Boon or Bane

Vehicle height is important

BOON OR BANE

Having used Motability for my transport and changing my vehicle every three years as per contract there came a time when my wife and I realised that using ramps to load my powerchair into the rear of my Zafira was not conducive to her health or my mobility. As I was unable to load the powerchair myself it limited me to going out only when my wife was available or sometimes my eldest son would be around or had some time to accompany me.

One day my friend Malcolm phoned to say he was changing his car to a WAV (wheelchair accessible vehicle) through Motability. After a long Q&A with him I realised that using a WAV would solve my problem of being able to get out on my own and no loading of my powerchair without help. How to achieve this ‘miracle’? Well, first port of call was Motability who explained the details but the cost was prohibitive without applying for a grant. The forms where sent out, filled in and sent back ASAP. Weeks went by, more documents were required so more letters sent back and forth. Eventually the word came back that I was eligible for a grant but with a sizeable contribution from myself. Next came the letter saying I needed to go through a test for accessing a suitable vehicle as my height was important with a tail lift taking me into the rear of the vehicle elf & safety insisted I didn’t hit my head as I drove in. An appointment was made and a chap from Newcastle turned up with a van for me to try out and for him to assess my needs. Taking photos of me in my chair on the tail lift to check for head height and we took the van for a spin around the block. After our spin I was asked which vehicle I would like from a choice of two, Mercedes Sprinter I chose as it came with automatic transmission, cruise control and various other enhancements for moving the seats etc.

Access with ramps can be difficult

I sat back waited and waited. Eventually my calls to Motability were answered and the shock answer was the van I had been assessed on was not suitable for the assessment and a Mercedes Sprinter would have to come to my house for a second assessment. October 2009 the van arrived at my home and the procedures gone through again more photos etc. and the waiting began again. As the year rolled to an end into 2010 calls to Motability to get up-dates left me frustrated as the lady (Jolene) who was dealing with my case was never in and her answer machine was constantly on, messages left got no reply until my wife finally left a message saying she was going to write a letter of complaint if we didn’t get a call back soon. Suddenly Jolene was on the phone to me explaining she was a busy person and the process was a long one as each part of the van was sent to a different firm for tail lift or electric seats and every other fitting parts, each firm had its waiting list so the time frame was in the region of 6 months lead in time. Thinking I was well into a third of the waiting time I was shocked when I was told the vans were bought in bulk and the next bulk buy I would be included, expect a phone call to tell you what colours where available and then approximately 6 months on I would receive my van all being well.

Needless to say as 2010 rolled on some sort of problem developed with a part on all vans and things couldn’t progress until this was sorted with the manufacturers, so sit back and twiddle my thumbs. Eventually June 2010 the call came to go over to Liverpool for a lock fitting on the van floor where my powerchair would sit while I drove the van. Hurray, at last I thought, but it still took another couple of weeks for that to get done.

My van arrived at my door around the 21st June 2010, it’s a big van Mercedes Sprinter 210 CDI sitting in my drive it looks like a big silver elephant waiting to charge into the wild. Brilliant, now I can go anywhere I want by myself once I get used to the size of the beast and how to handle it. Holiday time in Devon was the first real trip out in the van, tiny lanes everywhere not ideal for such a big van and a big test but we managed, my wife enjoyed the tail lift part as she no longer had to run my chair up any ramps, so all in all perfect.

Diesel is not always cost effective

So a happy outcome and the world is at peace, not so I’m afraid, as we roll into 2011 diesel costs soar to £1.40 a litre, my jaunts’ where curtailed as the sprinter has a 24 miles to the gallon (4.5 litres) cost it gets a little heavy on the pocket to just go out without good reason. Holiday time 2011, Hampshire here we come a favourite place we have stayed at many times, disabled accommodation and good for wheelchairs. The trip was a long one and we made the mistake of going on the M6 toll at a cost of £9.00 no excuse that it was a disabled van, a leaflet offering us a future £15.00 payment concession for disabled was useless as we only use it once a year and it only lasts a year. The cost in Diesel for that holiday including trips out was in the region of £200.

Next on my list was our trip to Bournemouth a place we like to visit when on the south coast, I had anticipated the parking with the sprinter at 2.4m high the normal parking in the International centre was out of the question as it had height restrictions. Phone calls to the Bournemouth Council parking office didn’t really help until I spotted the disabled section on their web site rang the number and left a message to ring me back, a lovely lady rang me back she was really helpful which saved the day when we eventually got to Bournemouth.

Barriers can discriminate against wheelchair users

Liverpool city centre, where to park – Help! All sorts of height restrictions in car parks, council web site doesn’t help. Google for parking places without height restrictions all point to underground or NCP parking - none suitable. A journey to the Trafford centre Manchester is required; on arriving I follow the parking signs down narrow lanes just in time I spot the low hanging iron bars restricting passage to all but normal cars. Embarrassed trying to back up with cars flying by I manage to get back on the roundabout and start to look for somewhere to park, no signs to help and no information that indicates that height restrictions apply, I manage to find my way into Debenhams with outside parking and as luck would have it I got the only disabled parking bay left in the car park.

My experience with getting a WAV was not the best I’ve ever had and now with diesel the price it is plus the restrictions on parking has blown away the rose tinted glasses that I wore when I first contemplated getting a WAV.

The moral I feel is “be careful what you wish for” you may just get it.