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Important info for UK Autistic drivers.

Autistamatic

Autistamatic

He's just this guy, you know?
V.I.P Member
It has been highlighted in the last few days that the DVLA guidance on autism was changed in late 2018, but no-one was told until a young man, who's mother happens to run an autism charity, was interviewed by police after they had received a complaint that he had been "driving whilst autistic". The young man in question holds a full, clean license and no further action was taken at this time.
Enquiries are currently under way as to whether there has been a genuine change in the way DVLA & the courts view autism, or there has been a dreadful error.

(for non UK members - DVLA = Driver & Vehicle Licensing Authority)

driving2.png
 
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It seems to be an error, based on the text at the bottom of the second picture, "You must tell DLA if your condition will affect your driving." If they intended to change it, then the second is an error. But something is definitely off, since the two statements in the second picture contradict one another.
 
Fino said:
It seems to be an error, based on the text at the bottom of the second picture, "You must tell DLA if your condition will affect your driving." If they intended to change it, then the second is an error. But something is definitely off, since the two statements in the second picture contradict one another.
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That's what gives us hope that it is an error. The Police Autism Association is pursuing this too.
 
In order for such a change to take place, wouldn't it be have to shown that people with Autism are at a significantly greater risk of being in a car accident?
 
I agree with Fino that the ASD "restriction" must be a mistake. There must be thousands of conditions that would cause a person not to drive, and they are not necessarily permanent nor related to a very broad diagnosis. Hopefully, this little boo boo will be corrected.
 
Peter Morrison said:
I agree with Fino that the ASD "restriction" must be a mistake. There must be thousands of conditions that would cause a person not to drive, and they are not necessarily permanent nor related to a very broad diagnosis. Hopefully, this little boo boo will be corrected.
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I agree and I hope that is the case. Unfortunately there is this laughable "study" though, which the DVLA have already endorsed...

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09638288.2017.1370498
 
“Driving while Autistic”

Is it just me or might that be worded better in order to stand up in court ?

Driving while autistic ?
As opposed to driving while you’re not.
 
Gracey said:
“Driving while Autistic”

Is it just me or might that be worded better in order to stand up in court ?

Driving while autistic ?
As opposed to driving while you’re not.
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LOL. Yeah, in the US the ACLU and ADA advocates would be all over them like a cheap suit in terms of a civil rights violation. Let's just hope the Brits made a simple error and correct it, and publicly admit it.

- Regardless of the results or claims of a single study.
 
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Something stinks here... I hope it's just an error. It's not like you are only sometimes autistic, are they saying autistic people shouldn't be able to drive? I've been driving for over 20 years and other than one accident (my fault,) my record is clean as a whistle in multiple countries.
 
I figured the phrase "driving whilst autistic," was used by the people on the side of the driver, in an attempt to equate the situation with other, similar social issues, such as Driving While Black causing you to be pulled over. Is that not the case?
 
And the results of the study aren't that people with Autism are worse driver, is it? It seemed to conclude only that their better at one thing and worse at another. One could argue the tailgating finding warrants a registration of NT on all their licenses. :rolleyes:
 
Driving with autistic anxiety about driving and aspie overwhelm can be an issue [is the cause my ex deemed himself unable to]. But so can driving with add, lose attention for a split second and yer ded. So can driving with sensory percep disorder unrelated to autism.

Humans shouldnt be driving, only Sophia the bot should now that shes gotten arms. But of course I wouldn't let her even sit in the front seat in case she decides to pull off her infamous 'kill humanity' jokes again.
 
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An ASD diagnosis is just a few words on a piece of paper. IMO, the driving abilities of people with an ASD diagnosis should be assessed and ascertained in exactly the same way as they are for Neurotypicals (though some accommodations could be made for the witten part of the exam).
 
Progster said:
An ASD diagnosis is just a few words on a piece of paper. IMO, the driving abilities of people with an ASD diagnosis should be assessed and ascertained in exactly the same way as they are for Neurotypicals (though some accommodations could be made for the witten part of the exam).
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Agreed but while both may pass who can tell how much such a thing as anxiety is affecting them deep down. But i guess they test you psychologically for that too?
 
Rexi said:
Agreed but while both may pass who can tell how much such a thing as anxiety is affecting them deep down. But i guess they test you psychologically for that too?
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I don't think they have psychological testing to obtain a driving license in the UK, or at least, not as far as I'm aware.
 
If you look on the 2019 page. it says "You must tell DVLA that you have an autistic spectrum disorder(ASD)". I don't see any part that says that you are automatically disqualified from getting a license if you do. It may be that they just want it on record.
 
FreeDiver said:
If you look on the 2019 page. it says "You must tell DVLA that you have an autistic spectrum disorder(ASD)". I don't see any part that says that you are automatically disqualified from getting a license if you do. It may be that they just want it on record.
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But why should they? Not everyone's ASD will affect their ability to drive, and if it doesn't then it is none of the DVLA's business. I pass my driving test with no faults years before I was diagnosed. My ability to drive has not changed just because I now have a piece of paper saying I have ASD.
 
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