Lots of our customers experience changes in their condition, both improvements and deterioration, which can mean that your mobility requirements change during the course of your lease. In this article, Motability Scheme customer and disability blogger Sarah Alexander writes about how her condition is changing, and how that is affecting her driving.
I have been driving for almost fifteen years and I love it. The day I passed my test, my mum put me on her insurance, and I was free. I didn’t have to rely on my parents to take me places, I could come and go whenever I pleased. I was independent.
Growing up, my parents tried to give me as much freedom as possible, but I was always a worry to them because of my health. They would drive me to and from wherever I needed to go, and I depended on them to get me places. Using public transport on my own wasn’t an option because of my anxiety disorder and being unsteady on my feet. Sometimes I missed out on events with my friends because my schedule clashed with my parents and as a teenager, you can imagine I certainly sulked about that.
But then I got my licence, and I everything changed. I felt safe in my car and I didn’t panic when driving alone like I would have using public transport.
I’d always offer to drive or be the designated driver. If someone needed collecting, I’d agree to do the driving. I loved it so much because it was just me. I could do it without the help of anyone else.
With the pandemic changing our lives, and lockdown measures tightening, I began using my car less. Our food shopping and medication is delivered so I didn’t need to use it for that, and I didn’t require any other essential travelling, so my car sat outside my house waiting to be reunited with me for my next hospital appointment.
If, like Sarah, you’re also using your vehicle less due to COVID-19 then read our article on how best to look after your car during lockdown.
However, my health has taken a nosedive and I can’t drive even if I wanted to. I have been bedbound for seven months and the last time I drove my car was in September last year. I have been relying on my father-in-law to take me to all my appointments and as grateful as I am that he is doing that, I feel like a burden.
Named Drivers
Lots of our customers don’t drive. That’s why the insurance with your lease is for up to three named drivers, so your car could be driven by a family member, friend or carer.
To find out more on named drivers click the link below.
Other than my boyfriend (who doesn’t drive) and my parents (who live three hours away), I don’t particularly like asking people to do things for me, I don’t ever want to ask too much of someone or put them in an awkward position, so not being able to drive myself to my own appointments has really impacted my mental health. I honestly didn’t think it would be such a big deal and it’s my own issue, but I get such a sense of achievement driving, and I actually really enjoy it, now that I can’t it’s difficult.
I am unaware of what is going to happen with my health at the moment, I am currently undergoing tests, but I hope when I do finally have some answers, and some treatment (fingers crossed), I can get back behind the wheel. And if things don’t go according to plan, I will have to get used to being a passenger and have someone else as the named driver of my Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle. But we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, and hopefully I’ll be the one driving over that bridge!
Read more from Sarah at www.fromsarahlex.com
About the Motability Scheme
The Motability Scheme supports people in staying mobile by offering a unique, all-inclusive leasing package for brand new cars from all the major manufacturers. And as well as standard cars from a range of manufacturers, cars with adaptations, Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles, scooters and powered wheelchairs are available too.
If you’d like to find out more about the Scheme, request an information pack below and we’ll send you all the information that you need to make the right choice.
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