Permission to drive

Following his OT driving assessment and medical clearance, Ben was given the green light by NSW Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) to obtain a learners permit (superseding his previous open license obtained prior to his accident).

Ben went out on the road, driving a prototype vehicle with space drive technology, supervised by the Occupational Therapist in the passenger seat with his own controls just in case. After a little tweaking of the technology, Ben was able to drive the vehicle unimpeded.

To see that rarely displayed beaming smile on Ben’s face was worth the trip up to Problem Management Engineering, the vehicle modifiers in Hornsby Heights. It was hard to put into words how warm inside we all felt witnessing this special event.

Roadblocks

Back in December we were presented with an adjusted costing of $129,015 for the space drive technology to be fitted into Ben’s existing vehicle plus a further estimated $19,000 in specialised one on one driver training with the technology.

Given Ben’s level of disability, this technology and services cannot be provided by any other organisation within Australia. We are therefore dealing with a captive market however have no other choice if Ben is to drive again.