Caught speeding whilst having a hypo

[kitedoc]

Dangerous driving .... so you means to tell me you’ve never had a blood sugar drop between 5.0 from just simply having a unit to much of insulin with a meal whilst driving ? You are seriously that perfect. I asked for some advice on the situation not to be told about about dangerous driving and as for driving in a hypo state what am I meant to do slam the breaks on in the middle of the road and just say no not driving must of drove for around 30-40 seconds before I pulled over don’t be so high and mighty next time mate thankyou very much for the pointless reply

The usual advice I receive from my doctors is that if I feel at all hypo despite starting out driving above 5 mmol/l in BSL that I pull over and take action such as test BSL, treat any hypo and wait at least 30 minutes before continuing to drive.
Taking offense about what someone tells you in all earnestness is not a sign of a particularly responsible attitude.
You were caught, it is unfortunate but it happens and it could have been worse. Get over it and learn from it.

 

[Cobia]

With the speeding fine diabetes cant be blamed. It was a choice of the op.

With the hypo simptoms. It should be a requirement to have some sort of CGM. Finger pricking every 2 hours issnt a reliable indication in present times.

Just my two cents. It would be an improvement for everyone who uses the roads.

 

[Rokaab]

With the hypo simptoms. It should be a requirement to have some sort of CGM. Finger pricking every 2 hours issnt a reliable indication in present times.

Well, not meaning to derail the thread, but that would mean a lot of people would then not be able to drive - stopping many from working (those in jobs that require driving and those who need to commute - given that public transport in the UK is terrible in places - it'd take me 1hr 50ish on a good day for me to get to work using public transport vs 35-40 mins driving), also Flash monitoring/CGMs are not cheap (many would not be able to afford it) since currently the NHS is only planning to let 20% of T1's have Libres (which isnt CGM anyways) - also for some people Flash monitoring/CGM just isn't anywhere near accurate enough or they have a reaction to the adhesive making it unusable for some.

 

[Cobia]

Well, not meaning to derail the thread, but that would mean a lot of people would then not be able to drive - stopping many from working (those in jobs that require driving and those who need to commute - given that public transport in the UK is terrible in places - it'd take me 1hr 50ish on a good day for me to get to work using public transport vs 35-40 mins driving), also Flash monitoring/CGMs are not cheap (many would not be able to afford it) since currently the NHS is only planning to let 20% of T1's have Libres (which isnt CGM anyways) - also for some people Flash monitoring/CGM just isn't anywhere near accurate enough or they have a reaction to the adhesive making it unusable for some.

I agree cant derail the thread . I drive heavy vehicles and use both to keep above 5.

Its just it gets drumed into most of us what can happen sometimes with examples. Maybe the nhs and in aus they want to give these devices to us as an aid. Better for every one.

Just an opinion.

After all what dose 2 cents actually buy....

 

[JamseyT1D]

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.

No I didn’t have lack of awareness I realised I was beginning to have a low blood sugar and I was a little more focused on trying to find somewhere to pull over to notice the limit had dropped to a twenty and btw the speed limit was actually changed on this road only a few weeks ago due to a petition for me to beginning to lose lack of awareness I’d personally have to fall below 2 having type 1 as long as I’ve had I can now tell in what range my bloods are from the way I feel from the way I smelll things from the taste in my mouth I’ve got very good hypo awareness as my nurse tells me

 

[JamseyT1D]

With the speeding fine diabetes cant be blamed. It was a choice of the op.

With the hypo simptoms. It should be a requirement to have some sort of CGM. Finger pricking every 2 hours issnt a reliable indication in present times.

Just my two cents. It would be an improvement for everyone who uses the roads.

Not allowed a cgm and I quote this from a doctor my diabetes isn’t bad enough for a cgm .... world we live in eyy

 

[LooperCat]

No I didn’t have lack of awareness I realised I was beginning to have a low blood sugar and I was a little more focused on trying to find somewhere to pull over to notice the limit had dropped to a twenty and btw the speed limit was actually changed on this road only a few weeks ago due to a petition for me to beginning to lose lack of awareness I’d personally have to fall below 2 having type 1 as long as I’ve had I can now tell in what range my bloods are from the way I feel from the way I smelll things from the taste in my mouth I’ve got very good hypo awareness as my nurse tells me

Sounds like you were minorly distracted by your need to pull over quickly and forgot about the new limit - easily done. Unfortunately I reckon the best course of action is to just suck it up, irritating as it is.

 

[JamseyT1D]

Haven’t got a chance in hell in getting the libre must of asked the passed 2years for it to be told my bloods aren’t bad enough mental ...

 

[JamseyT1D]

Sounds like you were minorly distracted by your need to pull over quickly and forgot about the new limit - easily done. Unfortunately I reckon the best course of action is to just suck it up, irritating as it is.

Was literally the only road in my area i never actually go down either just unlucky ahah

 

[LooperCat]

Haven’t got a chance in hell in getting the libre must of asked the passed 2years for it to be told my bloods aren’t bad enough mental ...

Have you asked since they changed the prescribing guidelines this April? Might be worth another shot.

 

[JamseyT1D]

Have you asked since they changed the prescribing guidelines this April? Might be worth another shot.

I’ve got an appointment the beginning of next month general weight eyes that type of things so I’ll ask then didn’t know anything had been changed tbh

 

[LooperCat]

Was literally the only road in my area i never actually go down either just unlucky ahah

I’ve been clobbered by a camera approaching the tolls on the Severn Bridge before now - after crossing it regularly it’s not like I didn’t know it was there or anything but sometimes these things just happen. An annoying part of modern life!

 

[LooperCat]

I’ve got an appointment the beginning of next month general weight eyes that type of things so I’ll ask then didn’t know anything had been changed tbh

https://diabetestimes.co.uk/nhs-updates-clinical-guidance-for-freestyle-libre-access/

 

[JamseyT1D]

https://diabetestimes.co.uk/nhs-updates-clinical-guidance-for-freestyle-libre-access/

That’s crazy that last Time I asked about it I said to them in my line of work being able to test properly whilst at work can be pretty difficult and they said that isn’t a valid reason and 8 times a day don’t even think a chemist would allow me that amount of testing strips hopefully I can put my point across about work again and see what they say

 

[swrigley]

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

Keep some glucose tablets in the middle section of your car as easy to get to...those with at least 4g glucose works very quickly as you want to avoid the fat and the proteins and other mixtures of carbs, otherwise it slows the recovery..I never travel without it. Regards, Sandra, new to forum, in Australia, got caught one day twice within a few minutes not sure that I was having a low bs (my short form for blood sugar - but pretty good given other interpretations made of bs)

 

[Jaylee]

Interesting topic.

I once got flashed getting a friend to A&E after an overdose.. Dropping out of a 50 into a 30 zone. (Clocked at 36.)

Factors that are not relevant in deciding whether an act is dangerous or careless
The following factors are not relevant when deciding whether an act of driving is dangerous or careless:

• the injury or death of one or more persons involved in a road traffic collision. Importantly, injury or death does not, by itself, turn a collision into careless driving or turn careless driving into dangerous driving. Multiple deaths are however an aggravating factor for sentencing purposes (Sentencing Guidelines Council: Causing Death by Driving: Definitive guideline, page 5, paragraph 19);
• the skill or lack of skill of the driver - R v Bannister [2009] EWCA Crim 1571;
• the commission of separate driving offences at the same time (such as driving whilst disqualified or driving without a certificate of insurance or a driving licence). However, note the commission of a number of offences section above where they relate to the standard of driving.
• the fact that the defendant has previous convictions for road traffic offences; and
• the mere disability of a driver caused by mental illness or by physical injury or illness, except where there is evidence that the disability adversely affected the manner of the driving.

Highlighting the last bullet point.
Some interesting stuff on this site. https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/road-traffic-charging

There have been some good advice from members including a police officer I believe...

I'm not sure if the lawyer posting is offering legal representation regarding a plea to overturn the licence endorsment & fine?
From what I've also read, they are least likely to offer driver awairness for an offence in a 20 zone..

Returning the notice with the payment & driving licence seems the least painful option..
Unless of course there was no film in the camera? (Which has been known.) Then it all could be much ado about nothing.

 

[Deleted member 308541]

It's a good job the op @JamseyT1D does not live here in Queensland, we have double demerit points and penalty days every now now and again here.

Catches a lot of people out speeding in school zones where the speed limit is 40 kph.

Edit: Typo

 

[bmtest]

If you were hypo take this as lesson big lesson there is no excuse for it you are behind heavy machinery and you need to set high standard for other diabetics in the future. Many years ago big insurance companies would not offer insurance for diabetics without big premium so I always say to myself I need to set example to stop negatives comment on diabetic drivers.

I could tell many stories a typical journey for me can be difficult not for diabetes but the vehicles i drove back then one time i told my wife to hire a decent pick up for 200+ journey but steering wheel vibrated at 60mph, pass me the 2 washing up sponges for wheel i said to wife but it was still to much vibration. Then I stopped hammered lead weights on front wheels a few inchs then back on motorway tested again up to 65mph before vibration, stop again tap with hammer and so on till I could hit 80mph with no vibration. It was the type of journey where it was blessing to have krooklock to jam gas pedal but my motto here is I was prepared digestives at hand and blood sugars were great for that period around 10 with the test strips split in 2 to gain more tests.

Always test before journey and plan prior to setting off you stop off points and stick to them.

 

[Rusty_Sweetbread]

Hi JmseyT1Dhttps://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/members/jamseyt1d.508199/

I'm reading through this thread to try and see what has gone wrong.
What kind of advice were you asking for?

 

[MeiChanski]

With the speeding fine diabetes cant be blamed. It was a choice of the op.

With the hypo simptoms. It should be a requirement to have some sort of CGM. Finger pricking every 2 hours issnt a reliable indication in present times.

Just my two cents. It would be an improvement for everyone who uses the roads.

Well I hope a good samaritan will inject a couple of billions into the NHS to give every T1 diabetic a CGM. While CGMs are useful and helpful, it is often forgotten that sometimes it’s not accurate and it is good to finger prick from time to time. It’s the same for Freestyle libre sensors. Finger pricking by far is more accurate. Depending on CCG, you may or may not be lucky to get it. It is indeed quite expensive for the NHS and to self fund, unless you are pretty wealthy.
As for OP, I think there are a few good pointers posted. I’ve had so many hypos and I wouldn’t touch the wheel. So I’m relying on my bf to get me to places. It’s the fear I have to live with. However, find a good spot to stop, down your hypo treatments, test 15 mins later, give some time for the treats to kick in, wait 45 mins before going on about your day.
I’m glad you are okay in spite of getting a ticket.