As a newbie to the whole process I had heard of motability but didn’t have any idea of what it meant. The most I knew that was when I was a support worker thirteen years ago, one of the men in the home had his own car which was paid for by his benefits and was for his use only.
As soon as I became unable to safely get out of my wheelchair, getting into and out of the car became scary for me. I now have a wooden transfer board, but even that doesn't help me when we are on a hill, when we have to park next to a kerb, when we can't get into a disabled parking space, when I am in too much pain or too fatigued to move myself, or when I cannot use my reclining wheelchair where the sides lift up. I am absolutely desperate for a car where I can stay in my wheelchair and be pushed up into the back of the car without wasting so much energy and causing myself so much pain in transferring. Even on a good day my husband has to slide me along the transfer board as I do not have the strength or coordination any more to do it, plus my feet won't do what I want them to. Then he has to fold up my wheelchair and get it into the boot, and vice versa when we arrive at our destination. Life would be so much easier for us both if we could cut out those transfers.
Enter the newest acronym to our lives...WAV. This means Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle. This is a car (or a van maybe) where the person in the wheelchair can stay in their chair and be pushed up a ramp or lift into the back (or sometimes the front) of the vehicle. This is what I need now.
Once I knew what the problem was with travelling and how to fix it I just needed to know how. I knew I had ticked a box in my PIP (personal independence payment) application book (they call it a form but really??) saying that I would like information about the motability scheme if I was entitled to it, but that never came.
When my PIP award came through I had a small leaflet with it stating I was now entitled to free road tax and an extra sheet of paper with eligibility to motability stated on it.
I still had no idea what the next step was. I looked online at the motability website but found it just had too much information in there so gave up.
A week later, we went to a couple of exhibitions for people living with disabilities, where there were people showing motability cars. I was able to be wheeled into the cars, see the differences between them all and quickly realised which of them would suit our family the best. I recommend this to everyone- try a few different cars out with your wheelchair and your family before making any decisions on which vehicle is best for you.
I was open and honest with the people there, telling them I had no idea what the process was, and had a lot of guidance from each and every one.
The car we ended up going for was perfect for me because I have a lot of pain all over my body as well as fatigue, but find this is relieved slightly by being reclined. There was one car we tried where I didn't feel like I was in the boot, I had access to storage and a plug socket, great views from large windows, my own space to be able to relax and also was in a reclining position.
I have a real dislike for pushy salespeople and have been known many a time to walk out of a store purely because a salesperson has been pushy, or has lied to me about a product. In this instance I found them to be genuine and helpful. They spoke to me, not to my husband. They encouraged my children to climb in the car and fiddle with the buttons, everything was explained and written down for me to be able to progress towards getting the car.
I will share this information with you because I think you need it:
1. You have higher mobility PIP, now is the time to look for cars that will work for you.
2. You can find local motability dealers here, or attend exhibitions where they are brought together with people who convert cars to be motability cars too, such as Kidz to Adultz, Naidex or the motability exhibition. Book a couple of home demonstrations so you can all get in and have a drive around some local roads to test for comfort and drivability. Ask them to measure your wheelchair/scooter for you accurately.
3. You have the choice to purchase a car yourself outright if you have the finances to do so, purchase a used car, or use your higher rate mobility payments from your PIP award to pay for an accessible vehicle.
4. Contact motability to apply for a grant towards the advance payment for your vehicle. This can be thousands of pounds and motability has a charity that may be able to help you pay it. The people on the phone when you call (0300 456 4566) are incredibly helpful and friendly so don't be afraid to ask questions.
5. You have chosen the vehicle for you. You know why it is the right one for you. You have completed the grant form stating why this vehicle suits your needs more than any other, you have entered the real dimensions of your wheelchair on the form and entered your financial information as requested, plus sent off any additional paperwork it asks for.
5. It won't take long to hear back from the motability charity. We had a phone call first to clarify the details, then they wrote to us and confirmed the amount of the advance payment grant in writing for us to pass on to a provider of our choice.
6. Contact the provider of the motability car that you chose and ask them to come to your home. They will need to see proof of your ID, address, PIP and grant award plus driving licences of any drivers. The paperwork takes around twenty minutes all in all to pick the colour, confirm the adaptations you require and sign that you are happy. You will then be informed of the waiting period before your car will be ready. For us this is a painful 22-26weeks, but I keep in my mind how worthwhile it will be once we do get it.
7. A week or so after you place an order for a vehicle you will have paperwork from motability about their vehicle insurance terms and conditions and a confirmation that you have ordered a car, along with a secure pin code to give to the person who delivers your vehicle. Your task now is to not lose that pic code.
All in all the process is very straightforward and the staff are very helpful.
The advice I was given:
Put accurate measurements of yourself in your wheelchair as it will be positioned in the vehicle- a dealer or converter will do this for you.
State clearly why you need any particular vehicle- are others too small? are others too large? Do you need your own space? Do you need to get to the wheelchair user quickly in an emergency during travel? Do you want the wheelchair to be a part of the back seats?
What adaptations do you need?- do you need a lift? a ramp? a winch to pull a heavy power chair up a ramp? Is your wheelchair user going to be driving? Do you need tinted privacy windows? Single seats in the back or a bench seat? Space for extra medical equipment such as oxygen tanks, mobility aids for other family members?
Make sure to try more than one provider's cars out as they are all different and have individual tweaks that may suit you better. This where an exhibition is advantageous.
If other family members also have additional needs or disabilities, state this clearly in the last section of the grant form and state what this would mean for a vehicle.
Ironically, after we had gone through all of this and ordered our vehicle from our chosen converters, we had a pack through the post from Motability explaining the process simply. Too little too late for us, and it seems for many from looking on forums and social media.
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