Pip and driving

madee93
madee93 Online Community Member Posts: 51 Connected
in PIP, DLA, ADP & AA
Ive herd alot of peoples claims being wrongly assessed due to the fact they can drive...i recently had my assessment and told them i can drive but literally only for 5 mins before my foot cramps and starts hurting due to nerve damage from cauda equina syndrome. Im very anxious now and feel i have messed up my claim by being honest! Can anyone give any advice on this or their experience as a driver applying for pip thanks xx 

Comments

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,456 Championing
    I’ve claimed PIP for 10 years almost and driving has never gone against me. Yes, sometimes driving can be a reason for not awarding points in some descriptors and is often a copy and paste reason. 

    All you can do now is wait for the decision because at the moment you can’t speculate anything. Once the report is returned to DWP a decision can take up to 12 weeks.
  • WelshBlue
    WelshBlue Online Community Member Posts: 959 Championing
    edited June 2023
    I've got Enhanced Daily Care and standard mobility .  Not once has the fact I can drive gone against me.
    This is from the initial claim and 2 reviews

    I've only been asked once about my driving and that was the Decision Maker on my last review, who asked if I drive a manual or automatic (manual), and increased my Daily Living from Standard to Enhanced because of worsening condition  

    Good luck
  • 2oldcodgers
    2oldcodgers Posts: 739 Connected
    WelshBlue said:
    I've got Enhanced Daily Care and standard mobility .  Not once has the fact I can drive gone against me.
    This is from the initial claim and 2 reviews

    I've only been asked once about my driving and that was the Decision Maker on my last review, who asked if I drive a manual or automatic (manual), and increased my Daily Living from Standard to Enhanced because of worsening condition  

    Good luck
    I was also asked if I drove by the assessor. I told her that I did on and off because of my mental health issues. Then she asked me that if I had driven a distance from home on my own and then felt unable to carry on what I would do. I told her that my wife would drive instead.
    I knew what she was getting at was that if my mental health was so severe how could I possible drive thereby trying to undermine what I had said on the claim form.
  • StillIRise
    StillIRise Online Community Member Posts: 181 Empowering
    madee93 said:
    Ive herd alot of peoples claims being wrongly assessed due to the fact they can drive...i recently had my assessment and told them i can drive but literally only for 5 mins before my foot cramps and starts hurting due to nerve damage from cauda equina syndrome. Im very anxious now and feel i have messed up my claim by being honest! Can anyone give any advice on this or their experience as a driver applying for pip thanks xx 
    I think it would depend on each person's specific case.  I have severe dissociative symptoms, meaning that I have no awareness of hazard and suddenly have no idea where I am or what I'm doing.  So I've been told b my psychiatrist I must never drive.  So it would seem very odd to someone assessing my PIP claim if I was able to drive.  It wouldn't make sense given my symptoms.  But for somebody with different symptoms and different limitations there's no reason they shouldn't drive.  Why would they even have the Motability scheme if they were going to penalise claimants of PIP for being able to drive?

    Please don't worry.  I hope everything goes smoothly for you and no reason to assume it won't. 
  • JB2023
    JB2023 Online Community Member Posts: 14 Connected
    I said the same thing in my assessment, but I requested the report before my decision (still pending) to see what has been put down. It didn't go against me, but I've seen a lot of people on here say it has had some effect. Maybe request the assessment then you can see what's been added.

    All the best, good luck
  • WelshBlue
    WelshBlue Online Community Member Posts: 959 Championing
    2oldcodgers said:

    I was also asked if I drove by the assessor. I told her that I did on and off because of my mental health issues. Then she asked me that if I had driven a distance from home on my own and then felt unable to carry on what I would do. I told her that my wife would drive instead.
    I knew what she was getting at was that if my mental health was so severe how could I possible drive thereby trying to undermine what I had said on the claim form.
    I had to have a look at my award letter, realising I hadn't really read it ... driving only went against me  because of the multitasking/cognitive etc involved, and couldn't be awarded points for planning and following a journey ... which is fair enough

    The Daily Living wasn't affected because driving didn't contradict the descriptors and 12 points awarded

    Really is a minefield and somewhat of a lottery as to who you speak to ?

    I'm glad you kept your thoughts and answers 'inline' with their reasoning  :)
  • 66Mustang
    66Mustang Online Community Member Posts: 15,408 Championing
    edited June 2023
    Might be no help to you as my issues are mental and not physical but just sharing my experience as I get PIP and drive.

    I get enhanced Mobility PIP and I drive. In fact I drive a Motability car paid for by my PIP.

    I get the PIP because I can only drive my car any distance (i.e. any further than the car park) if I have someone in the car with me. Being physically able to drive doesn't change the fact that mentally I need someone with me for support.

    Edit to add: I explicitly said I drive in the PIP forms but went on to explain that I can't do so alone.
  • OverlyAnxious
    OverlyAnxious Online Community Member Posts: 5,833 Championing
    Back in 2019 one of the refusal lines in the letter after my awful face to face assessment was regarding driving.  Although as Poppy said earlier in this thread, it seemed to be a fairly standard cut & paste line back then.  I haven't heard of it being used so much recently.
  • MadMilan2019
    MadMilan2019 Online Community Member Posts: 192 Empowering

    Here's some hard information:

    You can always Google any Q you have, and disability.

    does claiming pip disqualify you from driving a train?

    Claiming PIP does not automatically disqualify you from driving a train. The decision to grant PIP is based on various factors, including the individual's medical condition, mobility issues, and the impact on daily life and mobility. While driving can be a reason for not awarding points in some descriptors, it is not a definitive reason for disqualification. The DWP may argue that driving demonstrates good cognitive ability, navigation skills, and an ability to plan a route, but this argument is not always accepted. It is essential to provide clear and accurate information in the PIP form and to challenge any decisions that seem unfair. 

    Benefits and Work+4

    Please click the link above

  • onmylonesome
    onmylonesome Online Community Member Posts: 661 Empowering
    https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1114971#Comment_1114971

    This thread is nearly 3 years old.

  • Rosie_Scope
    Rosie_Scope Posts: 8,175 Scope Online Community Coordinator

    This discussion is from 2023 @MadMilan2019, so I think these members may have moved on from discussing this, but thank you for sharing this information.

    Just as a note, AI can be a bit dodgy for benefits information, so if you're Googling and using their AI, be sure to check the sources carefully.

    This one looks like it's come from Benefits and Work which is a genuine site so that's all good. But while the question asked is about trains, the information from the Benefits and Work site is about driving cars. AI will sometimes fill in the gaps if it doesn't find anything suitable which can be a bit misleading!

    I'm sure some people may still find that useful to read about ☺️

    Hope you're doing well.

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