As an instrumental part of giving disabled drivers freedom and improving their confidence through lessons and retraining, DriveAbility Scotland is an essential service for many people. Drivers benefit from clear, practical advice to support independence, confidence and safety.
"Our main line of work is driving assessments for people with a disability and adaptation assessments - a lot of which we do for Motability Scheme customers," says Andrew Swain, CEO of DriveAbility Scotland.
During an assessment, professional instructors and clinicians carry out interviews and determine a client's driving and mobility needs. This takes the form of on-road assessments, off-road evaluations, vehicle adaptation recommendations and more. For example, drivers can try adaptations such as hand controls for braking and accelerating or left foot accelerators and get a report to take to their car adaptation specialists.
DriveAbility Scotland is part of national charity Driving Mobility, and is one of 20 centres in the UK. Driving Mobility was awarded a £1.59m Motability Foundation grant, which has been used to fund DriveAbility Scotland's plans to make driving assessments more accessible.
Extending its reach across Scotland
Before receiving the grant, DriveAbility Scotland was operating three days a week in its main assessment centre in Glasgow, carrying out a maximum of six assessments per week. The grant has enabled it to extend its reach throughout Scotland. "As soon as we got the grant we were able to set up an outreach facility in Aberdeen, which is now operating two days per week," says Andrew.
The DriveAbility Scotland team also goes to Inverness once every four to six weeks for two days at a time to provide an outreach service.
The grant has allowed DriveAbility Scotland to improve its main assessment centre in Glasgow, too. "We've recently moved into newly refurbished office premises, and we also have plans to add further outreach and satellite facilities.
"The big need was to make services more accessible across the country, because we were in a situation where anyone who required a driving assessment had to either travel to Glasgow or visit the NHS-funded service in Edinburgh," Andrew explains.
Customers are referred to DriveAbility Scotland for different reasons - some are aiming to regain independence while adapting to a medical condition, while others are looking to return to driving after time off the road.
Customers can access driving assessments from DriveAbility Scotland in three ways: through a DVLA referral, a Motability Scheme referral or a self-referral.
Offering a lifeline
For Andrew, the impact of the grant cannot be understated. He says the outreach facilities are a lifeline, preventing people who couldn't access the Glasgow or Edinburgh facilities from giving up on driving altogether.
"Now that they have a service that is more local to them, people are able to continue driving. Previously those people were giving up driving prematurely, and that was having an impact on other areas of their life: work, travelling to hospital appointments - whatever it was," he says.
The independence brought about by being able to drive also reduces social isolation and improves mental health.
A new lease of life
Iain Powrie is one of many Motability Scheme customers who have benefitted from DriveAbility Scotland's services. Iain hadn't driven since 2017, and had struggled to remain mobile since the Covid lockdown, when he followed advice to stay indoors. "I took it quite literally, and it's the case of if you don't use it, you lose it," he says.
"It got to the point where I was really struggling to just remain mobile and, because of that, I couldn't get anywhere. So I was looking at returning to driving and DriveAbility was there to assess my needs - it was great."
Previously, Iain had completed a cognitive test that had taken several months to be arranged. After his appointment, the wait continued for the report he needed to refer to the DVLA. With DriveAbility Scotland, however, Iain's assessment was completed in a single day. "I got the report later that evening and I could just directly forward it on to the DVLA. It was perfect," he says.
Thanks to DriveAbility Scotland and his Motability Scheme car, Iain is now able to get around freely and is enjoying his independence, including being able to visit family and friends. "Being back on the road is incredibly satisfying and freeing. I can go somewhere on my own steam and not have to worry about waiting for a taxi, or whether there's going to be a surge in taxi prices. I can now just jump in the car and get somewhere myself."
Photos: iDIS Creative Marketing Limited; Jon Nock/iDIS Creative Marketing Limited
