Fourteen handicapped Chinese drivers left the country's capital on Thursday for London to support disabled athletes participating in the city's upcoming Paralympic Games.

The motorcade will travel 20,000 km over 45 days and across 10 countries before reaching London on August 28 for the opening of the Paralympics, according to Beijing Beiao International Travel Service Co.Ltd,, organizer of the trip. Participants include lower-limb handicapped drivers and volunteers who have obtained driver's licenses approved by traffic authorities.

More handicapped Chinese became eligible to drive in 2010, when a new traffic regulation loosened requirements for the lower-limb handicapped in acquiring driving licenses.

(Xinhua News Agency July 19, 2012)