A woman encountered an unexpected obstacle at “Regitra”: an investigation has been launched – MadeinVilnius.lt

After trying to obtain driving rights, the woman encountered an unexpected obstacle – it turned out that “Regitra” does not have a car adapted for her disability with manual control. The woman complained about this situation to the Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsman, which started an investigation.

In the complaint, the applicant explained that according to the currently valid regulations, persons with physical disabilities taking the driving test, who are only allowed to drive vehicles adapted to their disabilities, must organize the car themselves. She asked if this was not discrimination.

“One car will not fit everyone”

The Ministry of the Interior, which established such a procedure, indicated in its response to the Office that it is impossible to adapt one car to all the disabilities of individuals. There are as many as 51 customization options, which are provided in the order descriptions, and are implemented according to individual needs.

Therefore, according to the representatives of the ministry, it is inappropriate for “Registries” to purchase cars that may not meet the specific needs of persons with disabilities and in most cases would not be used. Allegedly, the costs would be too high, especially since the driving tests are held in 12 cities of the country.

As one of the reasons for this procedure, the ministry also cited a small number of persons with mobility impairments taking the driving test, reaching up to three dozen people per year.

Getting the right to drive is complicated

Karolis Čeps, a lawyer at the Office of the Equal Opportunities Controller, noted that no matter how many people use the services, public institutions must guarantee equal rights and opportunities for everyone, regardless of disability, gender, age or other personal identity.

However, the lawyer agreed that, taking into account the circumstances, “Registra” in this case bears a disproportionate burden in ensuring the adaptability of cars to each specific person with a mobility disability, therefore he did not see a violation of legal acts defining equal opportunities in this situation.

However, at the same time, K. Čep noted that it is generally difficult for people with disabilities in the country to obtain the right to drive.

“Lithuania provides compensation for the technical adaptation of a passenger car, but in order to receive it, a person with a disability must already have a driver’s license. Considering the procedure that you need to take care of your own car for the driving test, obtaining the rights becomes really complicated. It cannot be ruled out that this also contributes to the low number of rights-holding persons with disabilities,” he said.

According to the data of the service, training of drivers to drive category B vehicles, adapted for persons with mobility disabilities, is organized by VšĮ Valakupių reabilitacijos centras. The institution provides the opportunity to rent and use these vehicles for examination purposes.

The Service recommended that the Ministry of Social Security and Labor, which oversees such services, take into account the problems indicated in this complaint and take measures to improve the opportunities of persons with disabilities to take driving tests with vehicles specifically adapted to their disabilities.