with many spinal, hip, and knee issues who has worked hard to make her cart work for her): consider getting an Easy Go RXV. All yamaha golf carts have the steering wheel offset from the center of the drivers seat. This forces either terrible spinal position or terrible arm/shoulder position as you are driving. No matter what you do, you will be driving with horrible body alignment. The EasyGo RXV has the steering wheel CENTERED in front of the drivers seat where it is on all other vehicles on the planet.

I have wondered for years why in the heck yamaha will NOT correct this massive design flaw in their carts. And I have wondered why not a single villager I have met has realized that they are driving with their poor old bodies contorted on our bouncy jalopies we so love to noodle around in!

Good luck to you and your wife and happy trails!

You must have driven a defective Yamaha.
My 2012 Yamaha steering wheel is centered on the driver's seat.
Guess I got lucky.

I had a gas pedal extension put on at Carts & Cubs. It slips right over the gas pedal and makes it easier to drive with my shorter legs. May take the pressure off your wife’s knee..

Please read post #30----I think you'll find it quite apropos:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl: