driving license

Whilst we all seem to agree that Type1 drivers are being penalised, when a Type1 queried the night time hypos with the DVLA he was told that the standards are set by the Secretary for Health and not the DVLA.
He went on to put an e-petition online. I think some of you have seen and signed it.
https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/ ... -diabetics

You could also lobby your MP because if they get an influx of mail from their constituents, they will reply eventually. No politician wants to lose votes.

I can understand that some of you are fearful of losing your licence which will result in job loss, repossession etc. but would like you to understand that these things often happen to the victim's family as well if the accident causes a fatality and your insurance will be null and void if you have lied on forms sent to the DVLA. I speak from personal experience about the tragic loss of my husband when he was in the prime of his life. He was knocked off his bike by a lorry driver who should not have been driving that day due to illness, not diabetes related, and my husband died at the scene. The lorry driver was charged with causing death by dangerous driving. I thought that things could not get any worse and did not relish the thought of going to court and seeing this man face to face. The worst part for me was when his wife came up to me and said that they were also suffering badly because her husband had lost his job. I couldn't believe the callous remark. He may have lost his job but he was still around to be a husband and see his kids grow up unlike my husband. Time has moved on and we do cope as a family but he is missed every day.

Drive safely, abide by the rules, join forces to get them changed but please do not tell porkies in case something happens that you will live to regret.

How awful for you and your family Catherine

Sorry to read that Catherine. Can't believe her comment to you about loss of husbands job ! Some people just have no feelings.


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

Hi Catherine,

Your experience is the reason for everyone that drives a vehicle to be fully responsible and fit enough.
Also ensure that the vehicle meets all safety requirements.

Hope all goes better for you and your family.

Roy.

I admire you for admitting that you have had Hypo's requiring assistance, I can understand peoples reluctance to tell DVLA about their Hypo's, but what happens if you have an accident because of your hypo, god forbid no one gets killed, could you live with that for the rest of your life? I used to not tell them until one day I was called to a RTA (I used to work for the Fire & Rescue service) where the driver had a hypo and went into a coma at the wheel. He suffered very serious life threatening injuries which resulted in him dying a few days later. His family was devastated to say the least, but they did know that he had suffered Hypo's which required 3rd party assistance on many occasions. Luckily no one else was involved.

I gave up my licence because of my type 2 diabetes and that I have serious problems controlling my hypo's, also I have other medical conditions which delay my reactions so I had to either lie or ask myself if I could live with it if something happened...

People say the rules need updating, but do they.... all DVLA is doing is trying to make it safer for people and not only other road users but for you as well.

Others may not agree with what I have said, but I am asking you consider your options carefully before making any decision.

It's this whole issue of night hypos.

Through 30 years of diabetes all my 3rd party assistance ie glucagon treated hypos have been while I was asleep except for one on my brief 3 years on human insulin never to be repeated. When you are asleep especially when on tight control the warning systems decrease massively.

When I am pregnant or ttc I have to be on tight control. And unsurprisingly bad hypos happen. Pregnancy and the post-natal period also make your body prone to huge hormonal swings which again unsurprisingly can have an effect on that other hormone insulin. When I was pregnant I sometimes had huge drops with slight warning during the day. I refused to drive during that period not because I'd had a hypo requiring 3rd party assistance but because I wasn't confident doing so. That's called normal responsible adult behaviour or it should be. As far as I was concerned (and this was not my first pregnancy so I knew this would stop around the end of the first trimester) this was a temporary illness not a reason to hand my licence in.

I then lost my license as I had to renew when the babies were 7 months and had had a hypo in the post-natal period while in hospital. I got it back after my consultant finally wrote a letter pointing out the hypo was due to a particular situation which was no longer relevant.

The point is that most people may have situations in which they feel rubbish and shouldn't be driving. We expect them to make the sensible choice and not do it. We also accept that there are some lunatics out there who won't. Just as there are irresponsible diabetics who don't believe in testing before driving or realise the damage they can do if driving while hypo. If you're on a forum like this the chances are this doesn't apply to you!

I think the problem I and most others have is we feel we're being penalised for one or two idiots but that the general population isn't and that it's bad enough having diabetes without this.

So will I lie if in that position again? Probably not as it will lead to me losing my right to do my job. I am however not willing to inform my consultant if I have a hypo involving a glucagon (hasn't happened yet) and have told my dh not to call an ambulance unless actual death (doubt he'll listen but still...).

Anyone who thinks that a little white lie like accidental ticking the wrong box is a good idea is only fooling themselves.

I would remind everyone who thinks that a little white lie wont hurt anyone that people have been imprisoned after being hypo while driving and having an accident so its not just a case of whether you could live with the fact that you have caused someone else problems it could give you a criminal record and a prison sentence and at best it would mean you are driving with no insurance as it would invalidate that the second you sign the form.


Below are reports of three recent cases of hypo drivers being jailed simply for not testing their bg levels before driving..

Diabetic driver to be jailed following accident http://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2012/Nov ... 36576.html

18 months for hypo driver http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/chest ... -28017788/

Driver who impaled a pedestrian whilst suffering a 'hypo' is jailed http://www.drivingdefences.com/blog/dia ... ailed.aspx