Letter: Patients face thin end of the wedge over driving

I am writing in response to your article ‘Managing the hypoglycaemic driver’ (Vol 1, No 4, p108) which I thought was excellent. The article stressed the lack of conclusive evidence to support the fact that insulin-treated diabetics are at a greater risk from road traffic accidents. However, here we are now faced with informing our patients about the new legislation – the Second EC Directive on the Driving Licence which came into effect recently. This new directive, which allows no exceptions, further restricts those taking insulin to what motor vehicles they are allowed to drive.

On discussion with some patients who have been made aware of the changes in the driving regulations, there is a real sense of anxiety. These patients are worried that this is the thin end of the wedge and that they may eventually lose the right to drive at all just because they require insulin injections to treat their medical condition.

I think that all health care professionals in diabetes care should actively support the British Diabetic Association (see The LINK, p16) in trying to ensure that this never happens, unless of course research shows that there is conclusive evidence to prove otherwise.