When the desire to move overcomes all fears: Zita and Reda's stories prove disability is no barrier to getting behind the wheel

For Zita, a senior from Panevėžys, her adapted car is a lifeline, a guarantee of freedom that she refused to give up despite her mobility impairments. Living with a movement disorder since her teenage years, she drove a standard car for over three decades, working in IT and refusing to let her condition dictate her life. But as her health changed, pressing pedals became difficult and driving less safe.

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I wasn't going to sit at home waiting for someone to give me a ride.

"I wasn't going to sit at home waiting for someone to give me a ride," Zita said. She found "Autopritaikymas.lt," a company that helped her navigate compensation paperwork, choose a vehicle, and adapt it to her needs. Zita, who now uses a walker, drives daily and encourages others, regardless of age or physical limitations, to embrace adapted driving. "Driving is a refreshment for the soul, the ability to go to the store myself, meet friends, and simply feel free," she shared.

Reda's journey to the driver's seat was also fraught with challenges. A teenage car accident left her with a profound fear of driving, a fear she held onto for years. "I was tired of constantly planning my life around others," she explained, referring to relying on her husband, friends, or taxis.

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Driving is a refreshment for the soul, the ability to go to the store myself, meet friends, and simply feel free.

Her physical condition, achondroplasia, means she stands only 124 centimeters tall, making it impossible to reach the pedals of a standard car. Even after obtaining her driver's license five years ago, she recently managed to get behind the wheel of her own adapted vehicle. She found that the specialized hand controls used in driving school were not ideal for her, requiring her to sit too close to the wheel and hindering quick reactions.

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I was tired of constantly planning my life around others.