Doctors call for hand throttle in cars
In Motor-Rundschau 10 of 1961, doctors clearly demanded the return of hand throttle! The reason for this was also given immediately:
"Many unspecified complaints, such as general lassitude, rapid fatigability, headaches, dizziness, pressure-sensitive tension in the neck and shoulder girdle down to the gluteal muscles are involved. Many patients spontaneously state that these and similar complaints occur to a particularly unpleasant extent on long car journeys. This is attributed to the fact that the driver's movements are restricted, especially because he has to constantly fix his right leg on the accelerator pedal."
The recommended solution is to install a hand throttle to give the right foot more freedom of movement.
Many cars built up to the 1960s had hand throttles as standard, such as the 1954 Alfa-Romeo 1900 Super shown here.
Later, the hand throttle disappeared and only exotic models such as the Haflinger offered this special feature. The need for it also diminished with the advent of cruise control and similar devices.
However, the question remains as to how quickly the foot, freed by the hand throttle, found its way to the brake pedal in an emergency ....
