A workshop on mobility for the disabled

The 2nd Mobility Workshop concerning the problem of mobility for the disabled was held in Lingotto on November 7. The Convention, to which approximately fifty organisations and associations for the disabled and a dozen health authorities were invited, was addressed by a number of Fiat Auto managers: Gian Paolo Massa (in charge of Industrial Scenarios and Policies), Giuseppe Carretto, head of the Disabled Mobility Platform), Antonio Ridolfi (coordinator of the Mobility Centres) and Carlo Cucchi (head of Technical and legislative services). The purpose of the meeting was to analyse the results obtained so far by Fiat Auto's Mobility Programme and to debate future projects with the heads of the various associations.
The following topics were discussed:

• the Autonomy Programme
  
• the activities performed by the Mobility Centres
  
• legislative problems related to converted cars
  
• Fiat Auto's work for the disabled
  

The purpose of the Autonomy Programme, begun two years ago by Fiat Auto to coincide with the launch of the Fiat Bravo and Brava, is to simplify contact between the disabled and the car, and to guarantee the right to mobility even to those who are often excluded. In just two years, the programme has become operative all over Europe and in South America, in a total of 16 countries. Autonomy proposes cars modified by the addition of devices to aid various motor disabilities, and offers this special clientele competent service and easy term financial loans to purchase a car.
In Italy Fiat Auto also decided to set up specialised structures known as Mobility Centres, where the disabled who intend to apply for a driving licence can find the necessary medical and technical advice. Ten Mobility Centres are now operative. They were set up by the Fiat Auto Disabled Mobility platform, with the backing of IBM, Istituto Bancario San Paolo di Torino, Telecom Italia and Toro Assicurazioni, and the authorisation of the Ministries of Health and Transport.
It just takes a telephone call to the Fiat toll-free number (167-815015 in Italy) to book a free visit to one of these Centres. Doctors and physiotherapists use sophisticated equipment to analyse the disabled person's psychomotor capabilities and assess whether he or she is capable of driving a converted car. If the result is positive, the disabled person can gain familiarity with the car with the help of an instructor. The certificate issued at the Mobility Centre simplifies the work of the commission responsible for issuing special driving licences.

The effort required to set up the Centres has been rewarded by the large number of visits booked: more than 1600 by the end of September and a total of almost 800 people examined.
The 55 cars available for tests are fitted with devices that adapt them to a large number of disabilities, including really serious ones. A result that is the fruit of the close cooperation between the various Fiat departments (the Centro Ricerche and Safety Centre in Orbassano, Vehicle and brake testing, the Platforms, electric and electronic laboratories, Elasis) and with the best outfitters in the business. New technical aids for various types of handicap are constantly being designed and built. The wide range of special equipment recently saw the addition of the "Pedal", a device built by Fiat, which employs a state-of-the-art technology that is unique in the world, and allows people to drive even if they are without limbs, seriously paralysed or their upper limbs have been amputated. The complex research work and product refinement is enabling a growing number of disabled people to drive. However, technological progress alone is not enough. "Disablement-friendly" legislation is also needed, and the possibility of making a correct assessment of their remaining capabilities. To this end, Fiat Auto is now involved in two important projects. The first is called "INCA" (Inventory of European Legislation and Regulations for Car Adaptation) and was started last year together with the British TRL Test Centre, the Belgian Cara Institute and TUV of Germany. It is sponsored by the European Commission and sets out to harmonise current legislation in the various EU countries on the matter of motor disability.
Today, it often happens that the authorisation to drive an adapted vehicle, granted to a disabled person in his or her own country, is not recognised outside that country. INCA's goal is to draw up a single code of behaviour for the whole of Europe, which will make it possible to assess both the safety and effectiveness of the adaptations made to the vehicles, and the capabilities and needs of disabled people everywhere using the same methods. The project should be concluded in mid 1998.
The second goal is no less important, undertaken by Fiat Auto through agreements with the health authorities, the Ministry of Transport and other public bodies. It will tighten the link between the work of the Mobility Centres and that of the National Health Service.
Today, after they have received their certificate from a Mobility Centre, people with motor disabilities still have to go to their local health service to sit an exam for their licence in front of a commission of doctors and engineers from the Ministry of Transport inspectorate. In the near future, Fiat Auto could offer state medical commissions an opportunity to use the structures and equipment of the Mobility Centres for these examinations, enabling the handicapped customer to receive his driving licence right in the Centre. The advantages will be a smoother procedure, less inconvenience for the disabled person and above all a faster return to mobility and reintegration in society. This paramedical structure, the fruit of close, fruitful cooperation between the public and the private sectors, will be the most modern in Europe in this sector.