by Christina Mills, Deputy Director of CFILC

Having the ability to drive is definitely on my top 10 list of things that make feel independent. As a person born with a disability to non-disabled parents I really had no idea that driving would ever be an option for me. It sounds strange, being that I’m from San Diego, but throughout my childhood I never met or came across any adult role models who also used a wheelchair and drove a car. It wasn’t until I was selected to attend the 1995 California Youth Leadership Forum for Students with Disabilities that I found that people like me could drive.

I can still remember what it felt like to go home and share with my mom that I had met and seen people with disabilities driving all types of different vehicles. I think my mom thought I was out of my mind. She was probably having a hard time imagining her breakable daughter behind the wheel. As a mother myself, I can now relate to how she was likely having an internal panic attack. Regardless of her fears she supported me and before I turned 17 years old I was on the road with my high school peers.

Getting a drivers license and a modified vehicle was no easy task. As a minor I had to do many of the same things that my non-disabled peers were doing; attend and pass a driver’s education course, get my permit, obtain behind the wheel training, pass the DMV driving test and then wait for my license to arrive in the mail. It was time consuming, but that was the easy part. Those of us who drive modified vehicles understand what it takes to get through this process, plus the hurdles and resources it takes to get a vehicle we can actually drive away in.

I use hand controllers to drive. Most of the time when I get a new car, I also have to get new hand controllers. On average my hand controllers cost $1200. That’s a lot of money, but not much compared to other vehicle modifications like ramps and lifts. I recently bought a new vehicle, my first van, and had a terrible time trying to find a company that would install my hand controllers. In past years getting a company to install the controllers was fairly simple. I would call, tell them what I need, make an appointment, drop off my vehicle and then pick it up and pay when it was done. This time around things were very different.

I called a few different companies that are certified to install hand controllers, but all of them said that I would need to prove that I could drive. Huh? I have a driver’s license and on that back of it is a printed provision by the DMV. It reads, “Restrictions: 22 – Drive vehicle only equipped with full hand controls.” Yet that wasn’t good enough.

Each company I phoned invited me to take a required certification class that they could refer me. They all said that in order for them to have my hand controllers installed by their company I would need a “certificate” proving that I could drive. Granted, it’s been over 15 years since I passed my driving test and I’ve only had one ticket during that time, but did the rules for driving change for all Californians?

After much probing and questioning I have found that many companies are turning to this illegal certification process as a way of making some extra money off of those of us who are already paying substantially more than our non-disabled counterparts to drive.

Fortunately there are still a few good vendors out there and they are very much against the illegal process that so many people with disabilities are being misled about. It took some asking around in the community to find a company that didn’t require a “certificate” to get my new hand controllers installed, but it finally happened and now I’m back on the road.

Assistive Technology can be pricey, especially vehicle AT. My family and I refer to those in the AT business who are making millions of dollars off of us as the DME Cartel. I don’t want to be ripped off and I don’t want to see my brothers and sisters with disabilities taken advantage of either. In fact, we (Ability Tools Staff) want to work with those of you who have been pushed to go through this “certification” process to get your required vehicle AT. Tell us about your experience. Let us know if you want to work to end driving discrimination for people with disabilities. Driving is a huge part of being independent and the last thing we want to do is limit people’s independence.