Adapt a vehicle

If your condition has, since the renewal of your license, undergone changes which could have an impact on your driving (for example, if you experience shoulder pain which reduces your endurance in handling the steering wheel), you will have advantage of updating your driver's license before spending to have your vehicle adapted. In fact, legally speaking, you have an obligation to ensure that your medical condition has been declared. To do this, you must have your physician (general practitioner or physiatrist) complete the SAAQ medical assessment form (form M-28). You may have to pay some costs.

Apply for financial aid

You must contact the Société d'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) to benefit from the subsidy to adapt your motor vehicle. Through the Vehicle Adaptation Program for Persons with Disabilities, the SAAQ can grant,  a maximum of once every five years This program provides financial assistance to persons with disabilities who wish to have a private vehicle adapted in order to be able to drive it or have access to it.

To do this, you must contact the SAAQ (1-800-525-7719) to obtain more information and find out if you are eligible for the program. If this is the case, you must then complete the "Application for financial assistance for vehicle adaptation" form, available from the SAAQ (at the customer information service) or from certain occupational therapists. This form must be accompanied by a medical certificate confirming the diagnosis and the deficiencies.

As the waiting list can be long, it is in your best interest to file your application in advance.

Evaluation of your ability to drive a motor vehicle.

Following receipt of the application form, the SAAQ's medical evaluation department may require another type of medical opinion, for example an eye test if you have had one for some time. suffered one. In addition, you must have your physical and mental ability to drive a road vehicle assessed by an occupational therapist (form M-57). Make sure that the occupational therapist doing your assessment is specialized in driving to prevent the SAAQ from refusing the assessment. The evaluation is free, unless it is done in a private clinic, but a fee may be charged for the road test.

If the examiner recommends that the person be authorized to drive a vehicle, the occupational therapist will indicate the modifications and equipment required and will complete his assessment with other data (your abilities and disabilities, the mobility aids you use, your environment, etc.) to clearly identify your needs. In most cases, the occupational therapist will be able to complete and send the M-57 form to the SAAQ after the road test and indicate the modifications or equipment required for your driving.

The choice of equipment and vehicle

The SAAQ will confirm to you in writing the maximum amount to which you are entitled, based on the lowest price received between the bids of two suppliers. You will be able to have the required work carried out by presenting the financial assistance award letter to the supplier of your choice (which may be different from those who tendered). Since there are differences in the equipment offered and since the suppliers do not all have the same expertise with regard to the different types of vehicle on the market, you are advised to visit several of them and ask questions.

Although only modifications essential to your needs are covered by the Vehicle Adaptation Program for Persons with Disabilities, you may decide to request, at your own expense, additional modifications: lowered floors, raised roofs and doors, platform lifts, forms, access ramps, manual controls, specialized seats...

Take note that...

• We cannot make just any adaptations on just any vehicle. The type of construction of the vehicle (monocoque construction or bodywork chassis) may have an impact on the modifications requested. Thus, do not buy a new vehicle, new or used, before making sure that the modifications to be made can be done.

• Once you have received authorization from the SAAQ, you only have 12 months to have your vehicle adapted. After this time, you will have to submit a new request.

• Be patient... and think ahead. By some accounts, an appointment with a specialist occupational therapist can sometimes take up to two years. Opting for the private sector circumvents the problem, but it will cost you between $300 and $500, which will not be reimbursed by the SAAQ, unless your handicap results from a traffic accident. In addition, the processing of a request sent to the SAAQ can take up to 6 months. Finally, the adaptation of the vehicle can take from three to eight weeks, depending on the importance of the modifications to be made.

Note: The information presented above comes from the former website of the Association des paraplégiques du Québec, now known as Moelle épinière et motricité Québec.

There are several retailers that can carry out motor vehicle adaptation; here we present some of them. We strongly encourage you to take the necessary steps to verify the competence of the supplier you choose and the competitiveness of its price with regard to the adaptations you wish to make to your vehicle.

Please note that the retailers presented here have not been chosen based on criteria of competence or appreciation. This list, inspired by the one available on the  lentourage.org website , is partial and is designed to give you a starting point in your research. We invite you to send us the contact details of other retailers or to let us know your appreciation of the retailer with whom you have done business.

Center Auto De Duberger Inc.

Region: Quebec
Provides automotive maintenance and repair services. Has a division, TransQam, which specializes in adapting vehicles for people with reduced mobility.

Address: 2957 Boul. Father Lelièvre, Quebec (Quebec) G1P 2X9.
Telephone: 418-683-4876
Website:  http://centreautoduberger.com/

St-Lambert Auto Center

Region: Quebec
Vehicle adaptation for disabled people.

Address: 145, Damase-Breton, St-Lambert-de-Lauzon, Quebec, G0S-2W0
Telephone: 418-889-0419 or 1-866-641-0419
Website:  http://pages.infinit.net/centauto /

self-reliance center

Region: Saguenay / Lac St-Jean
Adaptation of vehicles of all brands for motorists with various motor disabilities.

Address: 399 avenue de la Friche, Dolbeau-Mistassini, Quebec, G8L 2T3
Telephone: 1-418-276-8336 or 1-800-263-8337
Website:  http://www.centreautonomie.com/

Eureka solutions

Region: Eastern Townships / Laurentians / Montreal.
Has specialists in adapting vehicles for wheelchair users and in accessibility for people with reduced mobility (automotive adaptation, trucks, mini vans, houses, access ramps, etc.).

Service centers: Sherbrooke, Montreal, Blainville, Ottawa.
Telephone: 1-866-562-2555
Website:  http://www.eurekasolution.com

Francois Pilon

Region: Montreal.
Technical assistance for adapted vehicle.
Phone: 1-888-996-6661

Handi-Service

Region: Montérégie
Equipment and products to promote mobility. Vehicle adaptation services, general mechanics, residential and commercial adaptation, and home maintenance.

Address: 3640 Richelieu, St-Hubert, Quebec, J3Y 7B1
Telephone: 450-445-2222 or 1-877-654-2634
Website:  http://www.handi-service.net

André-Viger House

Region: Montreal
Offers a wide range of products: wheelchairs, scooters, scooters, accessories, medical products, vehicle adaptations, etc.

Address: 6700 rue St-Denis, Montreal (Quebec), H2S 2S2
Telephone: 514-274-7560 or 1-800-363-6703
Website:  http://www.andreviger.qc.ca/

TVR Technologies Inc.

Region: Lanaudière
Specializes in the adaptation and modification of vehicles for people with reduced mobility and commercial vehicles.

Address: Richard Monette, 595 Lanaudière, Repentigny (Quebec) J6A 7N1
Telephone: 450-582-2555 or 1-888-919-2555
Website:  http://www.tvrtechnologies.com 

Savaria Vehicle Group

Region: All of Quebec
Savarin specializes, among other things, in the adaptation of vehicles for personal and commercial use for people with reduced mobility in Canada.

Address: 4350, Highway 13 south, Laval (Quebec) H7R 6E9
Telephone: 1-800-361-1725 or 1-800-668-8705 ext. 318
Website:  http://www.savaria.com