What the Deuce?
Alright, get this. Here I am, in my truck, meandering my way to school admist some minor traffic. I pull up to a red light, casually glance to my left, and there's a woman of about mid 50's sitting in the passenger seat of an Oldsmobile (emphasis on the old) next to me. No big deal, right?Well, there was no else in the car. The driver's seat was vacant. The light goes green, and I pull forward. I notice that the very weathered oldsmobile also pulls forward. I get a closer look, and the woman is driving the vehicle from a steering wheel mounted on the right side of the vehicle. Again, I think "well, that's crazy...I've never heard of Oldsmobiles with right side steering, but again, I guess it's no big deal". How wrong I was. Once I get a head of her a little bit, I was able to see that the steering wheel was simply mounted to the dashboard of the car. There was no steering column. This worried me greatly. I then see that there is a belt wrapped around a pully that runs all the way to the original steering column on the left side of the car. A pully was mounted directly onto the steering column. Notice, this belt was not chain driven, nor was it attached to a sprocket of any kind. It was the same setup you'll most likely find in your vacuum cleaner at home.
Naturally, my thoughts turned from timid curiosity to sheer terror. What happens when the belt wears out or rips? Does it ever slip? What would happen if you had to jerk the wheel suddenly to avoid hitting an animal, or worse, a human? Think about it. This vehicle had been MODIFIED by the OWNER. In Texas, we call that "fixin" something. It could also be coined as "rednecking a solution". In other words, someobody (perhaps from England or Australia)--who probably missed the good ole days of driving back in the Mother Country--jimmyrigged their car so they could sit in the passenger seat. Why, oh why, did they do this?
I began to ponder if this could logically make sense. What would require them to do that? If it was some sort of job requirement, then you'd think they would either by a pre-modified vehicle or modify their own LEGALLY. I don't know how that vehicle passes inspection. Maybe they put the steering wheel back on the other side when their registration expires..I don't know. Maybe they modified their vehicle to teach their kids how to drive? Well, that doesn't make sense at all..there was no steering wheel on the driver's side..just a pully and a belt. Not to mention, you'd think that with a student driver you'd be increasing your chances of getting pulled over. Do you really want to draw attention to your setup?
What scares me the most is that she was somehow controlling the gas and breaks from the right side as well..but I have no idea how. Going with the theme of the steering rig, however, I would guess the pedal system would most likely include duct tape and 2x4's to some extent.
If you want to drive on the right side of a vehile that badly, just become a mailman. Don't endanger the rest of civilization because you drive a jimmymobile.
That is all.
posted by Seth @ 3:30 PM
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