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Driving a manual car

DWRS
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Durham County Council Welfare Rights

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Hi all,

I regularly come across the following standard paragraph in Secretary of State’s responses to appeals, regarding claimant’s who are still able to drive:
“The activity of driving a car is in itself a multi-tasking activity requiring significant physical function in terms of grip, power and upper and lower joint movements in conjunction with substantial cognitive powers of thought, perception, memory, reasoning, concentration, judgment and co-ordination…”

Tribunals seem to regard this as highly persuasive, and the fact the appellant is still driving an unadapted manual car is almost always fatal to an appeal on the Daily Living component. Does anyone have any effective counter arguments to this?

ClairemHodgson
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Solicitor, SC Law, Harrow

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DWRS - 11 September 2018 03:03 PM

Hi all,

I regularly come across the following standard paragraph in Secretary of State’s responses to appeals, regarding claimant’s who are still able to drive:
“The activity of driving a car is in itself a multi-tasking activity requiring significant physical function in terms of grip, power and upper and lower joint movements in conjunction with substantial cognitive powers of thought, perception, memory, reasoning, concentration, judgment and co-ordination…”

Tribunals seem to regard this as highly persuasive, and the fact the appellant is still driving an unadapted manual car is almost always fatal to an appeal on the Daily Living component. Does anyone have any effective counter arguments to this?

my recollection is that this has been discussed before.

when you have learnt to drive, it becomes in many respects something you no longer have to consciously think about whilst doing it.  yes you have to pay attention as you go, but the actual functions of driving become ingrained in the memory/synapses, so you don’t have to actually remember how to do it every time.

in some cases the ability to drive has nothing to do with the various daily living tasks.

in others, it will be relevant

Elliot Kent
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Shelter

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ClairemHodgson - 11 September 2018 03:41 PM
DWRS - 11 September 2018 03:03 PM

Hi all,

I regularly come across the following standard paragraph in Secretary of State’s responses to appeals, regarding claimant’s who are still able to drive:
“The activity of driving a car is in itself a multi-tasking activity requiring significant physical function in terms of grip, power and upper and lower joint movements in conjunction with substantial cognitive powers of thought, perception, memory, reasoning, concentration, judgment and co-ordination…”

Tribunals seem to regard this as highly persuasive, and the fact the appellant is still driving an unadapted manual car is almost always fatal to an appeal on the Daily Living component. Does anyone have any effective counter arguments to this?

my recollection is that this has been discussed before.

https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/view/viewthread/10229/

Two years ago - well remembered.

ClairemHodgson
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Solicitor, SC Law, Harrow

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Elliot Kent - 11 September 2018 04:40 PM

https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/view/viewthread/10229/

Two years ago - well remembered.

an elephant LOL.  and i see i remembered everything that Mike said ...

 

Helen Rogers
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Reading this has prompted me to google health conditions that you need to report to the DVLA: https://www.gov.uk/health-conditions-and-driving

For nearly every condition, gov.uk says to report it if is affects your driving and ask your doctor if you’re not sure.  This implies that ability is very much on a case by case basis.

Of course PIP could ask claimants’ doctors…

neilbateman
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I’ve just dealt with a successful PIP MR for a f/t HGV driver who has now been awarded ER of both components.

The standard comments about driving in submissions and decisions seem to be wholly prejudiced and designed to almost embarrass people with a disability.  Suggestive of a deliberately hostile atmosphere towards them.

I usually respond by making various points along the following lines, depending on the facts of a case:

1. Client chose a vehicle (such as an SUV) which is higher off the round and therefore easier to get in and out of.  Photograph attached.

2. Client uses the steering wheel as a grab rail to get in and out of the vehicle [incidentally, there are grab rails one can get which fit into the car body locking mechanism].

3. Vehicle has an automatic gearbox and/or cruise control all of which makes driving easier. 

4. Client has a manual car but is finding this difficult so intends to buy an automatic one when resources allow,

5. Client rarely drives/has only driven x000 miles in the past 12 months/uses car for going to a local shops one mile away, etc.

6. Client finds driving difficult but has to drive because of the need to get to essential places such as doctor, shops, family, etc.

7.  Driving involves at least half the body weight being supported on the seat.

8. Driving does not involved repetitive movements such as walking.

9.  Different muscles are involved in driving compared to walking/standing/getting in and out of bath/ lifting pans /doing up top buttons on a shirt/etc

10.  Client has adjusted their driving style - for example, by not changing gear often enough, pushing gear lever with their forearm.

11.  DWP staff have no expertise or training in assessing ability to drive and therefore this comment should be given very little weight,  Particularly as the Respondent’s comments about driving are standard wording from a pick-list which is not specific to my client.  Therefore it is little more than conjecture.

Mr Finch
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I came out of a tribunal yesterday where the DWP submission had claimed that ‘ability’ to hold a provisional licence was proof of all these things, even though they accepted the claimant couldn’t drive. It didn’t get them very far.

Benny Fitzpatrick
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So the ability to drive does not necessarily mean a claimant is able to carry out all the DL activites to the required standard. Just as the holding of the title “decision maker/case manager” does not necessarily confer on the holder the ability to make reasonable decisions?

Paul_Treloar_AgeUK
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Information and advice resources - Age UK

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ClairemHodgson - 11 September 2018 03:41 PM

when you have learnt to drive, it becomes in many respects something you no longer have to consciously think about whilst doing it.

off topic but as a cyclist, i encounter this on an almost daily basis sadly…..

and back on topic, i think Neil’s list of suggestions are an entirely appropriate response to this rather absurd comparison.