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Are
Diabetes and Driving
Safe? Medical and aging problems such as diabetes can make driving very difficult and dangerous. Elderly people who really want to drive may not be fully aware of possible consequences. You have probably heard of or read stories of cars suddenly plowing into sidewalks full of people. If the driver is not been found drunk or stoned teenager, he or she is usually a senior citizen who had a heart attack, a stroke, or an adverse reaction to medication followed by the obvious inability to drive. How Diabetes and Driving are Dangerous? Diabetes is as a chronic disease and it causes the hands and feet becoming numb leading to poor control of the steering wheel and foot pedals; any unforeseen drop in blood sugar level on the road can lead to catastrophic dizziness or even loss of consciousness . Any diabetic driver who is on insulin is obliged by law to inform the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority or any authority governing the licensing department. Diabetic drivers who don't take insulin but who have vision complications must inform the required bodies. If your diabetes is treated by tablets or insulin, then you must declare this when applying for a driving licence. If you already a driving licence holder, then you must declare your diabetes to the DVLA as soon as you have been diagnosed. When you have notified the DVLA, they will send you a form asking for details about your diabetes and the names of your doctors. They will also ask you to sign a declaration allowing your doctors to disclose medical details about your condition. There is usually no difficulty over someone with diabetes obtaining a licence to drive. If you are treated with tablets, you will be able to obtain an unrestricted licence, providing you undertake to inform the DVLA of any change in your treatment or if you develop any complications of diabetes. The licence will be valid for only three years instead of up to the age of 70, if you are treated by insulin. This is applicable to most people in the UK. It is the risk of sudden and severe hypoglycaemia that makes people liable to this form of discrimination. In general the only people who have difficulty in obtaining a licence are those on insulin with very erratic control and a history of hypos causing unconsciousness. Once their condition are under control and severe hypos have been abolished, they can reapply for a licence with confidence. If you are renewing your licence, you may not be able to drive a minibus or a small lorry over 3–5 tonnes, as legislation has recently changed. For more information contact Diabetes UK. Diabetes and Driving: About Insurance Motor insurance is another problem for diabetic drivers. Failure to inform your insurance company of your diabetes may make your cover invalid, in which case the consequences could be very serious. The insurance company usually asks your doctor to complete a form. Unfortunately there may be financial penalties for having diabetes and some insurance companies will load your premium. Because of the risk of accidents,diabetic individuals are banned from driving buses or lorries . If on the road a driver experience a sharp drop in blood glucose level, this can trigger a hypoglycaemic attack Diabetes and Driving:Precautions to take Health care providers advise all diabetic drivers to test glucose levels just before they get into the car. If it is low, they should have a snack to top up glucose levels before they set off. Sugary drinks or sweets should also be kept in the car, but if drivers start to feel faint or light-headed, they are urged to stop, eat something sweet, and wait 15 minutes before testing their blood again. Diabetes and Driving: Device that can help drivers driving securely It is possible today to avoid risk of diabetes-related crashes. The patient wears a tiny glucose-sensing device as small as a grain of rice that is inserted just under the skin on the abdomen. Medtronic already has such a system in use, called MiniMed, in which the sensor measures the level of glucose in the skin every ten seconds, and sends the information through a wire to a monitor worn on the waist. When used in the car, the MiniMed would instead send the data to a screen on the dashboard via Bluetooth the wireless system used in mobile phones to transmit music and picture files. A microchip inside the dashboard converts the readings into a display that is updated every few minutes. It can also be programmed to 'read out' the glucose levels to the driver so they do not have to take their eyes off the road, or sound an alarm if levels are falling dangerously low. . |
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