PIP and Driving when claiming for 'Daily Living'

Santosha12

Hi Everybody, I hope everyone is having a good day.

I’ve recently seen comments regarding PIP and driving and some debate surrounding eligibility for PIP/Daily Living etc. when the claimant is a driver. I cannot remember which thread it was on but recalled that I’d also seen something on ‘Benefits and Work’ website forum a few months ago so I’ve lifted it from there and posted it below in italics in case it’s of any help. It obviously doesn’t constitute legal advice but it may help applicants for PIP (or at Review) for Daily Living when they are also a driver.

BTW, I am a driver of an automatic car and most days cannot drive at all now, mostly housebound. I’ve looked at my MOT certificates which show my mileage and, for context, I always drove between 500 and 1,000 miles a month. I’ve driven a total of 38 miles since January this year and some of that was my mechanic driving it for me on a dual carriageway as I asked him to give it a ‘run out’ at my MOT as I cannot drive on any fast roads.

I have two (probably very strange reasons) for keeping my car. One, the thought of not having it and completely losing my independence affects me mentally which I struggle to accept that yet (it costs me c 70.00 a month to keep it and I last put petrol in c September 2024) and secondly, if there was an emergency at my bungalow, I would not leave my dogs i.e. gas leak or anything like that. If they could not come out with me then I would not leave them whereas if I have the car I can get in it with them. (Did say they were strange reasons. Anyway, I digress…..back to the B&W post:

‘’Just to add some information about driving, and the correlation with (supposedly!) every other PIP activity. Please have a look at the following which is a comment from an Occupational Therapist friend, when I asked her about this issue."It is very difficult to find research for this particular issue regarding grip but in one of my books and from my experience as an Occupational Therapist there are several types of grip used in different ways to grasp different items e.g handles, tools etc. The book is muscles, nerves & movement in human occupation 3rd edition by Barbara Tyldesley & June Grieve, Blackwell publishing p 117-120.It proposes that the power grip is where all of the fingers are bent around an item and the thumb is used to press against with other fingers or the object e.g pan handle.

It goes into a lot of explanation how the other joints and muscles work in order for the grip to be successful in function.It states a cylinder grip (another type of power grip) is used for handles that are at right angles to the forearm e.g jug handle or handbrake of a car.A ball grip (power grip) has a loose, wide grip e.g circular knobs, balls and tops of jam jars.A hook grip (power grip) is used for carrying a suitcase or shopping bag - by side of body with straight elbow and wrist. Precision grips are where an object is held between the tips of the thumb and 1,2 or 3 fingers e.g a pencil or small tool.Plate grip e.g holding the edge of a plate.Pinch grip e.g holding a screwdriver or sewing needleA key grip e.g for holding a keyAnd pincer grip e.g for picking up beads or pinsAll have slightly different ways of gripping the items.

Other issues should also be considered as well as grip e.g. standing or sitting to do a task, strength in wrist, elbow and shoulder and pain as well as powered assisted steering wheels!"My own personal research suggests that the whole arm is required to coordinate to eg chop and peel a carrot or potato, using a downward motion to chop and of course rotation to peel.The steering wheel of a car has the same grip at all times and little force is required. (I wouldn't recommend trying this whilst driving - but you can balance the steering wheel on the palms, or even lightly on the fingers. If you have power steering, it's surprising how little grip you do need.) However chopping and peeling a carrot using only one hand, and not holding it is incredibly difficult for anyone, let alone someone who has problems with hands/arms!The steering wheel, is always held in the same plane, ie eg at quarter to three position. The wheel (according to learn to drive websites,) advocate that the wheel basically swings through the hands, using a push-pull method. If you think about this, unless you are struggling to control the car, even when turning there is little deviation from the starting quarter to three. You certainly don't need to lift your hand up and down as with a chopping knife, or rotate at the wrist and manipulate anything, or make fine adjustments with the fingers. The wheel stays in one place, and isn't potentially dangerous and sharp like a knife. Whilst I don't know this part for certain, I am sure that even with somewhat shaky hands, you can maintain a reasonable/sufficient grip of the wheel, which is wider to grip anyway, unless you have a very chunky knife. I would not consider if safe to try and use a knife with shaky hands, or indeed carry or use any cooking utensil, unless under strict supervision.Yes, of course you need coordination to drive, it's just not the same, it is of course (DWP take note!) a totally different task!’’

Finally (back to my own 'waffle' 😊), I can only walk around 35 metres with a stick. I do not receive Mobility PIP (just Daily Living) and my Award is to August 2027, so review due from August 2026. I have been considering whether to request an earlier review due to poor mobility but am still procrastinating about that as I have been for the last year at least 😁.

I hope the above might be of use/interest to somebody, sorry it's so long but could not cut any of it out really.