Hybrid and highlights from Mobility Roadshow

For 25 years the Mobility Roadshow has been growing its reputation as the best place to see what’s new in getting around for disabled people. Douglas Campbell checked out this year’s exhibits

The worrying state of the economy was obvious with some long standing exhibitors not attending. Vauxhall, Gowrings Mobility and Portaramp have all had significant stands for many years, but they all chose not to be there.

In pride of place as you entered the Honda stand was their environmentally friendly Insight. This petrol and electric hybrid car uses an electric motor and batteries to substantially reduce emissions in slow traffic and completely when stationary. The interior of the four door hatchback is very spacious and the batteries have been cleverly located so that they do not take up luggage space. The batteries are charged by the petrol engine and from the energy created when braking. The automatic continuously variable transmission makes for easy driving, although the many dials, gauges and buttons in the cockpit display may seem a little daunting at first.

The Insight is surprisingly competitive with a Motability contract hire advance rental of £2,974, which is almost the same as the Toyota Prius. The list price starts at £15,490, but you could get £2,000 off by trading in a car registered before September 1999 under the Government sponsored scrappage scheme and perhaps even a discount too.

Unfortunately, the reality is that buying the greenest technology can be expensive and the savings in fuel costs will not be adequate unless you do a very high mileage.

Remember though that all modern cars are much more environmentally friendly than their older equivalents and the scrappage scheme is available for most makes of car when purchased new.

Steering Developments were showing their new wheelchair loading robot, the Abi-Loader. After the driver has transferred from wheelchair to driving seat this manipulator takes the wheelchair from beside the driver round to the back of the car, stows it in the boot and shuts the tailgate. At the end of the journey the whole process is easily reversed. The vehicle has to be suitable with regard to the boot and tailgate design, but many makes and models will fit the bill. Unlike automatic roof boxes this system does not change the shape of the vehicle and avoids the resulting substantial increase in drag and fuel consumption. Priced at £5,985 including fitting this is not a low cost solution, but it may make all the difference if you can transfer from your wheelchair, but not load the wheelchair unaided.

The Highways Agency has responsibility for the trunk roads and motorways in nearly all of England. As part of their service they launched at the Roadshow a magazine for disabled people with information on:

• What to do if you breakdown

• How to avoid breakdown in the first place

• Journey planning

• General road safety tips

The Roadshow also featured holiday and travel opportunities. Particularly noticeable was the model of the luxury five star accessible holiday homes in a unique development on the outskirts of Larnaca, Cyprus, that are to be completed in 2012 by Q Well Being.

An expert team of designers have come together to ensure every little detail has been thought about. The team include Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson DBE, Paralympian gold medallist, Dr. David Bonnett RIBA, FRSA, access consultant for the Olympic Athletes Village in Stratford City, London and Adam Thomas, the UK’s only disabled specialist accessible kitchen designer. Tanni showed us the model and told Disability Now: “Now I’m retired from competitive sport, I still want my family to have somewhere we can all relax comfortably and safely together”.

The access and design look superb and with flats of various sizes and the ability to meet individual needs they are bound to prove popular. Currently flats are for sale and can be bought by groups of up to four people. It is very likely that some owners will rent out the flats to holidaymakers.

There was lots of fun too. Skid cars screaming sideways across the tarmac. A chance to experience flying in a small plane. Even a temporary climbing wall.

INFORMATION
Honda: www.honda.co.uk; 0845 200 8000
Motability: www.motabilitycarscheme.co.uk; 0845 456 4566
Steering Developments: www.steeringdevelopments.co.uk; 01442 212918
Highways Agency: www.highways.gov.uk/disability; 0300 123 5000
Q Well Being: www.qwellbeing.com; 0844 243 6363