Can't you get a car with some sort of hand control?
I knew a bloke with a false leg, who had paddle thingies fitted under the steering wheel to operate (I think) accellerator and brake. Alternatively, do what Douglas Bader did-swap the pedals round to the most convenient layout. Caused his mechanic a few brown trouser moments, I think he swapped the brake and accellerator :O
( Greenbat, Sun 4 Apr 2010, 13:52, 1 reply)

^^
I hope you are joking as surely this is EXACTLY what she means. Just because she has a bad leg doesn't mean she can't figure out ways around it
(Studentken is looking for motivation on, Sun 4 Apr 2010, 14:11, closed)

Thank you. You get it.
My LEFT leg is the one which is problematic. My RIGHT leg is fine, if slowed down somewhat due to sharing the muscles in the small of my back with the left one. My left leg is weak and very painful, so I can't depress a clutch to biting point. My right leg is fine, so I can brake and accelerate like anyone else. My arms are more toned than most women I know, because of having to lift my own bodyweight when I try to move. Therefore I can steer, indicate and use gearstick and handbrake like anyone else. Given that the only real problem is with my clutch leg, I can use an automatic and be as good a driver as anyone else - and, eventually, better than some, I hope. In a few months when I get my full license, I can walk into any car showroom and drive out in any automatic I like - and given that my automatic license also covers semi-automatics with flappy-paddle gearboxes, I can drive Aston Martins if the desire takes me.

As an aside, I've loved learning to drive. There are some days when I can't make it to my kitchen to stand and make lunch, and have to drag myself upstairs when I have to pee, which is a bit crap when you don't get much warning. But if I can get outside and into my instructor's car, I can find an A road and do 70mph. You don't appreciate freedom of movement until you've lost it.

Spinal injuries are nasty shit. You only get one spine - don't fuck with it too much.
(Trauma, Sun 4 Apr 2010, 16:27, closed)

The bloke I was on about
Had lost his right leg, hence the throttle/brake thingy. Merely pointing out you don't have to use autos.
I was thinking about a similar problem a few weeks back y'see. Mate of mine got offered a motorbike he didn't want, but had an idea of building a trike for his mate with his left leg missing. We were trying to figure out how to do the gearchange (for those who don't know, on bikes you usually have the gear lever on a foot pedal, and the clutch on the left hand). Then a few days later I went to look at a bike owned by another bloke with dodgy legs. He'd swapped the back brake a gear lever round on all his to make life easier. Sadly the trike project came to nothing, as the donor bike was utterly, utterly knackered.
I find mechanical problems like this very interesting, I'm not trying to suggest you can't figure it out.
( Greenbat, Sun 4 Apr 2010, 19:47, closed)