Caught speeding whilst having a hypo

@JamesyT. Calm down a bit mate. Answer to your question......take the 3 points and fine OR if you are given the chance of the speed awareness course go for it!!
People are telling you what COULD have happened to you. Good on you for pulling over and sorting your hypo symptoms out ASAP and unlucky on getting flashed. Let us know what happens?

Hi, I am not a driver, but I am type 1. You have had some good suggestions, best would be to go on an awareness course if offered to you and to be more aware when driving and test, test test, that's what I have read on the forum from drivers.
As a pedestrian, I always, look once, then again, keep checking, to make sure I am safe crossing the road ( some lunatics drivers out there !) as I may be under 4.0 at the time, but don't know it.
Time to move on and safe driving @Jamesy

JamseyT1D said:

Thankyou mate I just don’t appreciate people trying to tell me what I should do with myself regarding my diabetes like I said I’ve had this 18 years since I was a child my hba1c has been around 6-7 the past few years which is class as perfect apparently so I know what I’m doing just wanted the advice like you’ve given me instead of people getting so high and mighty

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Agreed....but it is a forum and people will always give different advice....Good work on your A1c too (hope its not because of too many hypos (joke) )

@JamseyT1D Please take some time to review our forum rules, members here volunteer advice and although some of that may conflict with your beliefs if you disagree with what's been written and believe it breaks forum rules then please report it, please do not swear or become abusive towards others as your posts will be moderated, we are all here to help each other and to respect each other's views.

In regards to road safety and type 1 this is a useful guide to help you: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/life-with-diabetes/driving

No worries @JamseyT1D we're a mixed bag so humour comes in many forms here

This is useful based on your circumstances and as you followed the rules then you have no problem, however I don't think using hypo as a reason will give you any benefit under the circumstances, so best to take the fine and do the course.

If you start having a hypo while driving
It’s the law that you must stop. And it’s what you must do to avoid any risk of an accident. So find somewhere safe to pull in as soon as possible.

I’d just regard it as a bit of bad luck and cough for the fine or speeding course - 4.3 isn’t legally classed as a hypo so sounds like you were feeling one come on, and pulled over as soon as you could, albeit a bit too rapidly.

You can drive between four and five legally but should have a carb snack to bring you up a bit. Below four you mustn’t drive, but treat the hypo and wait until 45 minutes after reaching 5mmol to allow the brain to recover before driving again. It’s a PITA when that happens, but being able to drive is a privilege, not a right

JamseyT1D said:

Can I just let everyone know for all this diabetics out here I’ve been going on 18 years now with type 1 and the definition of a hypo is blood sugar lower than normal it’s not a specific number a lot say hypo is classed with the 4s or lower just cause your not fitting on the floor and needing assistance of a paramedic doesn’t mean you are not having a hypo

Post edited by moderator to remove inappropriate language

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Hi. I'm type 2 . I hope you're feeling better now I think you must feel stressed and annoyed about the ticket especially in a 20 zone . I really don't know the rules on hypo's for type 1 diabetics but if i had just received a speeding fine I think I would just pay it and move on . Take care let us know how you get on .

JamseyT1D said:

Hi I was recently driving and I done 25 in a 20 and received a speeding fine my blood sugar had dropped a little low so my head wasn’t all with it, I was on a busy road and whilst looking for somewhere to pull over for a while I was snapped by a speeding camera I didnt need any assistance during this hypo it was just a normal unfortunate low blood sugar moment everyone has them any advice is welcome

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It isn't clear what kind of advice you are asking for.

Are you asking for advice in avoiding or managing hypos when driving?

Or are you asking for advice about the speeding ticket?

Or both?

Can anyone tell me if the don't drive under 4 applies to type 2 diabetics ?
Carol

carty said:

Can anyone tell me if the don't drive under 4 applies to type 2 diabetics ?
Carol

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It's not about diabetes per se - it's about being on medication that can induce hypoglycaemia - Insulin and Sulphonylureas etc.
If you're not on these types of medication then rest easy.

We are all liable to lapses in concentration, for very many reasons, and it's so easy to go over that 20 mph limit. I would just take the fine or course and accept you were unlucky but it could have been worse.

Regardless of bgl or hypos or diabetes speeding is an offence that almost all have committed and incredibly rarely is legally justified. It doesn’t appear your case would be either, and in fact a can of worms potentially if you claimed you were distracted because of falling blood sugars. It was unfortunate but it happened.

Depending on the degree of speeding, the cause of it or the surroundings it might be dangerous not just unlucky. A 20 is usually around a school or similar area of special risk. Now I’ve had points in the past and probably deserved more - having not been caught but committed the offence at other times - so not throwing stones in glass houses but speed does kill. I’ve seen it in person more than once. It’s the biggest cause of accidents I believe.

So really, just put your hands up. You did it. Take the consequences of a course or a fine and move on. Or fight it and take the consequences of those actions instead.

OP seems to have disappeared.
All but one posts are on this topic.

For the little that it is worth there are indications that the OP showed signs of lack of hypo awareness in becoming distracted enough to not notice a 20 mph speed limit and check current speed.

I assume that it is not unusual for a long term T1 to gradually lose hypo awareness.
This should be a wake up call to review maintenance of BG levels whilst driving.

@LittleGreyCat what the OP experienced was NOT lack of hypo awareness.
Lack of hypo awareness is feeling no symptoms when your BG is lower than 4.0.
He was aware he was having a hypo at 4.3.

The hypo may have affected his awareness of his surroundings, such as the 20 mph speed limit, but that is not the same as hypo unawareness.

You are correct that it is not unusual for people with type 1 diabetes may lose hypo awareness. That would be not experiencing any symptoms until BG gets so low the person may pass out.

As previously mentioned, driving with a BG of 4.3 is not illegal. However, as the OP experiences hypo symptoms at this level, he will probably need to take more attention to the direction and predicted levels of his BG levels when he drives which is possible with a Libre or CGM. This is harder than just measuring BG before driving and is easy to make mistakes or for our BG to fall more than expected when there are so many things which can affect it.

Thank you, LittleGreyCat, for caring enough to provide help to so many people on this forum regardless of the type of diabetes and for learning the difference between them.

JamseyT1D said:

Can’t get libra or CGM as quoted from the NHS “your bloods aren’t bad enough to get this new type of equipment” and its nothing to do with my bsl and things like that I was coming back from a meal I simply had around a unit to much with my meal I drove for around 30-40 seconds before pulling up and within that time I was unfortunate enough to be snapped just unlucky moment I suppose

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One of the criteria for Libre on NHS is testing (finger pricking) over 8 times a day which is how I got mine

helensaramay said:

@LittleGreyCat what the OP experienced was NOT lack of hypo awareness.
Lack of hypo awareness is feeling no symptoms when your BG is lower than 4.0.
He was aware he was having a hypo at 4.3.

The hypo may have affected his awareness of his surroundings, such as the 20 mph speed limit, but that is not the same as hypo unawareness.

You are correct that it is not unusual for people with type 1 diabetes may lose hypo awareness. That would be not experiencing any symptoms until BG gets so low the person may pass out.

As previously mentioned, driving with a BG of 4.3 is not illegal. However, as the OP experiences hypo symptoms at this level, he will probably need to take more attention to the direction and predicted levels of his BG levels when he drives which is possible with a Libre or CGM. This is harder than just measuring BG before driving and is easy to make mistakes or for our BG to fall more than expected when there are so many things which can affect it.

Thank you, LittleGreyCat, for caring enough to provide help to so many people on this forum regardless of the type of diabetes and for learning the difference between them.

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Thanks.

To my T2 mind (also being aware of "false hypos" which can be well above 4.0 mmol/L) hypo awareness would be an awareness of the onset of hypo symptoms and not tied to a specific BG level. I know these have to be defined for legal purposes but for practical purposes I think each person has a very personal level at which they start to experience the loss of awareness associated with the start of a hypo.

As you say complete loss of hypo awareness can lead to very low BG levels which can in turn be very dangerous.

However the OP seemed to have had hypo symptoms which reduced the ability to drive safely, and was unaware of this during entering a 20 mph speed limit and not reducing speed enough. The OP only became aware of the speeding infraction after the event. This may be a correlation/causation thing but the fact remains that the OP reported being unaware of the 20 mph limit and the vehicle speed above it.

Bottom line; the OP appears to have had a hypo with BG level of 4.3 which is above the legally defined limit for a hypo. In this case the legally defined limit is irrelevant unless being used in a court case, and even then the admission of hypo symptoms would, I think, outweigh any arbitrarily defined general limit.

The OP had hypo symptoms, identified them, but by then appears to have been driving at reduced ability.
That the OP wasn't "legally" having a hypo shouldn't change the basic issue that the hypo was identified and treated only after a speeding offence occurred.

IMHO (and I don't think that you are disagreeing with this) the incident should be a red flag warning to the OP (and anyone else who experiences similar) that detection and management of the onset of hypo symptoms needs reviewing urgently.