A DRIVER’S VIEW

Mat Campbell-hill, a former Team GB Paralympic fencer, believes that the government could do more to address the needs of disabled drivers.

“The disabled community and those associated with them [carers] are already out of sight and a long way behind, and they’re not actively being pulled forward,” he said.

The 42-year-old, who won bronze medals at the Wheelchair Fencing World Cup in 2014 and the World Championships in 2019, is now a non-executive director and audit and risk advisory committee member for the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.

He drives a Tesla Model S Performance and therefore uses the Tesla Supercharger network, which he believes offers several benefits over the UK’S extended public charging infrastructure.

“If I’m going to a Tesla charger, I know well before I’m there how many chargers are available and whether or not they’re working,” he explained.

“When I’m using the public network, it’s stressful. It’s just the idea of: ‘Is the charger going to work? Is it going to take my card? Am I rolling out the massive blue cable or using the one attached to the machine?’

“For wheelchair users, it’s going to take up to five minutes. There’s an inherent risk and you’re more vulnerable [when] getting out, having your wallet out and trying to work out how to pay for things. It’s not ideal.”