Global Regulations On Diabetics Treated With Insulin And Their Operation Of Commercial Motor Vehicles

Governments often regulate who may and may not drive vocationally for public safety purposes. Recent arguments, however, imply that employment opportunities may be limited unnecessarily for people with medical impairments. Drivers with diabetes treated with insulin are commonly perceived to pose an...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMJ (Online) 1993-07, Vol.307 (6898), p.250-253
Main Author: DiaMond Project Group On Social Issues
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Automobile accidents
Commercial regulation
Diabetes
Diabetes complications
Diabetes mellitus
Drivers licenses
Education & Debate
Insulin
Motor vehicles
Professional licensing
Type 1 diabetes mellitus
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Governments often regulate who may and may not drive vocationally for public safety purposes. Recent arguments, however, imply that employment opportunities may be limited unnecessarily for people with medical impairments. Drivers with diabetes treated with insulin are commonly perceived to pose an increased risk of accidents because of their susceptibility to hypoglycaemia. Much uncertainty, though, surrounds the data on the risks of these drivers. An international survey studied the licensing policies applied to professional lorry drivers with diabetes treated with insulin. Responses from 24 countries indicated that regulations differ considerably; ranging from a complete ban on professional driving to no restrictions at all. Many reasons may explain this difference, including the lack of data on the effects of hypoglycaemia on the incidence of traffic accidents. A proper account of the risks of diabetic drivers is necessary to balance fairly the rights of employment against the risks.
ISSN:0959-8138
1756-1833