Premium
Insulin‐treated diabetes and driving in the UK
Author(s) -
Gill G.,
Durston J.,
Johnston R.,
MacLeod K.,
Watkins P.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
diabetic medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.474
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1464-5491
pISSN - 0742-3071
DOI - 10.1046/j.1464-5491.2002.00717.x
Subject(s) - medicine , diabetes mellitus , insulin , agency (philosophy) , endocrinology , philosophy , epistemology
Diabetes, and particularly insulin‐treated diabetes, has important implications for motor vehicle driving, largely because of its association with potential hypoglycaemia. For this reason, most countries operate some driving restrictions on insulin‐treated diabetic patients, as well as systems of intermittent reassessment of hypoglycaemic risk. In the UK, regulations are operated by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), which is an agency of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR). They are supported by an Expert Panel which advises the Secretary of State on diabetes‐related issues relating to fitness to drive. The patient organization Diabetes UK is also concerned with diabetes and driving issues, largely from a position of lobbying policy‐influencers and supporting individual cases. All parties involved with diabetes and driving issues recognize the need for more research on the subject, as the current literature is flawed in design, though no convincing excess of accidents amongst diabetic drivers has been conclusively demonstrated. Currently in the UK, Class 2 vehicles (large trucks and passenger vehicles) are barred to diabetic drivers on insulin. European law has recently extended this to so‐called C 1 (large vans and small lorries) and D 1 (minibuses) vehicles, though the law has recently been revised to allow individual consideration for potential diabetic C 1 drivers on insulin treatment. Diabetes and insulin‐treated diabetes is an emotive and difficult issue, for which a stronger evidence base is urgently needed.