One-armed driving instructor teaches stick-shift skills
British man with one arm teaches drivers how to drive manual transmission.
Think driving a stick-shift car is hard?
(SWNS)
There’s a British man with one arm that can not only drive a car with a manual transmission, but teaches others how to do it.
Khuram Iqbal, 31, was certified as driving instructor in the U.K. seven months ago and has already seen eight of his students through the nation’s difficult driving tests.
(SWNS)
The 31-year-old was born without a left arm and has had a prosthetic limb since he was two-years-old.
(SWNS)
"When I was little I used to get upset about being different, but, being the eldest, I wasn't raised as a boy who had one arm, I was raised as a boy who had four - I was always having to be here and there and do everything," the Yorkshire resident told SWNS.
Iqbal, who earned a law degree in 2008, but today runs a real estate agency with his father, learned to drive at age 20. British cars have right-side driver's seats, which means the left hand is used to operate the transmission.
"As I got older I thought I might be able to do it in an automatic, but when I told my mum I was thinking of learning to drive she told me I should learn to drive a manual car just like everyone else. She said that I should not rule out being able to do it until I, at least, tried.”
He said his rubber hand is very sticky and grips the gearshift well. He passed his own driving test on the first try and scored top marks on his instructor exams. He teaches driving part-time.
"I want others to see that you can do anything if you put your mind to it.” Iqbal said.
He’s not the only one with that attitude. Iqbal’s achievement was preceded by that of Gareth Almond, who became the U.K.’s first one-armed driving instructor in 2013.