The Remarkable Story of the Blind Man Who Invented Cruise Control for Cars

Simon Whistler, host of the wonderfully informative video series “Today I Found Out” tells the amazing story of Ralph Teetor, the blind man who invented cruise control out of frustration with his attorney.

the invention of the modern cruise control system is credited to inventor and Automotive Hall of Famer, Ralph Teetor- a man who couldn’t actually drive due to being completely blind. The inspiration for the cruise control system struck Teetor while he was riding with his lawyer in the 1940s. He noticed the lawyer had a tendency to slow down while talking and speed up while listening. This annoyed Teetor, who decided to come up with a device to control the speed of the car automatically. After several years of tinkering, in 1948 he filed his first patent for a device to accomplish just this.