Are disabled drivers being left behind in the transition to electric vehicles?

We spoke to Gordon McCullough, CEO of the Research Institute for Disabled Consumers (RiDC), to find out how the transition to electric vehicles and future ambitions to roll-out autonomous vehicles are impacting disabled and less mobile drivers.

"There are an estimated 1.2 million disabled drivers in the UK, and that’s a figure that’s set to grow to an estimated 1.35 million by 2035. We know, through our research at RiDC, that disabled people want to be able to play their part in mitigating climate change.  Being able to drive an electric car is a key part of that, but there are a number of factors that currently prevent disabled people from doing so," explains Gordon.

"In an online study we carried out on behalf of product design company Duku and smart cities consultancy, Urban Foresight, disabled people told us of their concerns about the weight of charging cables, and being able to get them from their car and plug them in.  More than half (54%) said it would either be ‘difficult’ or ‘very difficult’ to do.

"Wheelchair users had concerns about charge points being out of reach and the potential trip hazards around charging bays were an issue for people with mobility problems.

"This research came on the back of our groundbreaking research funded by the Motability Foundation that found while two-thirds of disabled drivers were willing to consider buying an EV, they were put off by the lack of accessible charge points, parking bays not having sufficient space around them to manoeuvre a wheelchair and apps not identifying accessible charger locations.

"They all add up to motivated disabled drivers ruling out a move to electric. 

"While British Standards exist detailing a recommended design for accessible chargers, (PAS 1889) and the digital platforms associated with them, recent research by Vauxhall found that only 2.3% of on-street EV chargers in the UK are accessible.

"Disabled people are very much dependent on the public charging network.  Research carried out for the Motability Foundation in 2020 found that by 2035 up to 50% (1.35 million) of all drivers or passengers with a disability (estimated at 2.7 million) are expected to be partially or wholly reliant on public charging infrastructure, so although PAS 1889 was a genuine step forward, it relies on the goodwill of industry to make charging points accessible.  The figures from Vauxhall show this just isn’t there.  

"It’s challenges like this that exclude many disabled people and limit their choices – something that the UK’s first National Centre for Accessible Transport (ncat) was established to address.  Managed by a consortium of six organisations, including RiDC, and led by Coventry University, ncat wants to change transport systems, to make them work for disabled people.  By doing so, they become more accessible to all of us.  Just think how boot space designed to accommodate a wheelchair can also benefit parents with pushchairs.

What are the challenges of autonomous vehicles? 

"Future mobility is one of its ongoing projects.  ncat is examining how streetscapes will change.  A greater prevalence of EVs will mean more on-street chargers, cables trailed across the street, and micro-mobility vehicles creating potential hazards.  The aim is to ensure that the green transport revolution does not come at the cost of accessibility.

Self-driving vehicles might be seen as the ultimate solution for disabled people.  However, it’s a step that needs to be taken with caution.  While it has the potential to be a transformative technology, no-one was talking to disabled people about their concerns. 

The first potential challenge is the booking system – will it be accessible by a screen reader, does it have sufficient contrast and will people with a learning disability find the text easy to understand?  

After that, the first and last miles of the journey are often the most difficult for disabled people.  If they have reduced mobility, they will need to be able to transition independently into, and out of, a driverless vehicle.  If they are a wheelchair user, there either needs to be sufficient vehicles on the road that can accommodate them in their chair or vehicles with enough storage for them to stow a chair away.

Then there is the question of support during the journey - what are the contact options should they need help, and are they accessible?  And will the staff member at the other end understand the passenger’s needs and provide an appropriate response?

This self-drive industry needs to have an understanding of the pain points for disabled people and consider these at every stage of the design process in order to build trust and acceptance with disabled drivers. That’s still a fanciful concept for a lot of people but it should be considered best practice.

When the costs of a new technology are starting to build, making the business case for accessibility can be difficult.  But it’s far more cost-effective to design accessibility in from the beginning rather than have to put fixes in place once it is on the road.  

It bears repeating that features designed to meet the needs of disabled people invariably offer benefits to the whole population. 

We’re recently launched research in partnership  TRL, a global centre for innovation in surface transport and mobility, looks at disabled people’s views on connected and automated vehicles. This award-winning research found that while self-driving vehicles offer promise, there is a real risk of exclusion unless accessibility is built in from the start. 

It's already late in the day for disabled people’s views and needs to be included in the development of self-driving vehicles and the new technologies that are the everyday for many drivers.  We found a similar pattern with the design of the EV charging infrastructure which ran ahead without consideration and is now having to backtrack and reassess what it offers.  Put simply, the industry needs to be careful not to reinvent a bad wheel each time a new technology comes along, and the automated sector must now take the opportunity to make design decisions informed by disabled people, to make sure they are not disenfranchised and left on the kerb."

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter here

Next: Most economical Motability cars