Abi-Loader and secondary controls in a Ford Focus Estate

Jo Dowdall was starting to struggle with getting her wheelchair in and out of her vehicle — until her new Ford Focus was fitted with the Abi-Loader from Steering Developments.

About Jo Dowdall.

Jo is an experienced pan-disability accessibility advisor, with a strong passion for improving the lives of people with disabilities in any way possible. Jo obtained a Bachelor's Degree focused in Applied Computing from the University of Dundee and is currently an Accessibility Specialist at O2 (Telefónica UK).

Supported by Motability.

Jo got her first Motability car in 2017. But it was becoming increasingly difficult to lift her chair out of the vehicle. She was left with the decision to either get help or leave herself with a lot of pain in her left shoulder after lifting it out herself.

After some delays, partly caused by COVID and Brexit, Jo recently took delivery of a new Ford Focus Estate that we fitted an Abi-Loader into the boot of to allow Jo to continue to get around and maintain her independence. We also added a GuidoSimplex infrared secondary control to the steering wheel.

Before deciding on the Abi-Loader through the Motability scheme, Jo had also considered the Chair Topper but was worried about fuel consumption and the potential for the extra height to be a problem in low-ceiling places such as car parks.

What we did.

The Ford Focus had several adaptations carried out by the experienced team at Steering Developments to meet Jo's requirements.

Adaptations fitted.

• Abi-Loader
• GuidoSimplex infrared secondary control to the steering wheel

We think Jo is great and an inspiration to others. We look forward to catching up with Jo again in a couple of months to see how she is getting along with her new vehicle fitted with the Abi-Loader.

Everyone has been really helpful at SDL. In particular Niki, Steve & Jeff, have been friendly, knowledgable and helpful throughout my demo and adaptations installation. They are not afraid to think out of the box to find solutions to problems and they treated me as a person throughout the whole process rather than a job. — Jo Dowdall