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If you are disabled, being mobile is a vital part of independent living - going to the shops, visiting friends, going to work and having trips out or going on holiday. Here is given information on the help you can get.
Financial help If you are unable or virtually unable to walk, you may qualify for the Mobility Component of the Disability Living Allowance (see Financial Help). You can spend this money on whatever means you prefer to get around. There are different rates for the Mobility Component depending on your impairment.
People who are getting the higher rate of the Mobility Component of the War Pensioner’s Mobility Supplement ( and whose vehicles are used exclusively by them) can also claim exemption from Vehicle Excise Duty (Road Tax)
V188 Exemption from Vehicle Excise Duty for Disabled People from main Post Offices, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) or DVLA Local Vehicle Registration Offices (in the local phone book under ‘Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions’)
Motability If you are getting the higher rate of the Mobility component of Disability Living Allowance or the War Pensioners’ Mobility Supplement, you can apply to an organisation called Motability for help in hiring a new car, buying on hire purchase new or used cars or wheelchairs on preferential terms.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK HERE
RADAR
mobility Factpack 3 Money
Matters. Price £2
The Orange Badge Scheme offers concessions such as free use of on-street parking meters and pay and display bays. Badge-holders may also be exempt from limits on parking times imposed on others and may park for up to three hours on yellow lines except where there is a ban on loading and unloading. You may qualify if you:
Are receiving the higher rate of the Mobility Component of the Disability Living Allowance or War Pensioners’ Mobility Supplement;
Use a motor vehicle supplied by a government health department;
Are registered blind;
Have severe disability in both upper limbs, drive a motor vehicle regularly but cannot turn the steering wheel by hand even if that wheel is fitted with a turning knob; or
Have a permanent and substantial disability which causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking.
The badge can be used throughout most of Great Britain. However there are some areas of central London which have their own schemes for people who live and work in the area. Access to certain town centres may be prohibited or limited to vehicles with special permits. The Orange Badge scheme does not apply to private roads or at airports.
Your social services / social work department will tell you how to apply for an Orange Badge.
ORANGE/BLUE BADGE INFORMATION
Any Orange Badge issued in England, Northern Ireland
or Scotland with an expiry later than 31 March 2003 is not VALID. Any
member receiving one should be advised to immediately contact the issuing
office and seek an urgent replacement with a Blue Badge. Parking enforcement
authorities have been advised of the problem and asked to be lenient for
a few weeks. Blue Badges have not yet been introduced for people living
in Wales, where they continue to issue Orange Badges. These badges are
perfectly valid as before.
For more comprehensive information from the
DETR (Department of the Environment, Transport
and the Regions) CLICK
HERE.
For information on reciprocal parking schemes with Europe and other countries
CLICK HERE.
Advice
there are a lot of choices to be made before you are happily,
safely and economically on the road - in obtaining insurance, learning
to drive, getting needs assessed, choosing a car, having modifications
made to controls and access. Here are some sources of good impartial advice:
MAVIS (Mobility Advice and Vehicle Information Service)This is the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions’ own centre at Crowthorpe in Berkshire. It offers assessment and advice on driving ability, consultation on car adaptation and vehicle familiarisation sessions using its own facilities. It’s free information service covers all aspects of personal outdoor mobility, including information about similar centres in other parts of the UK. Tel: 01344 661000
Banstead Mobility Centre Provides information to disabled people, their families and professional workers; carries out assessments for car drivers and passengers, demonstrates and assesses a wide range of powered vehicles and lightweight wheelchairs and gives driving instruction.
Information is free. You will be charged a fee for other services. The Centre also arranges residential driving courses. Tel: 0208 770 1151
There are also local mobility centres throughout the country which can provide advice and assessment. Most belong to the Forum of Mobility Centres which aim to increase awareness of mobility issues and to promote research. Mobility Centres can also supply details of Approved Driving Instructors who have experience in teaching people with disabilities.
For a list of Mobility Centres visit
the Forum of Mobility Centres:
http//www.mobility-centres.org.uk/
The Mobility Road Show 2002 takes place at Donington Park, Derbyshire from 20 -22 June. It is a free, charity event, open from 10 - 6 daily. It is the world's largest outdoor motorshow for disabled people, where visitors can test drive over 80 different vehicles already adapted with hand controls. For further up-to-date information please call the press office on: 020 8943 5343 or visit the website at http://www.justmobility.co.uk/roadshow
Ability Car Guide, RICA
Motoring and Mobility for Disabled People by Ann Darnbrough and Derek Kinrade. See also chapter in the Authors’ Directory for Disabled People'.
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