Lusin Approximation and Horizontal Curves in Carnot Groups

We show that, given an absolutely continuous horizontal curve $\gamma$ in the Heisenberg group, there is a $C^1$ horizontal curve $\Gamma$ such that $\Gamma=\gamma$ and $\Gamma'=\gamma'$ outside a set of small measure. Conversely, we construct an absolutely continuous horizontal curve in the Engel group with no $C^1$ horizontal approximation.