Drive it - Time to get all hands to the pumps

More widespread forecourt assistance is a must for disabled drivers, writes Andrew MacKay

Recently we had a call from one of our members who lives in Glasgow as she was beginning to find it difficult to put fuel in her car at the filling station. She suffers from osteoporosis and consequently her mobility and general agility is less good than it used to be. The simple task of filling her car’s fuel tank is now almost beyond her power and she regularly depends on white van men or other customers to assist. Is there anyone, anywhere who can help her fill up?

Following a little investigation, it turns out that she is not alone and there are reckoned to be 250,000 disabled drivers and their passengers in the UK. And with an ageing population on the increase the proportion of motorists requiring help is also bound to rise.

In this day where total inclusion is a key word with our legislature, it seems incredulous that filling station personnel or indeed technologies are not in place to help disabled persons of all kinds with this simple job. Most of the family garages, under pressure from the big boys, have had their fuel pumps removed. These may have been a recommended source of personal service but what can be done for the thousands of people who are unable to manage the apparatus at the filling station?

Clearly, what is needed is a network of filling stations offering services to disabled people in a consistent fashion both in terms of facilities and the level of service available. It is also useful to have someone check oil, water and air and I dare say it may even make good business sense. However, in the absence of such an infrastructure, the disabled motorist remains severely limited.

If the international wheelchair symbol is displayed, it raises the stakes as this invokes a code of practice covering the minimum levels of service that should be provided. Mind you if the filling station can only meet the criteria set out in the “service” section or the “facilities” section, they should indicate the restrictions accordingly, showing the words “service only” or “facilities only” printed below the wheelchair symbol.

There is a semi-automatic option called ServiceCall that allows a disabled driver to call for assistance at the filling station. It is necessary for the garage to install the equipment, a receiver; and for the driver to acquire a small handset rather like a television’s remote control unit. The cost of this is £9.95 to the motorist and around £300 to the filling station owner.

The idea was developed by David Walker, himself a quadriplegic, following his success at producing devices such as Autochair, which folds and raises a wheelchair on to the roof of a car. “Shell and Esso put the ServiceCall system into many petrol stations and since then it has been applied to other everyday circumstances such as banks, shops, surgeries, video stores, indeed wherever there is a simple task to be transacted,” says David. “I think it is important that disabled people are able to do what everyone else can do. The introduction of petrol stations that are totally automated for customer self-service at all times or at less busy times is a worrying trend for those disabled drivers who depend on staff for assistance when refuelling.”

Fortunately for our member, this facility is available at two filling stations within one mile of her home and we were able to put her in touch with the company who supplies the transmitter.