The Invention of Cruise Control

What if I told you that a revolutionary driving technology was invented by a blind man? On this episode, we dive into the surprising story of Ralph Teetor, the genius inventor behind cruise control, and how his unique perspective changed the automotive world forever.

 

Fuel for the Future is presented by State Farm Insurance and driven by America's Automotive Trust. Learn more at Americasautomotivetrust.org

Episode Transcript

(00:02):
Have you ever found yourself driving downa long highway?
There's a steady flow of traffic,but you know that there's
a significant distance to travelbefore reaching your destination,
and what you might do with a simpletouch is let the car take control.
You're still behind the wheel,but the car is maintaining
a steady speed,making the journey effortless.

(00:23):
Yes. That's right.
We're talking about cruise control.
It's a magical innovation that's becomeingrained in our driving experience
and we rarely pause to ponder its origins.
Well, what if I told youit was invented by a blind man?
This is fuel for the future.
Presented by State Farm Insuranceand driven by America's Automotive Trust.

(00:45):
I'm Michael May.
The inventor's name was Ralph Teeter.
Born in 1890, in Hagerstown,Indiana, Teeter was
a mechanical genius from a young age,but there was something else about him,
something that makes his inventionall the more remarkable.

(01:05):
He was completely blind.
At the age of five, an accidentwith a knife cost teeter his sight.
According to accounts, he had been playingnear his family's workshop
when he grabbed a sharp bladebeing used by a relative.
And there was an accident.
The knife slippedand it punctured his eye.
Over the next few years, he contractedan autoimmune inflammatory disease

(01:28):
that I won't even try to pronouncecorrectly, which resulted in Teeter
losing sight in his other eyeas well, making him completely blind.
But rather than limiting him,it sharpened his other senses.
Titusfamily owned a manufacturing business.
His father and uncles and cousinswere all mechanically talented,

(01:48):
and they encouragedRalph's mechanical curiosity as well.
By the age of ten,Teeter had built his first working machine
at one cylinder engine that ran oncompressed air and around the age of 12.
He and his young cousins builtand designed their own car.
And yes, sometimesTeeter would get behind the wheel.

(02:09):
In 1908, still just a teenager.
Teeter was responsible for helpingbring electricity to Hagerstown.
This happenedbecause he convinced his school
to allow himto create a sign out of light bulbs
that read 1908 for his graduating class.
And in order to do that, he had to bringin electricity to the school.

(02:32):
Teachers aptitude was undeniable,
and despite his blindness,which he refused to even discuss
throughout his life, he was acceptedinto the University of Pennsylvania,
where he earned a degreein mechanical engineering in 1912.
He would later return for his master's.
Teachers mind was attuned to the rhythm
of machines, the nuances of movement

(02:55):
and precisionbecause he could feel all of that.
After college,he took a job with the family company,
which had become the TeeterHartley Motor Company,
which designed and built parts for cars.
Ralph was an engineer designerfor the company and.
By 1921, the company was known
as The Perfect Circle, which was an armof the original family company

(03:17):
that designed and built piston rings,which was very successful.
By the 1930s,
his own designs were being usedin cars across America,
and he had a number of patentsto his name.
But it wasn't until the 1940s that an ideastruck him, an idea
that would forever change. Driving.
Like most inventions,

(03:38):
inspirationcame from a place of frustration.
In the 1940s, Teeter often rodewith his patent lawyer,
who had this annoying driving
habit of speeding up and then slowing downrepeatedly while talking.
And I'm sure we can all relate tothis can be an annoying ride.
and teeter with his heightened senses.
Felt these speed variations keenly.

(04:00):
He thought there had to be a wayto keep the car moving at a constant pace,
without the driverconstantly adjusting the throttle.
And after years of development,he created a device that they called
the speed stat, a mechanical governorthat could maintain a steady speed.
With that, his first patent for cruisecontrol was filed in 1950.

(04:20):
By 1958, Chrysler introducedthe first commercially available cruise
control system and its Imperial modelunder the name autopilot.
Cruise
control wasn't just about convenience,
it has real worldbenefits by maintaining a steady speed.
It improves fuel efficiency and reducesdriver fatigue.

(04:43):
And this is why it's especially commonto use on those long off road trips.
Over the decades, naturally,this technology has evolved from simple
mechanical systems to the sophisticatedadaptive cruise control that we use today,
which can even adjust speed in responseto traffic.
Ralph Teeters contributionto the automobile industry was immense

(05:04):
and profound.
Despite his blindness,he saw what others couldn't an opportunity
to make driving smoother,safer and more efficient.
He continued innovating
and inventing and running his businessuntil his death in 1982.
So the next time
you push that little button or pullthat little lever on your steering wheel,
think of Ralph Teeter,

(05:24):
the man who saw the future of drivingeven though he never saw the road himself.
He was a very busy and credible person,
highly involved in his community,and he built and invented so many things.
One of my favorite anecdotes about himis that he loved
race boatsand would design and build his own.
And todayhe's in the Inventors Hall of Fame.

(05:46):
And if you consider recent advancementsin automobile technology,
some of the same improvements,efficiencies, cruise control
brought into effect are the samethat self-driving cars are building upon.
Some of the goals with autonomousvehicles are to enhance
road safety, reduce traffic,and improve efficiency.
it's not a big leapto see some connection to tedious work.

(06:11):
That's it for today's episode of fuelfor the future,
presented by State Farm Insuranceand driven by America's Automotive Trust.
To learn more,visit America's Automotive Trust.
Dawg. Know.