Driving and hypos

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Diebetic1985Matthew

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
how low would you let you BG be for you to eat befor you drove ?
And do you think if you drive while your in the 4 ranges and you drive with out eating do you think thats dangerous?
 
The DVLA rules state to have a snack if you're below 5, so it's best to follow that as a minimum. I'd also take account of when I last ate and injected, e.g. at the weekend I got a reading of 7.5 one hour after eating/injecting, so I had a snack as I knew withing an hour I'd go hypo otherwise as the insulin would still be working. I think it's safest to run a little high while driving rather than risk going hypo and injuring yourself and other people - the consequences just don't bear thinking about.
 
HI Matthew

I asked my consultant about this recently.... she says that you shouldn't start driving with it below 5.

This is annoying for me because my BG is typically 4 something most of the time, but it's sooo important. I just think about how I'd feel if the person I love most in the world was killed on a motorway thanks to someone who hadn't controlled their BG right.

And I eat twenty minutes before I get in the car.
 
Is it such a bad thing that I drove today with a level of 4.6mmol? I always carry a snack/Lucozade in the car and test before I drive
 
The rules are there for a reason - so if its says have a snack if under 5 - then have a snack. Better to follow the rules than risk your licence or hurt yourself or anyone else. I would have thought you would 'feel' safer driving higher than 4 anyway.🙂Bev
 
Laura22 said:
Is it such a bad thing that I drove today with a level of 4.6mmol? I always carry a snack/Lucozade in the car and test before I drive
Click to expand...

i'd just be very careful laura, as you posted earlier and said you are losing your hypo awareness -- if you dropped quickly from 4.6 and didn't feel it, whilst driving, it could be dangerous.
 
Please think before you drive with levels below the LEGAL limit of 5, you could end up in gaol, apart from hurting someone. Ask yourself Is it safe to drive have drunk alcohol and knowingly been over the limit?!, there is not much difference. You should eat (and not just lucozade) and wait 30 minutes before retesting.
 
If you drive below 5 and were involved in an accident it is likely that the police/insurance companies would want proof of your last meter reading. If you knowingly drove at a level below 5, or didn't take steps to check you are at an acceptable level, it is likely you'd be prosecuted.
Aside from the legal implications however there is the safety concerns boths for you and others to consider.

Also, officially speaking, if you have to pull over because of a hypo you're supposed to treat and wait 45minutes before driving, that's meant to be the time it takes for the brain to recover from a hypo. You should also take the keys out the ignition and move put if the passenger side, otherwise you could still be deemed to be in control of the vehicle.
 
I know that lots of people don't test before driving but it's so easy to do so not worth taking any risks to protect yourself and others.
The most frustrating thing can be waiting 45 minutes to drive again
 
Yes.

It's a bit like drink driving. You can feel completely normal with a BG of 4, but remember a lot of people think they are perfectly ok to drive with a two and a half pints inside them. Hypos (and alcohol) affect your decision making.

Only unlike the alcohol-filled brain, the hypo situation can get worse while you actually are driving. Because you are busy concentrating, you don't always pick up the signs right away. Also, if you drive .e.g. on a motorway, it isn't always easy to stop when you first notice the signs, making it worse still.

When I was diagnosed a year ago, 4 was the lower limit, not 5. They apparently put it up because people would slip lower without being aware of it.

The people who make these rules are experts who have the statistics in front of them.

Some people in their position would say, 'nah we'll just stop all diabetics driving, it's too dangerous.'

But they haven't said that, they've said: 'We'll give these people a chance to be responsible.'

I REALLY appreciate that because I wouldn't have my job if i couldn't drive.

On the other hand, if someone killed my kid, or my husband, or whatever because they'd been in a rush and judged it wrong..... I would be sooo ANGRY.

So in short, yes it's important to eat before you drive.
 
They quote Diabetes UK as the source of information.

When I was diagnose there was a brief period (about 2 or 3 months) when they tried me on tablets. At that time any diabetic other than those controlled by diet and exercise had to inform the DVLA.

The leaflet from the DVLA says never drive if your BM is below 4, then later on it says test before you drive and if its below 5 have a snack - so I guess that is where they got the 4 from.
 
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