PIP - Planning and following journeys.

Hi Jim,
DWP Guidance says that if you can't use public transport then you could achieve points under Planning & Following Journeys - Mobility 1. However this is not law, hence there won't be automatic points here.
I think you perhaps need to explore the problems you have in this area in a different way.
Journeys under this section can be a quick trip to corner shop = 50 yards or a trip to eg Edinburgh, or anywhere in between.
Forget the longer trips, as they will probably need to be on public transport.
Do you drive? - maybe you can not operate a car or have never taken a test. If so, this is clearly going to limit your 'journeying' options.
When you have to go to appointments such as the dentist or hospital, how do you get there?
Can you get to the local supermarket - how? Can you do other journeys - where to?
What difficulties do you have on a journey?
Can you plan a journey using a map/sat nav or a friend?
Can you finish a journey every time? - If not, what goes wrong?
What help do you actually get?
If you get lost can you ask a stranger where to go?
Could you understand the directions the stranger might give and be able to complete the journey?
Do journeys take extra long - why?
How often do you go out for a walk/drive etc - if this isn't very often why is that?
Do you take any special precautions to be able to go out, eg certain time of day -if so why?
Analyse how you feel, and whether you have anxiety and how bad this gets - what happens - how long do you need to 'calm down'.
If you can answer these questions, maybe with a friend/relative to get their perspective, you will have a real insight into how you can/can't do journeys.
Remember that just because you have to go to the hospital and manage to get there doesn't mean to say that you can therefore manage all journeys ok. There is a majority rule - this means that you can still score points if you fall within the descriptor for the 'majority of days'. Likewise, if you manage to go out, but you are eg terrified, anxious, heart is racing, you get dizzy, or maybe get violent towards other people etc, then it is likely that you can not manage the activity to an acceptable standard.
Perhaps you avoid going out due to the extreme sensations it causes, this may also be relevant, particularly if yo stay at home to avoid 'overwhelming psychological distress' which is a definition that falls in 2 of the activities under Mobility 1.
Maybe you need someone with to avoid eg epilepsy or to ensure you are safe.
More information about Mobility 1 and indeed all the other descriptor activities in the members guides. Try and match the problems you have within one or more of the Mobility 1 activities. If you believe that you can satisfy one or more for the majority of the time, then the correct points should be the one with the highest score (PIP Regulations 2013 - reg. 7). If 2 or more activities apply but together comprise the majority of the time, then your correct score is the most prevalent difficulty, even though this may not be the highest value.
I hope this helps.
LL26