A hand-operated jointed control lever assembly that allows normal
operation when moved in a first direction by an operator's grip, but
disjoints without breaking when moved in other directions. The control
lever naturally returns to its normal mode of operation when the abnormal
stressing forces of an accident or fall are removed from the lever. The
lever assembly has a lever body and a lever arm with respective mating
fulcrum surfaces and a tensioning cable passing through the fulcrum
surfaces, with a tensioning spring exerting force on the tensioning cable
to draw the fulcrum surfaces together. The lever body has a
rearwardly-extending lip in engagement with a forward edge of the lever
arm, allowing side-to-side disjointed movement and outward disjointed
movement opposite the first direction.