Actor says Motability’s ‘offensive’ black box scheme discriminates against young disabled people

A disabled actor has accused the Motability scheme of putting young disabled people’s freedom at risk and taking away their choice and control by forcing them to sign up to an “offensive” new system that monitors how they drive.

The Drive Smart scheme, which launched last August and is compulsory for anyone with a driver under 30 on their lease, uses a black box or other device fitted inside the vehicle – and an associated mobile phone app – to measure how well the vehicle is being driven, how far, and how often.

It particularly highlights if the vehicle is driven six or more times in one day or for more than an hour without a break.

But it also measures how well the vehicle is being driven by other drivers on the lease, such as a personal assistant, and it notes when the lease-holder’s phone is used during a journey, to raise awareness of “distracted driving”.

Each named driver has their own app which records their driving behaviour when in the Motability vehicle.

The scheme rewards those who drive safely – offering up to £160 a year in vouchers – but those who repeatedly receive “red scores” for unsafe driving such as speeding, harsh braking or unsafe driving, risk having their lease removed and losing their car.

When the system reports a “red week” for dangerous driving, the driver receives a warning.

A second consecutive red week, or four red weeks over a 12-month period, will see that driver removed from the scheme.

Keron Day (pictured), who has appeared in shows such as Netflix’s Sex Education and BBC Three’s one-off comedy Kirkmoore, was told he would have to sign up to Drive Smart when he asked about a replacement Motability vehicle as his current lease is coming to an end.

He told Disability News Service (DNS): “Nobody I have spoken to about this has a good answer to why all disabled under-30s on the scheme have to accept a black box in their car, when non-disabled under 30s don’t have to accept one in their cars.

“Disabled people over 30 don’t have to, either. That is discrimination. That is not fair.”

He believes young disabled people should be able to opt out from the scheme.

He told DNS: “Only being able to use your vehicle for six journeys a day is the equivalent to three trips (there and back).

“So if I had a physio appointment in the morning, work meeting in the early afternoon and then a chiropractor appointment after that, that would be my allowance.

“God forbid I have a social life in the evening.”

Breaking the six-journey-a-day rule does not put the lease at risk, but repeated unsafe driving does.

Although the Motability website suggests that poor driving by a personal assistant (PA) could see disabled drivers losing their Motability vehicle, the company clarified yesterday that this was not correct, and it would try to “make this point clearer” on the site.

Day is also concerned about how the data collected by Drive Smart could be used by Motability, and – if the scheme is forced to pass it on to the police or Department for Work and Pensions – as part of fraud investigations.

The new scheme comes on top of years of attacks on disabled people’s right to support, particularly disability benefits, and adds to anxieties that that support could be withdrawn at any moment, he said.

He is also concerned that if his PA uses his phone while he is driving for administrative tasks, then he could be punished.

Although this only affects the rewards scheme, and would not put his lease at risk, he says it is still unfair and disempowering.

Disabled Liberal Democrat MP Steve Darling said he was concerned by the new policy.

He told DNS: “I am disturbed that under this government we have already seen the introduction of Orwellian powers, whether it is through the new Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Act or the pervading use of facial recognition in our society.

“Disabled people already feel discriminated against; it is shameful that the Drive Smart scheme appears to be mirroring the government and seeks to further discriminate against people purely according to their age.

“I have raised concerns with Motability Operations around this.”

Motability Operations (MO), the company that runs the scheme, said Drive Smart had been introduced to try to keep rising insurance costs down.

It has had more new and younger customers joining the scheme, and they pose a higher risk of accidents and have the highest claim rates, with the average insurance cost per Motability customer increasing by about £230 in 2025.

From 13 April, Drive Smart will apply to any Motability customer new to the scheme who places an application, as well as all under-30s.

A Motability Operations spokesperson said Drive Smart “focuses on how someone actually drives, rather than relying on indirect measures of risk like postcode that are commonly used in the wider market.

“This means we can take a fairer, more inclusive approach, helping more people access the scheme at a lower cost.

“We’ll continue to listen to customer feedback and refine Drive Smart over time to make sure it works as well as possible for our customers.”

The MO spokesperson said that risky driving behaviour is attributed to the driver responsible, and “[i]f a named driver is removed for risky driving behaviour, the customer can replace them with another driver”.

She told DNS yesterday (Wednesday): “To confirm, we would only end the lease in these cases if it were the customer driving.

“We’ll look at the website to see how we can make this point clearer.”

But Day said: “I need my PAs to drive for me sometimes and if one of them can’t because they are not allowed on the scheme anymore, I would have to get a new PA.

“This is an already hard process and to lose a good PA because of a scheme I don’t even want in the first place is again horrific.

“This is the problem with the scheme. It’s just not compatible with some disabled people’s lives, which is why there has to be an opt out.”

The MO spokesperson added: “Longer journeys without breaks or a high number of short journeys increases the likelihood of an accident – the more someone drives, the more their cumulative exposure to risk increases.

“However, the Motability Scheme is designed to keep disabled people mobile and the scheme supports customers that need to drive frequently, for instance to work or to medical appointments.

“Customers can make a total of six journeys or one journey that is up to 60 minutes without a break before they begin to see a score impact.

“So, while high usage can trigger a red journey, and in a small number of cases a red week, where it is the only reason for a red score, it will not impact the lease.

“It is specifically designed to use telemetry data to support safer driving decisions, not to penalise necessary vehicle use.

“We continue to listen to customer feedback about this and will review this policy to ensure it’s as effective as possible.”

She said the use of a customer’s phone while they are driving is monitored because “[d]istracted driving is a key factor in many car accidents”, but she added: “It does not count towards the weekly driving score or the lease, because we know there can be many reasons why a phone can be used in a car safely, including passengers using it.”

And she said: “We understand customers’ concerns about telematics data, which is why we only collect driving data from their phones and use it proportionately.

“We do not proactively share Drive Smart data with the DWP or law enforcement.

“When required by law, journey data may be shared, for instance, [in] the context of a criminal investigation.”

*Motability Foundation, the charity that oversees the Motability scheme, is a Disability News Service subscriber