Crazy idea: move the hand to the gear lever

[Elaphe]

Could it be possible to create an app to force the virtual driver to move his hand to the gear lever with a hotkey? Yesterday I had a crazy idea: I could install a laser sensor I have laying around to detect when I move my hand to my gear lever. This sensor is programmed to send a hotkey when activated, but I guess it could be modified to detect for how long the laser is interrupted. That way I could tell the game when I grab the lever and when I release it and make the animations on the game match accordingly.