Driving is considered (by some) an essential part of growing up which is mostly why I put it off until I was 28. Luke Pearce on the other hand has a firmer grip on things and has decided its time to get in the driving seat. In fact, at the age of 17, he has now passed his test.

Am I bitter? Well maybe slightly!

With at least 1.9 million licensed disabled drivers in the UK (an estimate of 1.7 million active disabled drivers) and between 175,000 and 428,000 adapted vehicles in the UK this topic affects a huge number of people in the UK.  But what is it like for someone like Luke, who is a wheelchair user, to learn to drive and what problems has he had to overcome?

When I had my quick chat to Luke he gave me a good insight into what it is like learning to drive with a disability. Its just as easy (or hard...it took me 2 goes!) for everyone regardless of whether they have a disability or not.

The advantages of driving were obvious to Luke “I mainly wanted to gain more independence and to get out more socially”. A goal that I’m sure most 17 year olds can understand! His learning car was a Fabia Skoda while not the most exciting car but I can safely say (as I learnt to drive in a Fabia Skoda) it’s a cracking car to learn in and as he has now passed is driving his own a metallic grey Volkswagen Polo.

One of the things that interested me was the company Luke used to learn to drive. “Drive me Bananas” has been around since 2007 and has a specialist instructor for people that require an adapted car. But while they are setup for disabled drivers there is one thing that we all can not avoid when it comes to learning to drive. The price of having to pay for the adaptations of a car can be very (even prohibitively) expensive. It is £25 per hour for a non-adaptive lesson in a non-adapted car but £30 for the adapted lesson in the adapted car. This is about the same where ever you go to learn and may initial put some people off but if you afford it Luke has some advice

‘I wouldn't worry about it, learning to drive with hand controls I mean. It’s the same for everyone. Take advantage of being able to start at 16 and enjoy it!’

Probably the most important point there is enjoying yourself!

Have you just learnt to drive or learnt to drive years ago and would like to share your experience? Do you know companies around Scotland people should go to/ avoid when it comes to learning? TELL US!