Reesha Armstead - Author / Educator

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🎉 I'M BEING INTERVIEWED ON DREAMCATCHER RADIO THIS EVENING, THURSDAY 9 JULY BETWEEN 6-8PM!!🎉

Talking all things Empowerment with the fabulous Lisa King-Selfloveologist 💕

(see links in comments to tune in!)

The Motability Scheme is essential for many people to maintain their independence and access vital services. It’s heartbreaking to see Motability Operations and the government making changes that will make life so much harder for those who rely on it.

A legal challenge by Motability user, Charlie Procter, is now in progress to challenge HM Treasury on the highly limiting changes being proposed, based on the notion that they have no regard to the Equality Act 2010 or the impact on the lives of real people.

All this carries a heavy financial cost. If you can, consider supporting this cause by donating or sharing this post to help raise awareness. We would be hugely grateful 💕

Donate to Help Challenge Government Cuts to Motability – , organized by charlie p The Motability Scheme has been a lifeline for disabled people across t… charlie p needs your support for Help Challenge Government Cuts to Motability –

This explains so well what I deal with every single day and sometimes find myself questioning why I'm exhausted at the end of the day!

Can you relate? Discuss...

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BxrUPCDnt/

Most people hear the words “cerebral palsy” and think only about mobility, stiffness, or muscles that don’t respond the way they should. But for many people living with CP, there’s another layer that rarely gets talked about enough: dystonia overflow.

It’s when your body reacts beyond what you intended. You try to move one muscle, and suddenly others join in without permission. A simple task can become exhausting because your nervous system refuses to stay within normal movement boundaries. Stress can trigger it. Fatigue can trigger it. Even excitement can trigger it.

This isn’t just “being stiff.” It’s constant involuntary movement, unpredictable contractions, pain, muscle fatigue, emotional exhaustion, and energy drain that most people never see. Some days your body feels like it’s fighting against itself from morning until night.

Dystonia overflow can affect confidence, independence, communication, sleep, and mental wellbeing. Yet so many people living with it feel invisible because the public conversation around cerebral palsy often stops at the surface. Awareness matters because understanding changes the way people treat disability.

If you live with this reality every day, know that your experience is valid. Your frustration is valid. Your exhaustion is real. And you should not have to constantly explain what your body is doing just to be understood.

For those learning about dystonia overflow for the first time, listening matters. Disability is not always visible in obvious ways. Sometimes the hardest battles are neurological, exhausting, and hidden beneath the surface.

The more we talk openly about conditions like dystonia overflow, the more understanding, compassion, and accessibility we create for everyone.

I'm sure this news will come as a huge relief to a great many Motability customers, that the use of Drive Smart is being suspended while they look into the extensive problems it has caused and, they say, seek to improve it.

Drive Smart works through a telematics device being fitted into the vehicle and connected to a mobile phone app.
The purpose is to monitor driving habits by tracking things like speeding and braking, for example, to encourage safety and to reduce the amount of insurance claims. Drivers receive a weekly score on their driving which can either be rewarded with up to £160 available in vouchers per year or may cause them to be either supported to improve or penalised according to how many 'red score' weeks they receive in a year. At first, it was just intended for drivers under the age of 30 but more recently, it was decided that it would be rolled out for all new users of the scheme by the summer.

There has been huge controversy and anxiety surrounding Drive Smart and I've read so many horror stories of disabled people losing their vehicles because of inaccurate readings due to flaws within the actual technology, thus risking their entitlement to use the Motability Scheme. Reasons have included severe road conditions being misinterpreted as harsh driving, disabled drivers putting a little more pressure on brakes because of their physical disability and no allowances being made for driving adaptations, or drivers being forced to change lanes due to obstacles on the road ahead, such as potholes. (This is all within the realms of road safety and remember, disabled drivers take exactly the same tests as everyone else in order to obtain a licence. Their ability to drive safely despite their disability has already been proven although it is acknowledged that anyone can develop bad habits).

It has also been rumoured that further upcoming changes to the scheme include the recommendation that drivers take a rest break every hour while driving, limiting the number of journeys allowed to six per day and a requirement that every driver must keep their Bluetooth and location switched on on their mobile devices at all times. Motability have denied that these restrictions are to be enforced, despite being known to be in the habit of changing course.

Although it doesn't affect me as an existing Motability user right now, the implications of all this are enormous in the event that they decide to roll it out across the board. The whole point of the scheme is to give disabled people their freedom and independence, enabling them to get around and live their lives, to travel to work, to get their children to school, to go on holiday and endless other possibilities. The more restrictions that are placed on us, the less independence we can enjoy.

I'm not sure if some of this would be entirely legal either. For example, because I can't drive, I rely on my husband and my Support Assistants to take me wherever I need to go. The very idea that the varience in people's driving habits could cost me my vehicle is unthinkable. In an article on the Disability News Service on 23rd April 2026, Phil Swindin, a long term customer was quoted as saying that since Drive Smart was introduced, 52 disabled people had lost their mobility because their named driver had been disallowed to drive for them. He stated that “A customer removed by an incorrect system carries that insurance history with them for years, making future cover harder and more expensive to get.

“Any removals automatically flagged by Drive Smart, without human review, and any past automatic removals, should be reconsidered and fully audited before more customers are affected.” Of course, I want to be safe with all my drivers but errors are being made with Drive Smart and have apparently been very difficult to rectify.

The notion that my drivers could all be forced to have to keep their Bluetooth and location services on even when they aren't at work is appalling, in my opinion. Surely this could be construed as an impingement on privacy, not to mention how difficult it could be to enforce contractually as an employer. I would even go as far as to say it's discriminatory in that such requirements or restrictions would never be placed on non-disabled drivers in the wider sense. (I'm going to place a disclaimer here in that these opinions are entirely my own and I'm currently unaware as to whether these issues have been legally challenged or tested by anyone, as yet),

What I will say is that although it is excellent news that Drive Smart is being suspended for now, we need to keep the pressure on, as we have clearly had a positive impact by speaking out against the questionable decisions being made by Motability of late. A new customer panel is being set up of those who have been using Drive Smart to help shape its future development and I would encourage anyone who is invited to participate to do so. It is only through full consultation with disabled people themselves that any service set to serve us can begin to hope to improve.

Sorry, that turned into a really long post! I'll get off my soapbox now, shall I?!

https://news.motability.co.uk/scheme-news/update-on-drive-smart/?fbclid=IwdGRjcARyvzBjbGNrBHK-zmV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHmfqFKxNp91WcRjUU2tNQETDjKroQmvbM9A9N10hh98yn1mwPlH5FqXeMnwA_aem_kXxZJyrI6QBDpiFaRJRWKg

An update on Drive Smart | Motability Scheme We’ve listened carefully to feedback from customers about Drive Smart. Read our latest update on Drive Smart with the Motability Scheme and what it means for you.

In March 2024, I was excited to take delivery of my first Motability vehicle. Although not my first wheelchair accessible vehicle, previously I had always sat in my wheelchair at the back. For the first time ever, the modifications to this new one meant that I could drive in and sit right up front in the space where the passenger would sit! It was like a whole new world had opened up to me, as I revelled in being able to see fully out of the front windscreen and get a whole new perspective on even the most well travelled journeys! I could sit next to my husband or Support Assistant and have a conversation, without having to shout from the back, and invariably not be heard properly, or listen to those in the front talking (I'm unable to drive myself).

Sadly, my excitement was short-lived as after only a month, I started to experience issues with the vehicle and the problems never stopped. They included the electric ramp failing, the petrol gauge not working, issues with the AdBlue tank, battery failure, and so the list went on with many of the problems being persistent, despite many repairs. I found myself constantly worrying, waiting for the next thing to go wrong and dreading long journeys. The vehicle kept being sent up to Glasgow to be put right (I live in the Midlands) and in total, it spent 9 months off the road and away from me. Fortunately, I was always provided with hire vehicles by Motability in the meantime, however they weren't wholly suitable, I'd be relegated to the back again, suffering poor suspension as my wheelchair was positioned on the back axle, with no choice but to put up with it.

Not being someone who shies away from complaining when it's justified, I spent many months in a long and ferocious fight with Motability, arguing that had I bought the vehicle (which became unaffectionately known as The Heap) privately and away from the Motability Scheme, I would have had rights to recourse under the warranty and could demand my money back. Meanwhile, I had not only spent an eye-watering amount on the Advanced Payment (almost £27,000), but they continued to collect the mobility component of my Personal Independence Payment each month.

A long battle ensued with hours and days spent over several months on countless exhausting phone calls, writing emails and sending letters back and forth, as with dogged determination, I sought either a new vehicle at no extra cost to me or a refund to enable me to start again. Motability attempted to put up quite the fight, even to the point of going against it's own Terms and Conditions, but I was not to be defeated! Having taken legal advice, it was found that I had recourse under the Consumer Rights Act and eventually they agreed to a partial pro-rata refund of the Advance Payment. Victory was mine!

I'm extremely pleased that as of this morning, I finally have my new Ford Tourneo Duo from GM Mobility and The Heap is no more! It was entirely without an ounce of sadness that we parted company and in fact, I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

I have to say, I'm actually really proud of myself for sticking to my guns and successfully being able to say: Reesha 1 v Motability 0!! (Needless to say, don't get me started on the further proposals for the upcoming changes to the scheme, I'm all out of energy right now! But watch this space once I've recovered...).

Have (reliable) wheels, will travel! 😀

The government is bringing in changes to the Motability Scheme which threaten the independence of hundreds and thousands of disabled people.

In recent months, there has been a great deal of focus on the Motability Scheme which has, in turn, led to what feels like a constant attack from news outlets and on social media, on the disability community who are so reliant on it. I've dealt with it myself, having to justify my reasons for needing a so-called 'free luxury vehicle'. We're not actually talking luxury here, we're talking necessity and when most people expect to have access to a car these days, why on earth should we be any different? Anyway, let me tell you, there's nothing luxurious about my Peugeot Rifter van and certainly nothing free about any of it.

In a nutshell and by way of an example, I had to put down an Advance payment of £27,000 towards the Peugeot and where insurance, servicing, breakdown cover and tyres are pupported to be included in the scheme, it is actually paid for by me contributing the full amount of my higher rate mobility component of the Personal Independence Payment I receive throughout the 5 year lease. At the end of this term, the vehicle does not become my own. It is taken back and likely sold at auction and then I start all over again, if I want to take on a lease for a new vehicle. In reality I will have basically paid the full cost of my old one with nothing to show for it and Motability will make money from it again.

Many of you will have heard about the endless amount of problems I've had with my van (affectionately known as 'The Heap'), which hasn't been fit for purpose since the day I got it, and the battle I had to wage with Motability to get them to agree to exchange it. They were insistent that I would have to pay the full Advance Payment again, until I quoted the Consumer Rights Act and took legal advice, after which they granted me a partial refund to put towards my new vehicle. I have been waiting almost 6 months and should hopefully have my new wheels very soon.

In an attempt to cut costs, Motability are bringing about the following changes for new leases from July 2026 onwards. Here's a brief summary of what they will mean and why they are deemed so unfair by the users of the scheme:

🚙 The annual mileage limit is being halved to 10,000 miles per year on vehicles, and anyone who exceeds this will be charged at 25p per mile.
♿ Motability vehicles are provided in order to enable disabled people the ability and freedom to get around for the purposes of work, leisure, medical appointments and so on. The extra needs that disability brings means that mileage can soon add up and relying on public transport is not always an option in terms of availability, lack of access and cost. Such massive restriction is going to leave many disabled people unable to fulfil their obligations, for example, in getting to work, or meeting their medical needs. The push by the government to get disabled people in to employment will, in many ways, be contradictive under these terms.

🚙 Tyre replacement is being a significantly limited, depending on the duration of the lease - 6 tyres for a 3 year lease / 10 tyres for a 5 year lease.
♿ Although these figures have been based on average use, this doesn't take into account the possibility of extra wear and tear on vehicles likely to be carrying weighty wheelchairs and equipment, and extra journeys that may be needed for medical appointments. My old car which has adapted and privately owned regularly needed new and expensive reinforced tyres.

🚙 Insurance Premium Tax and VAT are to be charged at the standard rate on Advance Payments on vehicles, excess mileage charges and early termination fees (except for leases where a vehicle has been significantly adapted to carry wheelchairs / stretchers and where driving modifications are required).
♿ Products which are for the specific use of disabled people are usually exempt from VAT. The exception here seems unfair when Motability vehicles all have the common purpose of enabling disabled drivers and passengers to travel with independence in mind.

🚙 EU breakdown cover will require Motability users to obtain and pay an administration fee in order to obtain a VE103 certificate needed for travel to EU countries.
♿ This is yet another cost and piece of red tape that disabled people will need to pay for and deal with when taking their vehicle abroad for work or leisure.

So there you have it, a brief explanation of the realities of what is happening and the impact on those affected. It seems to me that although there's no doubt that savings need to be made to support the long-term future of the Motability Scheme, disabled people yet again are on the bottom of the pile in terms of priority and having their needs truly met, but at the top of the pile for being at the brunt of questions and criticism for just wanting to be treated with respect and participate in society on equal terms.

You can actually help us to rebalance this. Whenever the topic comes up in conversation, understand the true facts and call out those who are a part of the blame culture and share and sign the petition below to stop some of the damaging changes which will affect some of the most needy within society.

Petition: Stop proposed changes to the Motability Scheme The recent budget has announced taxes on advanced payments and a decrease in mileage allowances. We believe this is unfair to the most vulnerable in society and could affect their independence.