Council told dyslexic driver told 'she shouldn't be on the road'

3:10pm Wednesday 22nd July 2009

By Paul Teed

A dyslexic driver has branded Hounslow Council “ignorant” after she claimed officials told her she should not be on the road.

Karis Halsall, 21, was slapped with a parking ticket after she mistakenly left her car in a tenant’s bay in Mayfield Avenue, Chiswick, because she was unable to understand the road signs.

But when she tried to contest the fine - arguing the signs were confusing - the council wrote to her saying she should not be driving if she suffered from "any sickness that delays processing symbols like road signs".

She said: “I passed my test like everyone else, I also passed my theory where you have to memorise all the road signs.

“It’s not like I go past a 40mph sign and say: ’Oh my god, what does it mean?’”

She said there had been two signs in Mayfield Avenue that were similar, and would be confusing to any driver.

Miss Halsall, who has been driving for four years, takes longer to process unfamiliar symbolic information, and provided doctors’ letters to the council as part of her claim.

She said: “It was very ignorant, very humiliating and degrading to be told you shouldn’t be driving because of dyslexia, it’s quite a sweeping statement.”

The Central School of Speech and Drama student said she had contacted the Equality and Human Rights Commission, who told her she had grounds for a discrimination case against the council.

But Miss Halsall added: “I would rather just not have this argument with them and just get them to change - it’s not about the £100 for me, it’s about changing their perspective.”

A spokesman for support charity Dyslexia Action said: “Dyslexia is a complex hidden disability that predominately causes difficulties with literacy, but mathematics, memory and organisational skills may also be affected.

“It is important to stress dyslexia does not affect intelligence and it can affect anyone of any age or background.

“Dyslexia can affect different individuals differently and one size certainly does not fit all.

“The important thing for those affected is that it does not have to be a barrier to success.”

A council spokesman said: “The Highway Code makes clear that the onus is on drivers to make themselves aware of any restrictions in place on the roads.