 | The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(September 2016) |
A brodie knob (alternative spelling: brody knob) is a doorknob-shaped handle that attaches to the steering wheel of an automobile or other vehicle or equipment with a steering wheel. Other names for this knob include suicide, necker, granny, knuckle buster, and wheel spinner.
The device is a small, independently rotating knob (similar to a U.S. classic door knob) facing the driver that is securely mounted on the outside rim of a steering wheel. [1] The protruding knob is an aftermarket accessory. The free rotation is intended to help make steering with one hand easier or faster.
Some heavy automobiles without a power steering system tended to have heavy and slow responses requiring hand-over-hand turning of the wheel by the driver, and the knob allowed the driver to "crank" the steering wheel to make faster turns. [2]
Brodie knobs were popular on trucks and tractors before the advent of power steering. Their primary use is still in trucks, particularly semi trucks, where they allow simultaneous steering and operation of the radio or gearshift. They are also used on forklifts, farm tractors, construction equipment, riding lawnmowers, and ice resurfacers, where frequent sharp turning is required. [3]
The knobs are sometimes installed as an aftermarket accessory on farm and commercial tractors, their primary purpose being to ease one-handed steering. At the same time, the driver operates other controls with the other hand or is moving in reverse.
Some boats are equipped with a helm featuring a stainless-steel wheel with a brodie knob. [4]
The "Steering Wheel Spinner Knob" was invented by Joel R. Thorp of Wisconsin in 1936. [5] The name "Brodie knob" is a reference to Steve Brodie and was meant to describe all manner of reckless stunts that can be performed with the spinner knob. [6]
The device allows the driver to turn the steering wheel quickly from fully one side to the other, making it possible to make cars "spin like a top" on snow-covered streets, but it also causes drivers to oversteer at speed because of the reduced driver's feel for the car's steering system and the road. [2]
The device is often called a "suicide knob" because of being notoriously useless for controlling the wheel during an emergency. [7]
It is also called a "knuckle buster" because of the disadvantage posed by the knob when letting go of the steering wheel after going around a corner, the wheel spins rapidly, and the knob can hit the user's knuckle, forearm or elbow. If the driver is wearing a long-sleeved shirt, the protruding accessory on the steering wheel's rim can also become caught in the sleeve's open cut by the button. Attempting to free a tangled shirt sleeve from the knob may cause the driver to lose control of the car. [2] The knobs can be dangerous if improperly installed, and in case of a collision because they can cause additional injuries to the driver upon impact. [8]
Other names include "wheel spinner," "granny knob," and "necker's knob" because it facilitated driving by using only one arm, leaving the other arm for romantic purposes. [9] [10] [11]
Some U.S. states have laws that regulate or prohibit the use of brodie knobs. [8] Some states allow the use of an accessory knob on the steering wheel for drivers who need them to operate a vehicle because of a disability.
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations restrict the use of auxiliary devices for specific construction vehicles. [12] Moreover, OSHA prohibits modification of industrial equipment without the approval of the equipment manufacturer.
In the Netherlands, brodie knobs are only allowed if the driver has a valid medical reason for it. In forklifts and other equipment requiring frequent sharp steering, they are permitted regardless of medical reason.
The regulations in the UK do not allow any protrusions of the steering wheel, except for those with disabilities who need modifications for their cars. [8]
A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most commonly, the term is used to describe a farm vehicle that provides the power and traction to mechanize agricultural tasks, especially tillage, and now many more. Agricultural implements may be towed behind or mounted on the tractor, and the tractor may also provide a source of power if the implement is mechanised.
A skid loader, skid-steer loader, SSL, or skidsteer is any of a class of compact heavy equipment with lift arms that can attach to a wide variety of buckets and other labor-saving tools or attachments.
A forklift is a powered industrial truck used to lift and move materials over short distances. The forklift was developed in the early 20th century by various companies, including Clark, which made transmissions, and Yale & Towne Manufacturing, which made hoists. Since World War II, the use and development of the forklift truck have greatly expanded worldwide. Forklifts have become an indispensable piece of equipment in manufacturing and warehousing. In 2013, the top 20 manufacturers worldwide posted sales of $30.4 billion, with 944,405 machines sold.
Heavy equipment, heavy machinery, earthmovers, construction vehicles, or construction equipment, refers to heavy-duty vehicles specially designed to execute construction tasks, most frequently involving earthwork operations or other large construction tasks. Heavy equipment usually comprises five equipment systems: the implement, traction, structure, power train, and control/information.
A steering wheel is a type of steering control in vehicles.
A paddle is a game controller with a round wheel and one or more fire buttons, where the wheel is typically used to control movement of the player object along one axis of the video screen. A paddle controller rotates through a fixed arc ; it has a stop at each end.
A locking differential is a mechanical component, commonly used in vehicles, designed to overcome the chief limitation of a standard open differential by essentially "locking" both wheels on an axle together as if on a common shaft. This forces both wheels to turn in unison, regardless of the traction available to either wheel individually.
Fordson was a brand name of tractors and trucks. It was used on a range of mass-produced general-purpose tractors manufactured by Henry Ford & Son Inc from 1917 to 1920, by Ford Motor Company (U.S.) and Ford Motor Company Ltd (U.K.) from 1920 to 1928, and by Ford Motor Company Ltd (U.K.) from 1929 to 1964. The latter also later built trucks and vans under the Fordson brand.
A dump truck, known also as a dumping truck, dump trailer, dumper trailer, dump lorry or dumper lorry or a dumper for short, is used for transporting materials for construction as well as coal. A typical dump truck is equipped with an open-box bed, which is hinged at the rear and equipped with hydraulic rams to lift the front, allowing the material in the bed to be deposited ("dumped") on the ground behind the truck at the site of delivery. In the UK, Australia, South Africa and India the term applies to off-road construction plants only and the road vehicle is known as a tip lorry, tipper lorry, tipper truck, tip truck, tip trailer or tipper trailer or simply a tipper.
The spinner on automobile wheels historically refers to knock-off hub nuts or center caps. They may be the actual, or intended to simulate, the design used on antique vehicles or vintage sports cars. A "spinner wheel" in contemporary usage is a type of hubcap or inner wheel ornament, that spins independently inside of a wheel itself when the vehicle is in motion and continues to spin once the vehicle has come to a stop.
MOMO Srl is a design company headquartered in Milan, Italy that makes accessories and parts for automobiles, such as alloy wheels, tires, steering wheels, seats, gear sticks. The company also has a clothing line of products that include racing suits, gloves, and shoes.
A gear stick, gear lever, gearshift or shifter, more formally known as a transmission lever, is a metal lever attached to the transmission of an automobile. The term gear stick mostly refers to the shift lever of a manual transmission, while in an automatic transmission, a similar lever is known as a gear selector. A gear stick will normally be used to change gear whilst depressing the clutch pedal with the left foot to disengage the engine from the drivetrain and wheels. Automatic transmission vehicles, including hydraulic automatic transmissions, automated manual and older semi-automatic transmissions, like VW Autostick, and those with continuously variable transmissions, do not require a physical clutch pedal.
Fender is the American English term for the part of an automobile, motorcycle or other vehicle body that frames a wheel well. Its primary purpose is to prevent sand, mud, rocks, liquids, and other road spray from being thrown into the air by the rotating tire. Fenders are typically rigid and can be damaged by contact with the road surface.
Muir Hill (Engineers) Ltd was a general engineering company based at Old Trafford, Manchester, England. It was established in the early 1920s and specialised in products to expand the use of the Fordson tractor, which in the pre-war days included sprung road wheels, bucket loaders, simple rail locomotives, and in particular in the 1930s they developed the dumper truck. Later they built high horse power tractors.
A pallet jack, also known as a pallet truck or pallet pump, is a tool used to lift and move pallets. Pallet jacks are the most basic form of a forklift and are intended to move pallets within a warehouse.
A semi-trailer is a trailer without a front axle. The combination of a semi-trailer and a tractor truck is called a semi-trailer truck.
The GE Elec-Trak was the first commercially produced all-electric garden tractor, made mostly between 1969 and 1975 at GE's Outdoor Power Equipment Operation under Bruce R. Laumeister. The previous work of Laumeister at GE on the experimental Delta electric car that debuted in 1968 helped pave the way for the production of the Elec-Trak. Despite the limited production and availability of the electric tractors, many Elec-Traks are still in use today and have a cult following among tractor and electric vehicle enthusiasts. They are an archetypal or seminal design that has influenced all later electric tractors.
An adapted automobile is an automobile adapted for ease of use by people with disabilities. Automobiles, whether cars or vans, can be adapted for a range of physical disabilities.
Car controls are the components in automobiles and other powered road vehicles, such as trucks and buses, used for driving and parking.
