State rules on mental health and driving create more questions than answers
I went to renew my driver’s license and get a Real ID a couple weeks ago. I was asked to fill out a new form asking if I had one of a variety of medical conditions. While most of the items on the list were specific illnesses I wasn’t familiar with, I do have a “mental illness,” one of the 297 mental disorders listed in the latest Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and referred to by layman as “mental illnesses.”
I have an anxiety disorder called post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Foolish me, I thought it might have something to do with the Real ID. The next thing I knew, I was issued a “temporary license” and given a form my medical provider had to fill out stating that because I have one of the 297 “mental illnesses.” I need a doctor’s permission to drive. Gee, I’ve been driving 53 years and haven’t had a ticket or accident since I ended up on disability for PTSD 20 years ago. Since when did 297 mental disorders become a huge problem on Maine roads?
Maine does have an older population, and I often hear about automobile accidents caused by drivers with unspecified “medical issues.” Is there any real evidence that these accidents actually involve mental health conditions? Why is there a broad category called “mental illness” on the new Maine BMV form rather than specific mental health disorders that might actually impair a person’s ability to drive, if indeed there are any? Perhaps someone with a “mental illness” like substance abuse disorder, as certainly impaired driving is a major cause of car accidents, but why would a person with a “mental illness” like gender identity disorder be considered a potential hazard on Maine roads?
I dropped off the form and my doctor filled it in as best he could, listing my primary medical condition and saying it was safe for me to drive. This document that plainly states it’s safe for me to drive wasn’t accepted by the BMV because the doctor didn’t specifically list one of the 297 mental disorders.
When I started with my new doctor a couple years ago, I not only told him about my PTSD but also about my efforts to get treatment. Long ago I got all the “treatment” I could find in Maine. I’m about as good as I can be and my ability to drive has never been an issue. As a result, my doctor only has my word that I carry the PTSD diagnosis. Perhaps it’s become a “Catch 22” because for my doctor to sign a Maine BMV document listing a mental health diagnosis he did not make and does not treat, he could be committing medical malpractice.
I sent my doctor a letter reminding him of my PTSD and asking him to list the PTSD on the BMV form and resend the form. I can only leave or send messages for my doctor; with Medicare I only see him face-to-face for 15 minutes a year. Will he redo the form? Can he or would it be malpractice? Do I lose access to health care, groceries and the community because I can no longer drive having been targeted by the Maine Secretary of State by a broad, vague, ill-defined and ill-thought-out category that affects disabled citizens? It is obvious to me that the Maine bureaucrats who created this new category at the DMV know nothing about mental health disorders.
Finally, I wonder why the Maine Secretary of State is creating an online database listing specific mental health disorders of Maine citizens. Most of the 297 mental health disorders have nothing to do with a citizen’s ability to drive. Maine was recently sued by the federal government for violating the Americans With Disabilities Act concerning disabled children. I wonder about the legality of creating a BMV procedure that not only discriminates against an entire class of disabled Maine citizens, but also violates the privacy of any citizen who seeks mental health care in Maine because insurance does not pay for mental health treatment without a mental health diagnosis, also known as a “mental illness.”
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