Martino, a lot of disabled, if fit to drive got free three wheeler blue Invacar’s which had one seat in them, which was my first car in 1974. I accept that no Motability driver would be seen dead in one nowadays, however if you were, too disabled at 17 to jump on and off buses, it was a god send, not worse or more embarrassing than any of my friends cars, as my friends of that age simply did not have cars.
Only in the mid 70’s, when disabled and other organisations campaigned against these fibreglass bath tubs on wheels, using the late great Graham Hill (Damian’s father), the British racing driver, at the head of their campaign, did the birth of the Mobility Allowance arrive in 1976, that was enough to run second hand cars, but not buy them, then Motability arrived in 1977, where the disabled could get a small choice of brand new cars on a three year lease, that changed the lives of thousands of disabled people and their family’s forever (hopefully).
My official Invacar learner driver training, consisted of one full day’s driving (it should have been two half day’s but the other guy called off) up and down a hospital dirt track and that was me considered to be fit and fully trained for the main road’s (although not Motorways), as no one was officially allowed to be in the car with you on a main road.
Basically my father had to teach me how to drive by illegally sitting next to me in this one seated car, sitting in a small stool I had made in woodwork at school the year earlier.
Thankfully my parents bought me an automatic Daf 44 car and installed hand controls in it for my 18 birthday. But they were good times, sorry I am straying into the hovis advert.