How high is too high to drive?

SWUSA_ · Nov 18, 2016

I fell asleep before I gave myself an insulin injection last night so my fasting glucose this morning was 10.6. I have taken the insulin 3 hours ago now but am wondering how high is too high to drive? I do not get lows below 4.0 in part because I fear them and eat enough to keep my blood glucose higher. I have read many postings here and all seem to deal with lows but surely there is a cutoff for highs as well? I read the UK regulation for insulin users to test at least twice a day and not have more than 1 hypo in the last 12 (months?). I meet that regulation. I am in the USA and had to declare my diabetes and insulin use here but am just required to carry candy in the glove box. It's sort of a nuisance because my mother who has dementia remembers where the candy is and continually takes it out and eats it. I would not drive with blurry vision which I get when my BG is really high but what actually is the cut off?

Shar67 · Nov 18, 2016

There isnt anything in dvla other than if you are in an accident being hyper may mean your prosecuted for damgerous driving, over 12 is considered hyper

tim2000s · Nov 18, 2016

@Shar67 I've never seen any documentation reflecting what you've just said. As far as I'm aware, there's no guidance for drivers in the DVLA docs as to what is too high.

andcol · Nov 18, 2016

You need to be comfortable in yourself in that you need to make sure your vision isnt impaired and you arent going to feel sleepy because of the higher BG level.

Jaylee · Nov 18, 2016

SWUSA_ said:
I fell asleep before I gave myself an insulin injection last night so my fasting glucose this morning was 10.6. I have taken the insulin 3 hours ago now but am wondering how high is too high to drive? I do not get lows below 4.0 in part because I fear them and eat enough to keep my blood glucose higher. I have read many postings here and all seem to deal with lows but surely there is a cutoff for highs as well? I read the UK regulation for insulin users to test at least twice a day and not have more than 1 hypo in the last 12 (months?). I meet that regulation. I am in the USA and had to declare my diabetes and insulin use here but am just required to carry candy in the glove box. It's sort of a nuisance because my mother who has dementia remembers where the candy is and continually takes it out and eats it. I would not drive with blurry vision which I get when my BG is really high but what actually is the cut off?

Hi,

Being an American citizen. (it states south west on your profile.)
You would need to check with your state motoring laws on that one?

I agree with @tim2000s . Our UK laws only govern hypo inducing diabetes control drugs (such as insulin.) covering how low one can legally go, which clearly states you need to be above 5mmol to drive testing every two hours behind the wheel..
Failure to comply if caught or involved in an incident is the equivalent of a "driving under the influence" rap!

Robinredbreast · Nov 18, 2016

SWUSA_ said:
I fell asleep before I gave myself an insulin injection last night so my fasting glucose this morning was 10.6. I have taken the insulin 3 hours ago now but am wondering how high is too high to drive? I do not get lows below 4.0 in part because I fear them and eat enough to keep my blood glucose higher. I have read many postings here and all seem to deal with lows but surely there is a cutoff for highs as well? I read the UK regulation for insulin users to test at least twice a day and not have more than 1 hypo in the last 12 (months?). I meet that regulation. I am in the USA and had to declare my diabetes and insulin use here but am just required to carry candy in the glove box. It's sort of a nuisance because my mother who has dementia remembers where the candy is and continually takes it out and eats it. I would not drive with blurry vision which I get when my BG is really high but what actually is the cut off?

I wouldn't of thought 10.6 was abnormally high to drive in any country, it's the lows or a lower bs that are much more of a concern.

Liam1955 · Nov 18, 2016

@SWUSA_ - Hi S, I don't drive - so I cannot say. But, have read somewhere that your blood sugars are not to go below 5. And you are supposed to test before starting the journey. Sorry, I could not be more helpful. L.

Shar67 · Nov 18, 2016

tim2000s said:
@Shar67 I've never seen any documentation reflecting what you've just said. As far as I'm aware, there's no guidance for drivers in the DVLA docs as to what is too high.

Road traffic act section 2 Dangerous driving
Along with a whole section of things

driving when knowingly suffering from a medical or physical condition that significantly and dangerously impairs the offenders driving skills such as having an arm or leg in plaster, or impaired eyesight. It can include the failure to take prescribed medication;

Edit
over 12 is NHS guidelines to what is high.

tim2000s · Nov 18, 2016

So, you're corroborating that there is no legislation in the UK that states what too high to drive is.

And for what it's worth, getting in a car and driving with a high glucose having taken medication technically removes that last line. I'd have to say at this point that when I've been high, I'm not sure I'd have considered myself unfit to drive. I think there are many type 2s that drive with bg levels a lot higher than 12 as well.

I suspect that no prosecutor could build a case that said someone was too high to drive on this basis, unless they admitted it.

catapillar · Nov 18, 2016

The DVLA don't provide any guidance on what can be considered too high to drive

Although too high to function (impaired vision) should certainly be considered not a safe state to drive in.

I'm not aware of any statutory/regulatory or even guidance available in England & Wales in respect of what might be considered too high to drive - I strongly suspect there isn't any such thing.

SWUSA_ · Nov 18, 2016

Shar67 said:
There isnt anything in dvla other than if you are in an accident being hyper may mean your prosecuted for damgerous driving, over 12 is considered hyper

Thank you-I have popped back down to 5.5 and feel safe driving now. It is reassuring to have number to compare to in deciding whether to drive or not.

SWUSA_ · Nov 18, 2016

andcol said:
You need to be comfortable in yourself in that you need to make sure your vision isnt impaired and you arent going to feel sleepy because of the higher BG level.

Thank you, I've popped back down to 5.3 now and am feeling quite safe-I usually do not go that high anymore but was feeling a little woozy at 10.6.

SWUSA_ · Nov 18, 2016

Jaylee said:
Hi,

Being an American citizen. (it states south west on your profile.)
You would need to check with your state motoring laws on that one?

I agree with @tim2000s . Our UK laws only govern hypo inducing diabetes control drugs (such as insulin.) covering how low one can legally go, which clearly states you need to be above 5mmol to drive testing every two hours behind the wheel..
Failure to comply if caught or involved in an incident is the equivalent of a "driving under the influence" rap!

Thank you.

SWUSA_ · Nov 18, 2016

Liam1955 said:
@SWUSA_ - Hi S, I don't drive - so I cannot say. But, have read somewhere that your blood sugars are not to go below 5. And you are supposed to test before starting the journey. Sorry, I could not be more helpful. L.

Thank you-it was helpful.

SWUSA_ · Nov 18, 2016

catapillar said:
The DVLA don't provide any guidance on what can be considered too high to drive

Although too high to function (impaired vision) should certainly be considered not a safe state to drive in.

I'm not aware of any statutory/regulatory or even guidance available in England & Wales in respect of what might be considered too high to drive - I strongly suspect there isn't any such thing.

Probably good that there isn't because we are all a little different in our response to highs-I have popped back down now (5.3)and feel quite safe. Thank you for responding, I really needed a little input to decide whether I should or should not drive this morning.

SWUSA_ · Nov 18, 2016

What I learned from this experience is that my blood sugar does not go down if I sit on the couch and stay on the computer. It started to go down only when I got up, stopped worrying and moved around. Hopefully I never get so tired again that I fall asleep before I take my insulin and don't wake up until the next morning that high. Thank you all for responding-I really appreciate all the help in making the decision on what is too high a blood glucose reading to drive.

SWUSA_ · Nov 19, 2016

I reviewed the driving laws in my state and found that there is a provision for people with Diabetes Mellitus and that it has been amended to state that "driver must have food, fruit, or candy within their reach at all times when operating a motor vehicle." This actually is very good news because it means that I can put an apple in the pocket of driver's side door and actually have it if needed instead of having to put candy in the glove box where mom eats it and spoils her dinner.

There is no mention of blood glucose highs in this section, only impairment and rules about how that is dealt with.

Shar67 · Nov 19, 2016

tim2000s said:
So, you're corroborating that there is no legislation in the UK that states what too high to drive is.

And for what it's worth, getting in a car and driving with a high glucose having taken medication technically removes that last line. I'd have to say at this point that when I've been high, I'm not sure I'd have considered myself unfit to drive. I think there are many type 2s that drive with bg levels a lot higher than 12 as well.

I suspect that no prosecutor could build a case that said someone was too high to drive on this basis, unless they admitted it.

If your involved in an accident and knowingly drove at bg over 12, the cps could prosecute under section 2 road traffic act, you would have to prove that you were not impaired by having high BG, burden of proof is on you.
Imagine a jury being told what symptoms of high BG are and you saying I was fine the accident wasn't my fault.

Deespee23 · Nov 19, 2016

On a lighter note...

"Eight miles high and when you touch down / You'll find that it's stranger than known....."

10p prize (yes, I know I'm generous) to the 1st. guesser of the band....

ellagy · Nov 19, 2016

Deespee23 said:
On a lighter note...

"Eight miles high and when you touch down / You'll find that it's stranger than known....."

10p prize (yes, I know I'm generous) to the 1st. guesser of the band....

I claim my 10p as the first guesser!

How high is too high to drive?

Well-Known Member

Shar67

Guest

Expert

Well-Known Member

Oracle

Oracle

Master

Shar67

Guest

Expert

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Shar67

Guest

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency