The National Autistic
Society (NAS) is challenging a decision
by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) asking people to inform them
of their diagnosis even if it does not affect their driving.
The DVSA did not communicate this change to any autistic person, charities or medical
professionals, instead it came to light when a person with autism contacted the NAS and told
them the DVLA website said
drivers must disclose if they have an autistic spectrum disorder.
Until recently, the
website has simply said that drivers must tell the DVLA if they have an
autistic spectrum disorder “and it affects your driving”. This is standard for many conditions. The final
clause has been removed and is now in a separate paragraph warning of the risk
of a £1,000 fine or possible prosecution if these drivers are involved in an
accident.
The Labour MP Jess
Phillips criticised the decision and said " I will be asking the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to look into this.”
An EHRC
spokesperson said the body would expect any change in policy affecting people
with an impairment to be clearly consulted on and communicated. “Failure to do
so may be a breach of the public sector equality duty,” they said.
“Autism is a lifelong disability and if
someone has passed their driving test we can’t see how an autism diagnosis
would change their ability to drive.
The DVLA said:
“There have been no changes to autism spectrum disorder being a notifiable
condition – this has been the case for a number of years. We have recently
aligned the advice on our A–Z guide for the public with the advice for medical
professionals.
“Notifying DVLA of
a medical condition doesn’t mean a driver will automatically lose their
licence. In fact more often than not they can continue to drive.
“We always keep our
advice under review and work with our independent medical panels to do so.”
Despite that
reassurance the change in policy has caused a great deal of anxiety in the
autistic community.
Laura
James, ambassador for the NAS, said: “We’re upset on a number of levels, but
the lack of communication is horrifying as we’ve all potentially been driving
illegally since they changed the rules.
“Also, we were all
autistic when we passed our tests, which are obviously designed to test
people’s skills and ensure they are safe to drive, so this change seems
nonsensical.”
Informing the DVLA
is not a simple process. The form asks
questions that relate to substance abuse and psychiatric treatment but nothing
about autism itself.
Drivers have to
give information on their GP and specialist and, said James, “as most GPs have
a very vague understanding of autism and most autistic adults don’t have a
specialist, it is hugely worrying as many of us could lose our driving
licences for essentially being different”.