Mike Cline and Melissa Caruso from MobilityWorks with the program's new, fully adapted 2023 Nissan Rogue
The Adaptive Driving Program is excited to share that a second, fully adapted vehicle has been added to its fleet this spring. The Adaptive Driving Program provides services to individuals with a variety of driving needs as a result of a physical, visual or cognitive impairment. These include:
- A comprehensive driving evaluation which consists of a pre-driver clinical assessment and an on-the-road assessment
- An assessment of older drivers and their ability to continue to safely operate a vehicle
- Driving remediation to teach clients defensive driving strategies and recommendations to improve their safe driving skills or to reinforce driving behaviors
- Adaptive equipment training for individuals with physical impairment that require the use of adaptive driving equipment to safely and independently operate a vehicle
- Driver training to teach clients basic operations of a vehicle and skills necessary to drive safely
- Driver training to prepare for PennDOT’s road test
The addition of this new vehicle allows the Adaptive Driving Program to evaluate and provide training to more clients in a timelier manner.
For nearly 20 years, the Adaptive Driving Program has been providing driver rehabilitation services to individuals with a variety of driving needs in specially adapted vehicles as part of their rehabilitation and pathway to independent living. The program is part of the Center for Assistive Technology, a partnership between UPMC and University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology.
The Adaptive Driving Program would like to thank the following individuals and businesses for their time and generosity in obtaining a vehicle and adapting it to the program’s needs:
Heidi Fonzi and Enterprise Fleet Management Services for their assistance in obtaining a vehicle; Sure Grip Howell Ventures Ltd. for providing the program with adaptive driving equipment at no cost; and MobilityWorks in Monroeville, PA, for installing the adaptive driving equipment at no cost.
Sure Grip Howell Ventures Ltd. team in Upper Kingsclear, New Brunswick, Canada
Thank you for helping to make the Adaptive Driving Program even more successful in providing mobility independence to the people in our community!
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Written by:
Melissa Aleksak, MS, OTR/L, DRP
Director of Adaptive Driving Program
The University of Pittsburgh
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Published July 5, 2023