Focus on Disability |
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| Mobility | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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For information on Motability click here If you are disabled, being mobile is a vital part of independent living - going to the shops, visiting friends, going to work and having trips out or going on holiday. Here is given information on the help you can get. Financial help If you are unable or virtually unable to walk, you may qualify for the Mobility Component of the Disability Living Allowance (see Financial Help). You can spend this money on whatever means you prefer to get around. There are different rates for the Mobility Component depending on your impairment. People who are getting the higher rate of the Mobility Component of the War Pensioners Mobility Supplement ( and whose vehicles are used exclusively by them) can also claim exemption from Vehicle Excise Duty (Road Tax) V188 Exemption from Vehicle Excise Duty for Disabled People from main Post Offices, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) or DVLA Local Vehicle Registration Offices (in the local phone book under Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions) Motability If you are getting the higher rate of the Mobility component of Disability Living Allowance or the War Pensioners Mobility Supplement, you can apply to an organisation called Motability for help in hiring a new car, buying on hire purchase new or used cars or wheelchairs on preferential terms. FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK HERE RADAR mobility Factpack 3 Money
Matters. Price £2 The Orange Badge Scheme offers concessions such as free use of on-street parking meters and pay and display bays. Badge-holders may also be exempt from limits on parking times imposed on others and may park for up to three hours on yellow lines except where there is a ban on loading and unloading. You may qualify if you:
The badge can be used throughout most of Great Britain. However there are some areas of central London which have their own schemes for people who live and work in the area. Access to certain town centres may be prohibited or limited to vehicles with special permits. The Orange Badge scheme does not apply to private roads or at airports. Your social services / social work department will tell you how to apply for an Orange Badge. ORANGE/BLUE BADGE INFORMATION Any Orange Badge issued in England, Northern Ireland
or Scotland with an expiry later than 31 March 2003 is not VALID. Any
member receiving one should be advised to immediately contact the issuing
office and seek an urgent replacement with a Blue Badge. Parking enforcement
authorities have been advised of the problem and asked to be lenient for
a few weeks. Blue Badges have not yet been introduced for people living
in Wales, where they continue to issue Orange Badges. These badges are
perfectly valid as before. Banstead Mobility Centre Provides information to disabled people, their families and professional workers; carries out assessments for car drivers and passengers, demonstrates and assesses a wide range of powered vehicles and lightweight wheelchairs and gives driving instruction. Information is free. You will be charged a fee for other services. The Centre also arranges residential driving courses. Tel: 0208 770 1151 There are also local
mobility centres throughout
the country which can provide advice and
assessment. Most belong to the Forum of Mobility
Centres which aim to increase awareness of mobility issues and
to promote research. Mobility Centres can also supply details of Approved
Driving Instructors who have experience in teaching people with disabilities. For a list of Mobility Centres visit
the Forum of Mobility Centres: The
Mobility Road Show 2007 Ability Car Guide, RICA Motoring and Mobility for Disabled People by Ann Darnbrough
and Derek Kinrade. See also chapter in the Authors Directory for
Disabled People'. These offer advice and publish
information on matters of personal mobility - including vehicles and conversions,
insurance and legal requirement. All have local branches or representatives
and encourage local group events: Disabled Motorist Federation
Tel: 01743 761 889 AA (Automobile Association) Tel: 0990 448 866 Disability Helpline Tel: 0800 262 050 Green Flag (formerly National Breakdown Tel: 0113 236 3236 ) RAC (Royal Automobile Club) Tel: 01454 20800AA Guide for Disabled Traveller. InterCity Services Most trains now have wide access doors, automatic interior doors and grabrails and are accessible to wheelchair users by ramps kept at all stations. Most Standard Class coaches have a space for a wheelchair at one end, and space can be made in First Class, given advance notice. There are usually trolley refreshment services, and some trains have wheelchair accessible toilets. Sleeper cabins are not wheelchair-accessible and therefore not suitable if you need help when transferring to or from your wheelchair. Eurostar services operating from Waterloo to Paris and Brussels are fully accessible to wheelchair users. Although wheelchair spaces are only accessible in First Class, wheelchair users pay only standard fare plus a small supplement. Stations RailTrack is improving facilities to make stations easier to use. Many main-line stations have toilets accessible to wheelchair users and are opened with the National Key Scheme. This scheme is used to provide access to over 4,000 public toilets which might be subject to vandalism unless kept locked. Rail Travel for Disabled Passengers
- from stations, travel centres and travel agents. Access in London guide book for disabled people, RADAR £7.95 Access to the Underground: a step-by-step guide to each station for elderly and disabled people. From London Transport, Tel/textphone: 0207 918 3312 Other sources of help Tripscope offers reliable transport advice and information, free of charge and nationally, for disabled and elderly people planning local, long-distance or foreign holidays, including airport transfers and transport at your destination National helpline Tel: 0345 585641 Ramp is a service from the Disabled Motorists federation which will provide free route maps with attended filling stations, accessible WCs, wheelchair access, meal stops and B&B accommodation. Allow three days notice Tel: 01743 761181 The British Red Cross provides an escort service for elderly or disabled adults and children using trained people. Travel is by private cars, Red Cross Ambulances or public rail, road and air transport. Expenses are charged. Contact your local branch for details. The National Key Scheme as mentioned previously is used to provide access to over 4,000 public toilets. For details on how to obtain a key contact
RADAR Tel: 0207 250 3222 or send a S.A.E for information sheet. The Department of The Environment, transport and the Regions Mobility Unit has produced a booklet giving information on all forms of transport for disabled people together with contact addresses: Door to Door : a Guide to Transport for People with Disabilities. Tel: 0207 890 6100 Powered Wheelchairs, Scooters and Buggies, RICA Driving after a Stroke (ref 522), from the Stroke AssociationOut and About: a guide to safe travel for disabled people - provides simple practical advice. From The Suzy Lamplugh Trust, who also offer talks and training to groups of people with disabilities. Tel: 0208 392 1839 Flying High - a practical guide to air travel - Disabled Living Foundation Access to Air Travel, RADAR |
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