Drivers with disabilities

Having a medical condition or disability does not necessarily mean you cannot or will not be able to drive. We have a mission to train drivers to be as safe as possible for as long as possible.

As a specialist driving school we have both automatic and manual vehicles, with dual brakes. The Automatic car has hand controls, accelerator pedals that can be used with either foot and infra red secondary controls mounted on the steering wheel.

These controls mean that people without the use of their legs, or who have only the use of one side of their body are able to drive.

Those who are disabled from birth find that it is as easy to learn to drive using these controls as it is to drive any automatic car, whereas those who acquire a disability, through a stroke for instance, sometimes find that having to unlearn years of driving habits is a little more troubling.

At QED we believe that driving is a skill for life, and as such it is more important to learn to drive safely than merely to pass a driving test. This extends to those who already have a licence, where maintaining independence is important. Whichever category that you fall into, the most important thing is that you, and all other road users, are as safe as possible.

Unfortunately, according to the Driving Standards Agency, 55% of new drivers have a crash in their first year of driving; we feel that this is unacceptable. We therefore encourage you to learn the theory behind safe driving and provide as much information about safe driving as possible.

You can access our daily driving tip on Facebook by typing into the search Quality Education for Drivers. We are always happy to meet prospective clients and their families or carers so that they can decide if they wish to use QED’s services.

As advanced driver trainers we quite often add some of the advanced techniques into our training. For instance, often new drivers find it difficult to assess how sharp bends are and therefore what is safe a speed to drive at, so we teach the police technique of corner analyses. This allows you to assess the corner and drive through it safely.

All our training is designed to allow you to learn in your own way and at your own rate. We tend to use coaching techniques rather and old fashioned instruction. We allow you to discover for yourself the techniques you need to control the car in all circumstances.

Where drivers are returning to driving or adapting to different controls we tend to introduce them to the new controls, and allow them to practice. At the same time we also assess their driving and correct any bad habits that may have developed over the years, whilst at the same time encouraging the driver to adopt better practices.

It is important to us that people are able to drive independently and safely for as long as possible.

We recommend that anyone with a disability or learning difficulty, no matter how acquired, visits East Anglian DriveAbility who have a team of occupational therapists and driving advisors. They are able to give you a full cognitive, physical and, where appropriate, a driving assessment giving you all the information you need as to what adaptations you need and what training you need to become, or stay, a fully independent safe driver.

Where learner or additional driver training is needed Quality Education for Drivers is one of their training suppliers.

You can contact East Anglian DriveAbility via their website www.eastangliandriveability.co.uk or calling 01842 753029.

If you are in receipt of the Higher Rate Mobility Component of Disability Living Allowance or the War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement then you may qualify for the Motability Scheme. This means that you may be able to obtain a new car together with the adaptations you need. Obviously terms and conditions apply and it would be advisable to visit the Motability website.

You can contact Motability via their website www.motability.co.uk or by calling 0845 456 4566

Some learners may be entitled to a grant via the Motability scheme that would help pay some of the cost of driving lessons. In some instances young people with mobility difficulties can start to learn at the age of 16.