Paul Whittington

Age: 26 Drives: 2016 Ford Galaxy TDCI Titanium

“Once I had passed my test, I could go where I wanted, when I wanted” PAUL WHITTINGTON Ford Galaxy owner

BOURNEMOUTH University researcher Paul Whittington’s cerebral palsy meant learning to drive was more complex than for most people. But his instructor John Brown came up with some ingenious solutions to get him behind the wheel.

“I put two dip switches from a Morris Minor on a plate and wired them up to the electrics so he could kick left and right to indicate,” John says. “Paul suffers from a startle reflex where his arms shoot into the air any time there’s a shock. So we came up with the idea of insulation piping over a steering peg, so when he gripped it and his arm shocked, it didn’t come off.”

Paul passed his test in 2008 after just a few months of lessons, and now drives an adapted Ford Galaxy which he leases through Motability. “I liked cars from an early age and I always wanted to drive,” says Paul. “Once I’d passed my test I could go where I wanted, when I wanted. I drive to university three days a week and if I go out with friends at the weekend, I drive.”

Paul’s car is fitted with a mechanism called the Automatic Transport and Retrieval System (ATRS) that sees his wheelchair load itself into the boot. This was originally developed for the International Space Station, and Paul is the only person in the UK to use the tech. As part of his Bournemouth computing degree, Paul developed a smartphone app – he called it SMARTATRS – so he could get in and out of his car more easily.

“Initially the system was controlled by keyfobs, which I struggled to use. I made a smartphone version to provide the same functionality,” he explains. When he touches the buttons on two smartphones located on his wheelchair and on the dash, Paul’s chair drives itself to the back of the car and on to a loading plate.

Paul’s Galaxy is paid for through Motability, but he had to stump up £30,000 for the ATRS, plus a further £4,000 every three years to transfer the system into his new car. Paul says: “I was fortunate that I could fund these, but the costs are prohibitive for some people.”

Paul recently completed a PHD during which he created a framework that recommends technologies to people with disabilities based on the movements they can do independently. Now a postdoctoral researcher, he will continue to come up with innovative ways to help disabled people get driving.