Driving as a disabled person

Poppy_

A big thank you to @Poppy_ for her guest blog and for sharing her experiences about driving as a disabled person. Please feel free to comment below and ask any questions/share your experiences too.

Driving as a disabled person 

I am learning to drive, like most people, however learning to drive as a disabled person is more complicated, due to the extra steps that are needed.

I started my journey by visiting my local William Merritt Centre, as they provide a variety of driving assessments, which allowed me to know what adaptations I would need for driving.

I had an idea of what adaptations I would need, due to previous research into driving with a disability, but this assessment helped me to have a report, which states what I need, so that I could find driving instructors with the knowledge of what I needed.

The William Merritt centre also provides driving lessons (they may have a waiting list, depending on your area) and has a list of approved driving instructors and what the instructors offer, such as specialist disability training and adaptations to the car. There is also a separate website which shows disability driving instructors in your area, including what the instructors provide, you can visit it here.

The Motability scheme may also provide subsidised lessons to disabled individuals, once they have ordered a car and are receiving certain benefits, however the criteria may change.

I have started to learn to drive, using a steering ball and hand controls, ( push/pull), and I have taken my theory test, which also accommodated to my needs, with a specific test room that had an adjustable height desk so that the computer was at a height that was comfortable for me in my wheelchair. The staff at my local theory test centre were also very accommodating.

I hope this helps others, on their journey of learning to drive.