Threat To Our Rights To Drive

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Elissa

Elissa

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hello everyone,
I am a brand new member, nice to be able to communicate with fellow diabetics.I have had this condition since I was 15, so 40 years now.
My concern right now, I have only just become aware, is the threat to diabetics retaining their driving licence. The eu directive, as intrusive into people's lives as all the others, is trying to quantify or qualify a *hypo*
which may mean different levels to different diabetics, also a night-time hypo can contribute to losing your licence, none of this makes any sense. Before targeting diabetics, where are the statistics that diabetics as a group has caused more accidents on the road than anyone else? That is fisrt stop for me, why are they victimising diabetics? any comments would be most welcome,
do we need to start a petition, who is fighting our case?
 
Hi Elissa. Welcome 🙂

We have had a couple of threads about this, as you can imagine. It does seem very draconian, albeit with good intention regarding the safety of other road users, but the policy makers seem to have been excessive with their definitions.

I think DUK are makign noises about it, but I doub they'll have any power to change things now. I also doubt that many non-diabetics would worry overly if many of us were to lose our licences.

Rob
 
I am really not that worried............

How many of you out there are having severe hypos that need assistance from another person regularly and currently have a license.........I would predict not that many.........

It also states that any severe hypo, even when not driving, must be reported, but will only warrant reassessment, not removal of your license.....
 
novorapidboi26 said:
I am really not that worried............

How many of you out there are having severe hypos that need assistance from another person regularly and currently have a license.........I would predict not that many.........

It also states that any severe hypo, even when not driving, must be reported, but will only warrant reassessment, not removal of your license.....
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As far as I know it has always been the case about hypos whether driving or not. It's just the amount not that is an issue plus this rather silly rule about night hypos.

Welcome to the forum Elissa 🙂
 
The big point that sticks out to me it the classification of hypo............

if its severe on a regular basis, I agree with what there saying............overnight for people can be problematic as they are asleep obviously, but they state that a reassessment is all that will happen if a severe hypo takes place while not behind the wheel.......

So a chance to put forward your case kind of thing.........
 
I'm not too concerned, I've had one severe hypo in the past needing paramedic assistance and the result was my licence was only renewed for one year.

I think if someone is having severe hypos then it does usually indicate lack of hypo awareness and therefore they shouldn't be driving. Driving is a privalige not a right. However if hypo awarness can be regained then there should be a chance to get licence back again.

having the stated number of 2 within 12 months gives a chance of a unexplained severe hypo whilst not driving which is a one off.
 
This is something that I am really concerned about. If I had my license taken away from me I would feel like I had lost my independence. I would hate to rely on anyone to get to places. I know there are such things as buses and trains but as I've driven (legally) since I was 16 and always had my own car. Fortunately I have never had to have medical assistance when I've had a hypo but my DN nurse told me that it's inevitable. I spoke to my partner about my concern with losing my license and asked that if I was ever in the situation to need my Glucgon then please do not phone an ambulance. Needless to say he flipped and told me that if I was unconscious then the first thing he will be doing is phoning the ambulance while on the way to the fridge. I can't blame him I suppose as I would do the same if the roles were reversed. He told me to stop making a mountain out of a mole hill and that it will never happen but yes I am really worried.
 
I've found some satistics about diabetes and driving..

There about 100,000 drivers who use insulin, the police will report 12-15 people per month for hypo related driving inccidents/accidents there are around 5 deaths caused by hypo's related accidents! (not sure when the satistics were collected)

But in the main, these new rules are really a pay back for all those that campainged for the right of the diabetic to drive/hold any vehicles whether it was a car, bus or HGV lorry!

Me yes I'm worried as I'm the only car driver (Les has never wanted to learn) at the moment I been without a car for 8 weeks, until my insurance company decides whether they are repairing or writing off my car😱 And yes it's been a right royal pain in the butt, so would dread being told sorry you can't drive any more because of your diabetes..
 
Whilst feeling victimized by the driving licence terms and wishing they would increase the penalties for drunk driving which must occur more often than hypo driving related accidents I would point out that: There is no 'Right to drive'. If you pass the driving test then you are permitted to drive, and even then only a restricted range of vehicles. The modern driving licence is more restrictive in what you can drive compared to when I passed my test in the 70s.

I don't know what the statistics are but there cannot be many diabetes related accidents, otherwise the insurance companies would penalise us as well!
 
Ellie Jones said:
I've found some satistics about diabetes and driving..

There about 100,000 drivers who use insulin, the police will report 12-15 people per month for hypo related driving inccidents/accidents there are around 5 deaths caused by hypo's related accidents! (not sure when the satistics were collected)

But in the main, these new rules are really a pay back for all those that campainged for the right of the diabetic to drive/hold any vehicles whether it was a car, bus or HGV lorry!

Me yes I'm worried as I'm the only car driver (Les has never wanted to learn) at the moment I been without a car for 8 weeks, until my insurance company decides whether they are repairing or writing off my car😱 And yes it's been a right royal pain in the butt, so would dread being told sorry you can't drive any more because of your diabetes..
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Are these UK or european statistics, bearing in mind that the ruling came from the EU.
 
I think the problem with thinking this way, oh well not me, is that unless the interpretation is more finely defined, anyone can potentially be a target in the future, at their whim, there seems to be no right of appeal, this is a basic human right, wouldn't you say?
 
Elissa said:
I think the problem with thinking this way, oh well not me, is that unless the interpretation is more finely defined, anyone can potentially be a target in the future, at their whim, there seems to be no right of appeal, this is a basic human right, wouldn't you say?
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I think, as others have said, it's not a right but a privilege which may be taken away if the law decrees. Although I'm not a driver I'm often appalled to see dreadful crimes being committed by people driving (dangerous car chases, drunk, under influence of drugs, stealing cars, no insurance, under age, driving whilst banned, driving whilst eating, drinking, using mobile phones - the list goes on) yet when they announce the sentences being handed out they are often laughable - points on license, banned for 3 months - even if people have died as a consequence of driver negligence then a manslaughter charge may only get a couple of years.

How then, can they propose a life ban because someone has had two night hypos in a year when they were nowhere near a car and had an exemplary driving record over decades? 😱
 
Hi Tumble, how are you ? good to get the chance to talk, so how long have you been diabetic? your DN saying *it is inevitable* is rather cheery isn't it ! frankly, NO, it is not inevitable. If you have clear warning signs within yourself of low blood sugar, then it is not a problem at all, I always test my sugar level, 4 x a day, and when I am out and about I walk with a juice box a banana and a chocolate....the real problem is if you get NO WARNING SIGNS....the only time I needed medical assistance years ago was when I was breast feeding my new born baby girl, and with the lack of sleep and fatigue, I didn't know my sugar was so low, but that's it, in 4o years of being type 1
 
Hi Elissa, I'm very well thank you. How are you? I've been diabetic coming up to three years next month, funny how I remember the date so well. I was a bit shocked when she told me that to be honest. I'm the sort of person who likes to be in control of my own body and the thought of having a severe hypo that I can't treat myself really frightens me. I try and run my sugars between four and six and I can feel when I've gone under that. I always carry dextro's and either a choc bar or something carby even if I am just popping to the shop for one item. I’m a bit obsessive at the moment with my sugars and must admit that I am testing over ten times a day (two to three of those are before driving to and from work). When I went on the DAFNE course there were eight of us and I was the only one that hadn’t had medical assistance from a hypo and that’s when one of the DN told me that that would soon change, I will have one eventually.
 
I agree with Elissa that it's not inevitable. Statistically it's quite likely, but if you're careful with your control and always take the risks seriously, then you should be ok.

I've had maybe 3 or 4 occasions when I've had an ambulance call out. The first couple because I'd only been diagnosed a few years and was convulsing and another when I was out during my lunch break and collapsed in B & Q after a long walk to get there. I wasn't taking the best care of myself at the time.
The other time was just after my daughter was born. I was very tired and had popped home for something to eat, sat down and apparently fell off the edge of the seat. I was in A&E as she was being brought home. Great timing.🙄

So it's occasions like that when diabetes isn't your main focus and you have to try and juggle to get away with it.

I've had symptoms while driving and pulled over to treat many times. But was probably in the 3s or something (I've been driving longer than BG meters have been around). We just have to be more self-aware and test every time. 🙂

Rob
 
Northerner said:
I think, as others have said, it's not a right but a privilege which may be taken away if the law decrees. Although I'm not a driver I'm often appalled to see dreadful crimes being committed by people driving (dangerous car chases, drunk, under influence of drugs, stealing cars, no insurance, under age, driving whilst banned, driving whilst eating, drinking, using mobile phones - the list goes on) yet when they announce the sentences being handed out they are often laughable - points on license, banned for 3 months - even if people have died as a consequence of driver negligence then a manslaughter charge may only get a couple of years.

How then, can they propose a life ban because someone has had two night hypos in a year when they were nowhere near a car and had an exemplary driving record over decades? 😱
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Well said! Driving is a privilege and not a right. Whilst I can understand that greater care needs to be undertaken by the DVLA on us insulin users, it does also sometimes feel a little like discrimination.
 
new to the condition

Tumble said:
Hi Elissa, I'm very well thank you. How are you? I've been diabetic coming up to three years next month, funny how I remember the date so well. I was a bit shocked when she told me that to be honest. I'm the sort of person who likes to be in control of my own body and the thought of having a severe hypo that I can't treat myself really frightens me. I try and run my sugars between four and six and I can feel when I've gone under that. I always carry dextro's and either a choc bar or something carby even if I am just popping to the shop for one item. I?m a bit obsessive at the moment with my sugars and must admit that I am testing over ten times a day (two to three of those are before driving to and from work). When I went on the DAFNE course there were eight of us and I was the only one that hadn?t had medical assistance from a hypo and that?s when one of the DN told me that that would soon change, I will have one eventually.
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Hey Tumble, ok in your case, it is probably still new enough to you, that you don't feel 100% comfortable as yet, but never fear you will get there trust me, it hasn't held me back in what I have wanted to do and done during my lifetime (40 years) and it became more of an irritant than a sentence :D
 
I mentioned drink driving on another thread on this subject. The annual death toll due to this is around 400 in the UK. Drinking and driving is entirely voluntary developing diabetes is not - controlling it is up to you. Better to save 400 lives me thinks!
 
It is most certainly not a privilege !

Northerner said:
I think, as others have said, it's not a right but a privilege which may be taken away if the law decrees. Although I'm not a driver I'm often appalled to see dreadful crimes being committed by people driving (dangerous car chases, drunk, under influence of drugs, stealing cars, no insurance, under age, driving whilst banned, driving whilst eating, drinking, using mobile phones - the list goes on) yet when they announce the sentences being handed out they are often laughable - points on license, banned for 3 months - even if people have died as a consequence of driver negligence then a manslaughter charge may only get a couple of years.

How then, can they propose a life ban because someone has had two night hypos in a year when they were nowhere near a car and had an exemplary driving record over decades? 😱
Click to expand...

I beg to TOTALLY disagree,
this is NOT A PRIVILEGE it is my human right, that I am entitled to, as a human, notwithstanding the fact that I pay handsomely per annum for this so-called *privilege* So who is qualified to take my rights away ?
Only in the circumstances that I have been a menace to society, which I most certainly have not in 35 years of driving. As you say, alcoholics and the like receive temporary bans, so why should diabetics suffer a LIFETIME ban.
It's absolutely ridiculous and maybe you all shouldn't be so complacent that this directive is not going to be used against you in some way in the future.
 
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