Because my wife has the use of only one arm, pushing a shopping cart, the way that they are currently designed, is almost impossible for her, especially once there are some items in the cart. In addition, there are times when the shopper is reading their shopping list or, heaven forbid, talking on their cell phone when steering a shopping cart with one hand is very difficult.

My idea is to put a steering slider in the middle of the handle that is connected to the caster wheels such that when the handle is slid to the right, the cart turns to the left and when slid to the left, the cart turns to the right. If the shopper chooses not to use the steering slider, the caster wheels will work normally.

All that it would take is devising a simple mechanism that runs from the carts handle to the two front wheels. I’m sure that there are numerous ways to make this device, but that would be up to the cart manufacturer to come up with the most reliable and least expensive system.

This idea could also be used anywhere where typical shopping cart-type devices are used, for example in airports.To simplify things, the cart could have just one wheel in the front instead of two. Shopping carts have been the same for probably a hundred years. It’s time for a change.