TV presenter and paralympic gold-medallist Ade Adepitan has backed automobile Express’s call for action on accessibility to electric cars for disabled drivers, after we shone the spotlight on a woeful lack of easily accessible public charge points in the UK’s near-30,000-strong network.
“It’s a great campaign, and automobile express is to be congratulated for taking it on board,” Adepitan says, “Am I shocked by your findings? absolutely not. As someone with a disability, and like a lot of people in the special needs world, I’m just used to it.”
Don’t leave disabled motorists behind in the switch to electric cars
Our report revealed a shocking lack of consideration of accessibility needs in the UK’s public charging network, with providers seemingly in a wholesale breach of Equality Act 2010 obligations, and government lagging on legislation with consultations only just beginning.
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“It’s really frustrating,” says Adepitan. “What it’s going to take for things to change is when this matters to people who do not directly benefit from it. Disabled people can shout until they’re blue in the face, but regrettably we’re not the majority and people tend to forget about us when they’re planning. It’s such an evident oversight.”
Adepitan has driven a Tesla model S adapted with hand controls considering that 2016. As an environmental advocate, he uses trains and his wheelchair as often as possible, but has racked up nearly 40,000 miles in his EV.