{"id":14212,"date":"2022-09-28T13:34:24","date_gmt":"2022-09-28T03:34:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/?p=14212"},"modified":"2022-09-28T13:34:24","modified_gmt":"2022-09-28T03:34:24","slug":"destination-freedom-and-vehicles-for-the-physically-challenged","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/buy-new-car\/destination-freedom-and-vehicles-for-the-physically-challenged\/","title":{"rendered":"Destination Freedom and Vehicles for the Physically Challenged"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

There are many wonderful people with some sort of physical disability that they\u2019ve had since birth or from an incident later in life which caused the disability to come about.\u00a0 All are inspirational people.<\/p>\n

Being allowed to drive when you are physically challenged offers you so much more independence and heaps more confidence.\u00a0 Driving offers a sense of freedom to do what you want whenever you can, so it gives you more opportunity to find a job and get to work, volunteer for others, and go to the other side of the continent solo, or with family and friends, when you want to just as you see fit.<\/p>\n

Being physically challenged is on its own a significant hurdle to overcome on all fronts when it comes to being able to do life like a person with a fully functional body.\u00a0 There are many difficulties for a physically challenged person to deal with, and one of those is simply getting from Place A to Place B on time.<\/p>\n

If you were\/are a person with a physical disability who wants to be able to drive to your own Destination Freedom, then finding and owning the right vehicle that\u2019s just right for you will be the first box to tick.\u00a0 Sometimes the vehicle may need to be modified to suit your own unique requirements.\u00a0 My Uncle Frank, a 2nd<\/sup> World War veteran who has since passed on, suffered a war injury from flying shrapnel.\u00a0 This brief fateful moment caused Uncle Frank to become paralysed in his left arm as well as partially in his left leg.\u00a0 He was still able to walk with a shuffle, drive a car (an always-shiny brown Toyota Corona) with an automatic gearbox, and give everyone a good laugh with his great sense of humour. \u00a0A small bracket with a fixed swivelling knob was attached to the steering wheel of the car so that he could turn the car with ease, using his good hand and arm to steer.<\/p>\n

Many other people have had accidents that even left them a paraplegic and confined to a wheelchair for mobility.\u00a0 Any accident can be life changing, none more so than a spinal cord injury.\u00a0 Yet still it is possible for these people to drive.\u00a0 A former New Zealand equestrian champion, Catriona Williams, who is now a tetraplegic after falling from her horse in 2002, still enjoys an independent life filled with fun.\u00a0 Enjoying adventurous road trips with family and friends is made possible with her modified Volkswagen Caravelle van, which has been set up for her to be able to drive securely from her wheelchair.<\/p>\n

There are clever people who have the engineering skills enabling them to modify a vehicle for many people with physical challenges.<\/p>\n

Some of the special equipment you can use to modify a vehicle include:<\/p>\n