Well as if my health concerns weren’t bad enough, I’ve just read about the proposal that insulin controlled diabetics have to report their condition to the DVLC because they may suffer an attack while driving.  How crazy is this?  The news report assures readers that this isn’t actually backed up by statistics whilst at the same reporting that the proposal also considers that people who are newly diagnosed with diabetes requiring insulin to keep it under control don’t drive at all.  Now I agree that we have a lot of drivers on the road who must have paid a huge amount of money to receive their driving license because their skill on the road is so appalling (not to mention being a danger to other drivers), but that’s stupidity, ego, bad time management and perhaps one tipple too much at lunch.  It’s not diabetes!

Diabetics know that they have to keep their blood sugar right.  We’re not stupid.  We read the information, check our blood sugar, eat the way we’re supposed to.  If anything, becasue we know the risk we actually take good care to ensure that  we  are alright because we are more aware of the risk. I went dating in London last week, and I didn’t drive because I knew I’d be drinking even though I really wanted to try and use my car to impress the girl. I certainly made sure I eat right during dinner. Long before a diabetic is a road risk they will get a warning sign in the shape of a huge headache and they’ll pull off the road to eat.  They are no more a safety hazard than someone who is prone to migraine, or even someone going to the doctor’s for flu medication. 

At first reading, I suspect many people are going to switch off mentally because they aren’t diabetic, but people really need to get sharp about these health proposals.  What happens to diabetics this month might be happening to those with other health issues next month.  Whilst this may be great news for the environment because it will eventually mean that there are so many people who aren’t allowed to drive, it’s going to have a huge impact on public transportation which is going to have to improve by about 500% in order to come anything close to what would be needed, and it’s going to have a huge financial impact in terms of car sales, petrol sales, employment in the car industry, employment demographics as people who have these conditions are forced to find other jobs on the public transportation grid, and so on.  Perhaps it does sound an exaggerated view of a hypothetic situation, but every situation starts somewhere – and if the insulin controlled diabetics are not allowed to drive, then that would be the start of the situation, so this is something that everyone needs to be watching. 

On a side note there are many drivers on the road who have been drinking alcohol.  Doesn’t it seem unfair to place a complete ban on people who aren’t responsible for their health issues and are doing what they can to maintain a “normal” life, whilst those who choose to do something that they know can potentially impair their road judgement are allowed to do so as long as it’s within the legal limit?  That seems crazy to me. I know that I wouldn’t want to have to go through cosmetic surgery on my face following a brutal accident to make me look normal again, and I would be happy to upset a few people to ensure this. Making driving illegal to anyone who has had alcohol would seem a much better way of cutting down the road accidents – a no tolerance approach to alcohol drinking then driving might be unpopular but I’m pretty sure that the statistics would support its introduction, unlike the ones about diabetic drivers.

There are reportedly many diabetics who are undiagnosed.  In many healthcare practices there are charts on the walls telling people if they have the following symptoms they should ask for a diabetes test.  How many people are going to ask if they know they run the risk of losing not only their freedom to eat and drinking whatever they choose, but also their driving license?   That’s what I thought!

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