Disability Advice

Help, advice, information and resources for disabled people and those living with disability.

Driving

For growing numbers of disabled people, whether still working or retired, being 'housebound' is not an option. Community transport services, such as Dial-a-Ride and Shopmobility schemes, and social car schemes run by voluntary organisations, can help solve some travel and shopping problems but, for many, the spontaneity and convenience afforded by the 'private car' is essential to leading a full, active life.

Whether you want to be able to drive or simply need a practical solution to enable you to travel as a passenger in the family car, Driving Assessment and Training Centres can provide advice and information on vehicles and equipment. Medical, physical and engineering assessments are tailored to individual needs to help you achieve safe, cost-effective mobility.

Centre facilities may include a computerised static assessment module (on an indoor rig) for measuring limb movement and strength, sight testing equipment, a private test track, and special vehicles catering to a variety of disabilities.

Services generally include:

• Driving ability assessments
• Driving tuition in suitably adapted vehicles
• Seating and wheelchair hoisting and stowage assessments
• Vehicle appraisal and conversion

Your local Council may operate a dial-a-ride or taxi schemes. You may also be eligible for a bus pass.

Driving Mobility is a network of independent organisations covering England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which offer professional, high-quality information, advice and assessment to people who need to gain or retain independence through mobility. See www.drivingmobility. org.uk to find out more.

Any disabilities must be reported to the DVLA when applying for a licence, or when they occur if a licence is already held.

Mobility Centres can offer advice and assistance, but the decision as to whether or not a person is fit to drive rests with the DVLA.

Any vehicle that is used for a disabled person (whether they are the driver or passenger) may be exempt from road tax. To get exemption, you must be receiving either the higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance or the enhanced rate of the Personal Independence Payment, receiving a War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement or have an invalid carriage (the legal term for a mobility scooter or powered wheelchair with a maximum speed of 8mph on the road).

The vehicle must be registered in the name of the disabled person or in the name of a driver authorised to act on your behalf (known as the nominee). You will still need to apply for vehicle tax, even if you don't need to pay for vehicle tax.

Before you can get free vehicle tax, you'll need to apply for an exemption certificate from the agency that issues your benefit. The exemption certificate will show your name and that of the nominee if you have nominated someone to drive for you. If your car is being used by the nominee or someone else for his or her personal needs, the tax exemption will be lost.

The Motability Scheme

We have compiled a full guide to the Motability Scheme separately - Our Motability Scheme Guide.

The Blue Badge Scheme

The Blue Badge Scheme provides a national arrangement of on street parking concessions enabling people with severe walking difficulties who travel as either drivers or passengers to park close to their destinations. A Blue Badge costs up to £10 in England, its free in Wales and up to £20 in Scotland. You will automatically qualify for a badge if you are over 3 years of age and meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Receive the higher rate of the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance (see note below about Personal Independence Payments)
• Receive War Pensioners Mobility Supplement
• Have been both awarded a lump sum benefit at tariffs 1-8 of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and certified as having a permanent and substantial disability which causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking
• Are registered blind
• Receive the Personal Independence Payment for being unable to walk further than 50 metres that means a score of 8 points or more under the 'moving around' activity of the mobility component
• Receive the mobility component of Personal Independence Payment and have obtained 10 points specifically for descriptor E under the 'planning and following journeys' activity, on the grounds that you are unable to undertake any journey because it would cause you overwhelming
• get the Adult Disability Payment and have been awarded either 8 points or more in the Moving Around activity or 12 points in the Planning and Following a Journey activity or enhanced rate mobility without reference to points
• get the higher rate of the mobility component of Child Disability Payment

You may also be eligible for a Blue Badge if one or more of the following apply:

• you cannot walk at all
• you cannot walk without help from someone else or using mobility aids you find walking very difficult due to pain, breathlessness or the time it takes walking is dangerous to your health and safety
• you have a terminal illness, which means you cannot walk or find walking very difficult and have a SR1 form
• you have a severe disability in both arms and drive regularly, but cannot operate pay-and-display parking machines
• you struggle severely to plan or follow a journey
• you find it difficult or impossible to control your actions and lack awareness of the impact you could have on others
• you regularly have intense and overwhelming responses to situations causing temporary loss of behavioral control
• you frequently become extremely anxious or fearful of public/open spaces
• The parent of a child who is less than three years old may apply for a Blue Badge if their child has a specific medical condition which means that they must always be accompanied by bulky medical equipment or they need to be kept near their vehicle at all times so that they can be treated in their vehicle or quickly taken to a hospital for treatment.

The Scheme is administered by local authorities who deal with applications and issue badges. NB: Some London boroughs and other town centres don't operate this scheme, so you should always check whether the scheme is running before parking with your blue badge.

The Department for Transport has produced an explanatory booklet - 'The Blue Badge Scheme: rights and responsibilities in England' - explaining the Scheme in more detail (see www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-blue-badge-scheme-rights-and-responsabilities-in-england for this and other publications).

The Blue Badge Improvement Service came into effect in April 2012 with the aim of cutting down on abuse of the system and ensuring only those eligible for the scheme will be accepted. To check the fees (for badges) and if you are eligible, please contact your local authority in the first instance. You may be asked to see an independent mobility assessor when you apply for a badge.

More Information

We have produced a Disability Advice booklet which contains a substantial amount of extra information:

• Powered Scooters/Buggies
• Walking Aids and Equipment
• Wheelchairs - how to get them, the right type for you
• Help for Disabled People at Home
• Disability Living Allowance
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
• Attendance Allowance
• Disablement Benefit
• War Disablement Pension
• Carers' Allowance

Download your copy of this guide by selecting your area from the dropdown list above.

Homecare Advice for the Disabled

We have a specific page with more information about caring for people in their own home. Read our Homecare Advice for the Disabled.