YOSHITA SENGUPTAyoshita.sengupta@mid-day.com

SITTING in his air-conditionedoffice, 50 year-old FerdinandRodricks seems like any otherCEO at the helm of a well-estab-lished automotive services firm.

But if you look around hisDadar office carefully, you willfind a wheelchair in one cornerand framed photographs ofsmiling people, standing nextto assorted car parts, hangingon a wall nearby. All of them,differently-abled.

Rodricks began experiment-ing with automobile parts froma young age. While studyingMechanical Engineering in1982, he modified a FiatPadmini owned by a friendafflicted with polio, making itpossible for him to drive the carwithout using his feet. “I want-ed to modify my friend’s Fiat ina way that he could drive itcomfortably, using just hishands,” Rodricks says.

Two years later, after obtain-ing his degree, Rodricksopened an automobile work-shop in the backyard of hisMalad bungalow and beganmodifying cars for differently-abled persons.

In 1999, Rodricks opened aservice centre for Mahindra &Mahindra Ltd. in Dadar. Hecontinued to modify cars for thedisabled from a 400 sq feetworkshop located at the back ofhis service centre.

But it wasn’t easy. Rodricksfaced cynicism. “Back then,” he

said, “owning a car itself was abig deal. So modifying it — tin-kering was unheard of.”

“When I worked on myfriend’s car, people thought Iwas not in my senses,” he recol-lects.

Over time however, wordspread and people with variousdisabilities approached him.“Everyone had a different kindof disability, and unique specifi-cations. Someone wanted awheelchair fit in the car; otherswanted their seats to rotate.”

It’s tough not to forge abond with every client,Rodricks smiled. “You need tounderstand their problem andcustomise the car according totheir needs. Sometimes, solu-tions aren’t easy to come byand require continuous brain-storming.”

Comfort and dignity, addsRodricks, matter the most. “Iask the disabled person to beselfish, not think about whatothers in the family want orhow the car looks. His com-fort is of utmost importance.There have been cases wherea car bought especially for adisabled person has beenmodified to fit 10 other peo-ple, making it uncomfortablefor the disabled driver. I donot encourage this,” heasserts.

One of Rodricks’ latest proj-ects is a car for a 63 year-oldretired businessman whoseright leg is polio-affected.

Rodricks attached levers tothe brake and accelerator of

Chembur resident PratapSingh’s Maruti Eeco. Bothlevers are attached to a handle-bar which when pushedforward towards the wind-shield, makes the car brake,and when pulled, makes itaccelerate. Singh can now drivehis car without using his rightleg.

For people with a disabilityin their left leg, Rodricks modi-fies the gear stick — with thepress of a button on the stick,the clutch is automaticallypushed down.

Rodricks has also receivedseveral calls from parents ofchildren with cerebral palsy, todesign special car seats.

“Getting them to sit in a

position where they are com-fortable and relaxed is veryimportant. They become edgy ifthey are even slightly uncom-fortable,” he shares.

Rodricks insists on meetingthe children to understandtheir requirements, whichinclude tiny details like theheight of the seat, and whetheran additional belt would benecessary.

Only last year, Rodricksreceived a nod from theAutomotive ResearchAssociation of India (ARAI), aco-operative industrial researchassociation, that makes hismodifications ‘legal’.

“Till recently there was nosystem as far as approvals were

concerned. Initially the RTOswould allow modified cars,since they were for disabledpeople. Later, they becamestrict and said that cars need tobe either produced by a manu-facturer or modified by anapproved person.”

Since modifications werespecific and would changedepending on individualrequirements, his team drewout certain basic parameters forARAI, on which modificationsof cars were approved.

But that’s not where thestory ends for a disabled person— to drive a modified car, theystill need a special licence,which can be procured onlyafter a lengthy process ofobtaining a certificate of dis-ability from All India Instituteof Physical Medicine AndRehabilitation (AIIPMR), anRTO inspection, the TransportCommissioner’s approval, anod from the departments inDelhi... Rodricks trails off.

The process is supposed totake a month but it ends up tak-ing longer. “Sometimes, thedisabled are genuinelyharassed. They cannot use pub-lic transport, they have to take acab.. it’s all expensive and trou-blesome. Such cases need to behandled in a more sensitivemanner.”

Perhaps, similar to the wayin which Rodricks handles hiscases — the aim being toachieve mobility with dignity.

theguide AUTO MAY 29, 2011. SUNDAYMiD DAY10

Adayat FerdinandRodricks’workshopA passion for tinkering with cars led a young mechanical engineer to come upwith an invention that would change the lives of over 1,000 differently-ableddrivers. That was 20 years ago, and Ferdinand Rodricks hasn’t stopped since

1] Rodricks’ latestassignment was to modifythe Maruti Eeco of 63 year-old Chembur residentPratap Singh, whose rightleg is polio-affected. Thefirst thing he needed to dowas make a lever that wouldbe attached to the brake andanother to the accelerator.Here, Rodricks bends analuminum tube to make alever.

2] Rodricks drills a hole intothe tube, which will beattached to the brake andaccelerator that are on thedriver’s right hand side.Pratap has a right-sideddisability and Rodricks ismodifying the car to enablehim to operate the brakeand accelerator withoutusing his right leg.

3]One lever is attached to thebrake, and another to the

accelerator. Both levers are thenfitted into a handlebar that

Pratap can operate with his lefthand.

4] The height of the levers andthe handlebar depend on the

height of the car and the driver.They need to be made with

exactitude— the handlebar mustnot touch the dashboard when

pushed, or come too close to thesteering wheel, when pulled.

PICS/PRATHIK PANCHAMIA