News & Features

DMUK Conducts Audit on EV Charger Accessibility

Posted in General News on Monday, September 20th, 2021

DMUK CEO Graham Footer, Vice Chairman, Alan Norton, and Communications Assistant, Chris Girling recently conducted an accessibility audit on a selection of different types of electric vehicle (EV) chargers in Brighton. These chargers had been installed by the EV charging specialists, Electric Blue (EB). While these charge points are not accessible for disabled motorists at the moment, DMUK aims to compile a detailed report explaining how EV chargers can be made as accessible as possible going forward. The hope is that EV charging specialists like EB and local authorities will then use the information in this report to make their EV chargers accessible for disabled motorists. DMUK believes that wireless induction charging will be the most effective solution, but we are a few years away from this being feasible and we must make improvements now.   

DMUK’s report will be published and will appear in a future edition of Disabled Motoring magazine. 

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Shaun Botterill's Gravatar
Shaun Botterill

Monday, September, 20th, 2021

I live in Newcastle upon Tyne in a small block of flats, we have no dedicated residents parking we have to make do with a very narrow road, apparently it is too narrow to have a disabled space put in. I have been at loggerheads with the council about parking for over 10 years and in all that time nothing has changed. I have now ordered my new motability car which is a full EV, to benefit from the free fitting of a charge point I have to have a dedicated off road parking bay, I have suggested many times that the grassed area in front of the flats could easily be converted into residents parking and I would also have my own parking space. After lodging an official complaint a planning officer came to do a site visit and agreed that the parking was inadequate and said he would put forward my idea of individual parking bays, he consulted his manager who's reply was if we do it for 2 blocks then we have to do it for the whole estate. I have since been told that no further action would be taken. I have now taken up the matter with my MP. If I use the multi storey car parks in town to charge my car, the electricity is free but parking charges would be about £25 as blue badge holders have to pay in all council car parks. The council is now trying to give away £24 Million to businesses who's vehicles would incur a charge in the new Clean Air Zone, these businesses can replace fossil fuel power for either Hybrid or electric. I am doing the green thing and as a resident of Newcastle upon Tyne, I get no help whatsoever unless I complain and even then nothing constructive happens.

Helen Reeve 's Gravatar
Helen Reeve

Monday, September, 20th, 2021

I have just ordered my new car. Which I hope to get in December, if I had electric I could have the colour I wonted, it would be cheaper, plus this and that and the other, but where I live would be unable to charge it, so it's automatic petrol and a similar colour to whot I wonted plus a good down payment, I felt I was being pushed to have electric and looking round have not found one place to charge, the locle tesco have 8 chargeing station's, at the very far end of the car park not practical for disabled people, plus non of them work , so if you are thinking about an electric car, please look round your area first plus think how you will charge at home!!!!

Gill Kilshaw's Gravatar
Gill Kilshaw

Monday, September, 20th, 2021

I am very worried about the dropping of diesel vehicles. I have a diesel van conversion high top. Which means I can’t use multi story car parks, and there is no way I could even lift the power cables of an electric. Having watched BBC Click and seen the costs of electric charging, especially fast charging. I wonder just how economic it will be. No account has been taken of distance driving. I drive all over the country and many of the places I go eg campsites, AONB, and National Trust properties don’t have charge points. I find the prospect terrifying as I will be relegated to short local journeys, no holidays and no taking part in the many community and volunteering roles I do.

Clive Stevens's Gravatar
Clive Stevens

Tuesday, September, 21st, 2021

I hope there is not a national rush to purchase electic vehicles because charging facilities are a complete joke and TOTALLY inadequate???

Janet Falcon's Gravatar
Janet Falcon

Tuesday, September, 21st, 2021

I have a BMW i3in Motability which I decided on as it is the only vehicle with backward opening rear doors & no central pillar. This enables me, with the aid if a swivel driving seat, to swing my wheelchair behind me. All that part has lived up to expectations. The electricity charging is another matter. The car itself is very difficult for me to plug & unplug charger. As for public chargers, they have been a string of disasters: not working, inaccessible, not able to download individual App etc etc. I am fortunate to have a partner with a standard petrol car. I have had to make the decision not to travel beyond range in mine, which appears totally to defeat the object of an electric car.

Philip Woods's Gravatar
Philip Woods

Tuesday, September, 21st, 2021

I use mobility Ford Independence, as the only other van that was electric was to small, so I have another 4 year to wait. At present I live near Pontypridd, 10miles from Cardiff, and the only charging points are in supermarkets. If I am able to get a wheelchair adapted vehicle I have a drive and garage to fit a charger at home. With the price of energy going up, will it become to expensive to charge my vehicle, confining me to home and I would be unable to attend hospital.

ANTONIO A CARVALHO's Gravatar
ANTONIO A CARVALHO

Thursday, September, 23rd, 2021

The usage of EVs at this stage is not encouraging at all. As I see it is still a very long way ahead until required charging points may be available to every body able and disabled. I live in a council estate in a no through street and parking bays quite away from any house. Is the council going to install charging points on such the streets? I doubt it at least in the current decade, so I'll stick to current full petrol/diesel vehicle or may be a hybrid if reliable.