Jeff Daniels tells story of blind engineer who invented cruise control
New movie spotlights a life of perseverance and innovation
Few people have ever heard of Ralph Teetor. That’s about to change.
Teetor is the mechanical engineer who — despite losing his vision as a child — created the technology we now know as cruise control, a standard feature in cars that allows drivers to achieve steady speed with the press of a button.
His incredible life story illustrates a commitment to perseverance and innovation.
Born in 1890 in Hagerstown, Ind., Teetor was determined not to let blindness stand in the way of his dreams.
Now his story is now being told.
The 91-minute documentary film, “Blind Logic,” was released on July 8.
Emmy-winning actor Jeff Daniels, a Chelsea, Mich., native, is the voice of the inventor.
“Ralph’s story is remarkable … I was happy to help,” Daniels said in a statement provided to Shifting Gears.
Teetor earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1912, a feat that seemed inconceivable at the time. He later earned a master’s degree from there, too. (Barry Corbin, who appeared in the Oscar-winning film Killers of the Flower Moon, is the voice of Henry Spangler, engineering school dean at the private Ivy League research school.)
Teetor became the first blind engineer on record in the U.S. He went on to serve as national president of the Society of Automobile Engineers.
By age 12, Teetor built a gasoline-powered motor car capable of reaching a speed of 12 mph. His father and four uncles, who trained him to be a machinist, owned and operated the Perfect Circle Corp., founded in 1895 to build railway inspection cars.
During World War I, Teetor’s heightened sense of touch helped balance turbine rotors used in torpedo boat destroyers, according to the Smithsonian magazine. His dozens of inventions included lock mechanisms, fishing rod holders and an early power lawn mower, according to Teetor’s obituary at age 91 in the New York Times on Feb. 18, 1982.
He was inducted in the Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn, Mich., in 1988.
“The inspiration for the invention that would become cruise control came to Teetor in 1936 as a passenger in a car driven by Harry Lindsey, his friend and patent attorney. Lindsey had a tendency to vary his speed during conversation, speeding up or slowing down depending on whether he or Teetor was speaking. To address these inconsistencies, Teetor started developing a device to control automotive speed. In 1948, he filed his first speed control device patent. A speed selector on the dashboard was connected along the drive shaft to a mechanism in the engine compartment. By holding the gas pedal steady, the device maintained the driver’s selected speed,” said the National Inventors Hall of Fame in Alexandria, Virginia, which inducted him just last year.
“Manufactured by Perfect Circle and trademarked as the ‘Speedostat,” it was first introduced in Chrysler cars including the 1958 Imperial, New Yorker and Windsor luxury models. Chrysler marketed the feature under the name "Auto-Pilot." In 1959, Chrysler offered it as an option on all its models. Ward’s Automotive Reports reviewed the new device and stated, ‘Auto-Pilot is a most remarkable invention …’ In 1959, Cadillac offered the speed control device and called it “Cruise Control,” the popular name now recognized throughout the world.”
Matt Anderson, curator of transportation at The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation in Dearborn, Mich., told Shifting Gears that the cruise control technology is second only to automatic transmission in terms of innovation that pointed toward autonomous vehicles and what might be possible.
“It laid the groundwork ... and provided a big improvement in the driving experience,” Anderson said. “It’s one of those things we take for granted. The cheapest cars come with cruise control now. That's a testament to how influential and important it is.”
Family members say they are grateful for the opportunity to tell his story.
The film has been screened across the country, winning awards in cities including Chicago, Austin, Cleveland and Santa Ana., Calif.
Not only did Teetor live life as a sighted person but his own daughter didn't know he was blind until age 10, family members said.
Ralph Meyer, 68, of Indianapolis, Ind., has vivid memories of his grandfather.
“He was an older man and I had to be patient while he used his hands to recognize things,” said Meyer, who was 26 when his grandfather died. “Sighted games weren’t a part of our life. We always played a game called, ‘shoe store,’ where we would run and grab shoes out of the closet and he would try them on and say, ‘I’ll take these’ and give us a quarter.”
As an adult, Meyer often uses cruise control in his 2022 Nissan Armada and his 2022 Mercedes 450SL.
“I think of him every time I touch that button,” Meyer said.
It’s hard to come to grips with his legacy, Meyer said. “I’m a mechanical engineer and I’ve got a degree. But I look at images on that (cruise control) patent, and I don’t know how he came up with it. This is crazy.”
Not only did he understand the engine but how all the little pieces worked and fit together, from the vacuum system to rotations of the axle, he said.
“I heard over and over from my mother, ‘You can do anything you put your mind to,’” said Meyer, who runs Meyer Plastics in Indianapolis. “I didn’t realize until later in life, my grandfather didn’t have sight. All he had was his mind. He probably spent a lot of time in his mind, not being distracted by everything else. As a family, we’ve got a lot to be proud of.”
Ralph Teetor would file more than 40 U.S. patents.
When visiting with blind World War II veterans in 1945 at Valley Forge General Hospital, a military hospital near Philadelphia, Penn., (Ralph) Teetor told them, “Remember, you are not handicapped so long as you can think logically. Many times, during the past forty-nine years, people have told me how sorry they were that I am handicapped. My answer to them has always been, that I am not handicapped, because I have never considered myself so,” according to the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame.
Three great nephews of the inventor worked on the documentary: Jack Teetor of West Los Angeles, Calif., wrote, directed, and produced. Jim Andron of Philadelphia, Penn., composed the music, and Daniel Teetor of Algonac, Mich., edited photos.
Daniel Teetor, 73, said, “Engineers are very focused on things but Uncle Ralph was also focused on people. He recognized voices because he could remember them. He would know who was in the vicinity by overhearing conversations.”
The documentary film is based on the 1995 book “One Man’s Vision” written by Ralph Teetor’s daughter, Marjorie Teetor Meyer.
“We had a family reunion in 2013 when my Aunt Marjorie was still alive and dad was still alive and the subject of the movie came up and they said, ‘What do you think?’” said Jack Teetor, 71, a former Universal Pictures marketing executive. “This man was able to overcome unthinkable odds in his life.”
Where to watch: The film “Blind Logic” is available for streaming on digital platforms including Amazon, iTunes/AppleTV, Google Play, and Hoopla and as well as on-demand cable providers.
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Loved this, Phoebe. Inspiring.
I read the story to my wife, we enjoy reading to each other, although she dislikes cruise control. When I was done I asked if knowing the origins might have changed her mind regarding the use of cruise control. As expected, she said no.