Disability scooters / driving licence 3 December 2017 at 1:31PM edited 30 November -1 at 1:00AM in Disability Money Matters 10 replies 3K views

trinidadone

Hello all, a neighbour had the misfortune of losing her leg at the beginning of the year (above the knee). She is over 65. She needs information on how or where to acquire a scooter?

Also, she is experiencing challenges at the moment with the DVLA over her licence. The licence was cancelled, and she has received several forms to complete. Anyone experienced this before???

Robin9

Have a look in the local newsagents window and buy secondhand. I bought one for my father for £300. This will give the opportunity to see how well she gets on with it.

Silvertabby

Also, she is experiencing challenges at the moment with the DVLA over her licence. The licence was cancelled, and she has received several forms to complete. Anyone experienced this before???

Can't help with the scooter, I'm afraid, but a friend who lost a leg (also above knee amputation) could only get a driving licence for automatics. As she preferred automatics, this wasn't an issue for her - but could be the answer to your neighbour's problem if she's trying to get a 'full' licence?

agrinnall

I'd suggest that getting the thread moved to a more suitable board than Student Money Saving might well get you a better response.

silvercar

Moving this thread to Disability Money Matters, where hopefully you will get some responses.

antrobus

trinidadone wrote: »

...Also, she is experiencing challenges at the moment with the DVLA over her licence. The licence was cancelled, and she has received several forms to complete. Anyone experienced this before???

Q. Do I need a driving licence to ride a mobility scooter on the road?

A. No. You do not need take a test nor have a driving license to use a mobility scooter. It is, though, a legal requirement that only disabled people may use Class 2 or Class 3 scooters (unless the user is conducting a sales demonstration).

https://www.disabledmotoring.org/insurance/scooter-and-powerchair-insurance

Rolandtheroadie

We looked for a scooter for a while before we found one for the father in law.
Got it from a local hospice charity shop, although I found it through Ebay. We were also searching Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace.
The one we got was virtually brand new, the owner bought it and then wasn't allowed to keep it at her sheltered housing accomodation. £500 instead of the £1100 it cost originally.
We went for an 8mph one, as someone local had bought a 4mph one, but it couldn't cope with the hills round here, so take that into consideration as well.

teddysmum

antrobus wrote: »

Q. Do I need a driving licence to ride a mobility scooter on the road?

A. No. You do not need take a test nor have a driving license to use a mobility scooter. It is, though, a legal requirement that only disabled people may use Class 2 or Class 3 scooters (unless the user is conducting a sales demonstration).

https://www.disabledmotoring.org/insurance/scooter-and-powerchair-insurance

The second sentence of the answer is interesting as there have been stories about youngsters buying scooters to play about on and people using them when obese (where the scooter does more harm than good).


Anyone can go and buy one and there don't seem to be any checks on users.


I think there should be some kind of test as it is not unusual to see people obviously not in control and one of the heavier machines could kill or badly injure a toddler or small dog.


I once knew a lady whose father-in-law was badly disabled but was allowed to use a faster scooter. She was so worried that he would hurt someone as he was unable to raise his head to look straight ahead. Also, we were glad that my sister had hold of our father's bank account as he threatened to buy a scooter (easy as a private house nearby was selling them),but would have been incapable because of Parkinsons and the beginnings of dementia, which changed his temperament, to challenging.

jkfreeman1952

I'd recommend having a look at Gumtree in your local area. I was able to grab a bargain for mine! Like others have said in this post, a license and insurance isn't required to ride a scooter (although even the government now recommend getting the insurance to protect yourself and others legally should you have an accident).

With her losing her leg, one can only assume that she'll now be eligible for the higher rate disability allowance. This means she'll be eligible to get a mobility scooter on the Motability scheme. I'd contact Motability and see if this is the case - as it'll greatly reduce the costs!

teddysmum

jkfreeman1952 wrote: »

With her losing her leg, one can only assume that she'll now be eligible for the higher rate disability allowance. This means she'll be eligible to get a mobility scooter on the Motability scheme. I'd contact Motability and see if this is the case - as it'll greatly reduce the costs!

She would only get a higher rate of DLA or PIP if already on one of these as she is over 65. AA does not help with transport

TOBRUK

As she has lost her leg, the DVLA would be notified and her driving licence would be changed as she will no longer be able to drive a manual car.

I would have thought that with her rehabilitation under the hospital she would have been given information about the Disability Driving assessment centre.

There is one in Wales (I would imagine there is one in England) where they assess your needs and tell you what adaptions you need to be able to drive a car. After the assessment they even take you out to drive an adapted car which suits your needs. They give you a written report together with a copy that you send to the DVLA.
Hope this helps.