Jenny Gold, of Gold Pictures, and her crew came out to Willow
Springs to film Lance in the modified sports car. Her company
is filming a special for the Christopher Reaves Foundation.
Ms. Gold, who is living with MS, and is in her own powered
wheelchair, is searching for fun and high technology solutions
for disabled drivers. She spoke with Lance at some length
and was especially inquisitive about the Lance Magin Signature
Series Mustang GT. This Mustang GT is outfitted with the
same hand controls as the racecar and is available to the
general public.
Lance was the first paraplegic licensed to drive in NASCAR.
Last year, with his Ford sponsored team he won his class
in the Best in the Desert Racing Series. Now he’s
chasing down Corvettes in the five-speed Miata. “I
feel these hand controls enable me to be just as competitive
as an able bodied driver. I had a blast,” said Lance
after a shakedown run with the car, “ I spent a lot
of time behind the wheel and got really so fast I was passing
Chevy Corvettes!”
The Willow Springs race track is known for it’s fast
turns and Lance took advantage of this with the small spry
Mazda, which has been modified with hand controls, including
a servo powered clutch.
Daniel Reyes, founder of RediAuto Sport reported that the
car performed flawlessly, even after Daniel spun it off
the track and into the dirt at the infamous
turn 9.
Known for their edgy attitude, RediAuto Sport is the nations
only supplier of mobility-enabled sports cars. No longer
are the mobility challenged drivers limited to vans or sedans.
Regaining Ambitions
By Ken McLaughlin | Mercury
News 2005
Six
years ago, Daniel Reyes was standing on a street corner
in west Los Angeles when a woman driving a Jeep smashed
into the side of a bus. The Jeep bounced off the bus and
plowed into Reyes.
Pinned against a lamppost, Reyes survived. But doctors amputated
his right leg.
The owner of a 1967 Ferrari 330 GT, Reyes soon became frustrated
when he couldn't find equipment that would allow him to
shift without two feet. So six months ago, he started his
own company with the intention of selling disabled people
on the notion of revving up their lives.
Reyes' firm, Redi Auto Sport of Camarillo, is now trying
to develop a niche market: sports cars for amputees and
paraplegics."People need toys,'' said Reyes, 46. "I need toys.''
Reyes was one of dozens of exhibitors at the Abilities Expo/Northern
California held over the weekend at the Santa Clara Convention
Center. The three-day event showcased a rapidly growing
industry that caters to the needs and dreams of disabled
people.
The products included a $33,000 wheelchair that allows quadriplegics
to cruise at 7 1/2 miles per hour while standing up, and
portable showers that can be used poolside or even in kitchens.
But it was Redi Auto Sport's copper-red 2006 Mazda MX-5
Miata that many people cruising the expo in wheelchairs
and motorized scooters couldn't seem to resist." I just like driving a manual shift,'' said Steven
Sanchez, 18, of Pleasanton, who became a paraplegic last
year in a bicycle accident. "It's one of the joys of
driving.''
Sanchez slipped into the driver's seat of the Miata, at
once regretting that he had settled for an automatic transmission
on his Subaru. "I wanted a stick so bad,'' he said,
as Reyes explained how to use the hand clutch on the gear
shift and the steering-wheel accelerator."Is this an accessible midlife crisis?'' one woman
in a wheelchair quipped as she passed the $35,000 Miata."Sure is,'' Reyes replied with a laugh.
Many of the people who make and market the products were,
like Reyes, motivated by an initial self-interest -- or
an interest in helping a friend or family member make life
a little easier.
In the case of Marina Grohmann, a Russian immigrant who
lives in San Francisco, it was a search for special orthopedic
shoes for her son that led to the birth of her company,
Ablegaitor.
Four years ago, Grohmann took her son, who has cerebral
palsy, to Europe for extensive physical therapy and, while
there, found the perfect shoe. She called the Polish manufacturer,
which she learned also makes a device that allows people
who don't have use of their legs to stand up and "walk.''
By leaning side to side and pulling on handgrips, users
can walk forward and backward and turn around.
She bought the device for her son, now 6, and also bought
the rights to distribute the $3,600 product in the United
States.
Many physicians say that helping disabled people to stand
up prevents heart, respiratory and bladder problems, among
other things.
Best of all, Grohmann said, "The people who use it
just feel different. They smile.''
Grohmann noted that many government and private health-insurance
plans still won't pay for the device. "One insurance
company told me that standing is not a medical necessity,''
she said.
Ted Kilroy, 19, of Pleasanton, said the potential lack of
coverage left him flabbergasted -- and angry.
Five months ago, a dirt-biking accident left Kilroy a paraplegic.
Over the weekend, he tested Ablegaitor's product for the
first time -- and loved it. "I like standing a lot better than sitting,'' Kilroy
said.
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