Motability - use by spouse

blokedownpub

poppy12345 said:

There's no VED for any of the mobility vehicles because the PIP award covers this and it's free. The dealers sort all that out before you collect the car.  The issue again would be that when using a car that's disabled class then like motability vehicles they can only be used for the purpose of the disabled person, so again we revert back to the points made by Spoonie... if you use the car to commut then what happens to the disabled person while you're in work?

The car is only in a disabled class inasmuch as it's been zero VED rated and this can be applied to any car, not just one supplied by Motability.

On the matter of how this is to benefit the individual is loosely defined and I would imagine in reality varies greatly between users depending on individual needs.

The issue as I see it is that although Motability may be flexible and allow certain activities, such as commuting of spouses, these may in fact be illegal in the eyes of DVLA as the correct VED has not been paid.

There are likely many well meaning Motability users completely oblivious to the fact that they're breaking the law.

Spoonie_Turtle

blokedownpub said:

poppy12345 said:

There's no VED for any of the mobility vehicles because the PIP award covers this and it's free. The dealers sort all that out before you collect the car.  The issue again would be that when using a car that's disabled class then like motability vehicles they can only be used for the purpose of the disabled person, so again we revert back to the points made by Spoonie... if you use the car to commut then what happens to the disabled person while you're in work?

The car is only in a disabled class inasmuch as it's been zero VED rated and this can be applied to any car, not just one supplied by Motability.

On the matter of how this is to benefit the individual is loosely defined and I would imagine in reality varies greatly between users depending on individual needs.

The issue as I see it is that although Motability may be flexible and allow certain activities, such as commuting of spouses, these may in fact be illegal in the eyes of DVLA as the correct VED has not been paid.

There are likely many well meaning Motability users completely oblivious to the fact that they're breaking the law.

Dang it I found the legislation but can't find the link to post again ... basically the wording was the same as Motability use
Ah, here https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1994/22/schedule/2/paragraph/19
"A vehicle is an exempt vehicle when it is being used, or kept for use, by or for the purposes of a disabled person" and is registered to them or a named driver / appointee for said purposes (sub-paragraph 3).

The Motability relevance is that the charity deals with the paperwork and things before signing the car over on the lease, as far as I understand, but you are correct that the disability exemption applies to any car "used solely by or for the purposes of" a disabled person.  So not exactly the same wording ('purposes of' rather than 'benefit of') but close.  Thus all Motability cars qualify because they are all to be for the benefit of disabled people and thus automatically meet the criteria for the exemption.

It is indeed possible many people are falling foul of the regulations.  'For the benefit of' could perhaps be argued that if (say) wife used husband's Motability car for work because otherwise they would have to buy and maintain another car, it would be of benefit to the husband because the household would have much less of a financial burden than if they had to keep two cars so wife could get to work.  For the purposes of ... I don't know.  But the lease agreement with Motability is under Motability's terms and conditions which say 'for the benefit of' so there is perhaps a discrepancy there.  And now my brain's melted, goodnight!

blokedownpub

Spoonie_Turtle said:

And now my brain's melted, goodnight!

Yes, it is a bit of a mental minefield. For the benefit of does seem a broader scope than for the purposes of.

I think it really comes down to, if one were to breach Motability's terms and conditions, inadvertently or otherwise, it's not a criminal offence (I don't think). But an able bodied driver driving with the benefit of zero VED is, no matter if that use has been squared with Motability.