Autism and Driving

Oh the DVLA sent people's hearts and minds into a bit of a flutter in the past month didn't they? Nothing like a bit of confusion to make people feel uneasy and worried. 

In February the DVLA gave out information in regard to autism stating that people must disclose their autistic diagnosis if they were driving. To add to this they said that anyone who failed to disclose their condition would face a fine up to £1000. Now this kind of stands with medical conditions. In general, if you do fail to inform the DVLA of any medical condition and you are involved in an accident then you can face a fine of £1000.

With regard to autism they have now updated their information and you now only have to inform them if you think your diagnosis of autism affects your ability to drive safely. They do say that they will contact people who have sent disclosures in to see whether their condition does affect their driving, if not those disclosures will be destroyed.

I can see why this may have worried so many people as they would have thought that they would be driving illegally or just been annoyed that their policies should change suddenly regarding autistic people. If you have a diagnosis and have passed your driving test then you have been assessed already on your ability to drive and if you are preparing yourself to drive then the present driving test does give access to those people with autism and sensory needs so you can get support there.

If you need to know more about driving then here is a link to the National Autistic Society website which gives you all the up to date information regarding licences, learning to drive, tests, fitness rules and the blue badge scheme.
 www.autism.org.uk/about/family-life/everyday-life/driving.aspx

I hope that just clarifies a little about the situation after so many stories and rumours were flying around. Please do contact the NAS or the DVLA if you are still worried, there are contact details in that link to be able to get more information and support if you should need it.

Thank you for reading today. I will be back tomorrow for Pass the Remote Sunday but for now.......

​Take care.