Are You Guilty of Driving While Diabetic?

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Permalink Reply by Ali on November 2, 2009 at 2:16pm

I think that as a country we need to see each driver as an individual person. Placing people in "groups" based upon medical issues such as epilepsy, diabetes, or visual impairments etc... is not the way to go. Each epileptic is different, each diabetic is different, and each visual impairment is different. We should only place restrictions on individual licenses instead of saying ALL diabetics...we should say THIS particular individual who has diabetes.

Even then what is to say that a perfectly healthy non-diabetic person wouldn't have a low blood sugar that caused some sort of issue? Who says only diabetics have hypoglycemia?

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Permalink Reply by Christopher Frankie on November 2, 2009 at 2:32pm

Mark,

I am sorry if you interpreted the article that way -- that was certainly not how it was intended. I am a diabetic as well and would never intentionally offend or shame anyone, especially not in this forum.

If you read the entire column, you would see that it is not anti-diabetic in the slightest and attempts to call attention to a problem I see creeping up in the news where people are failing to take personal responsibility for their actions and instead blaming their disease. And the media is repeating those claims, which I believe is detrimental to the cause of raising awwareness for the disease and the people that have it. As a person with diabetes, I take issue with people blaming the disease for their obviously poor behavior. I am concerned, slightly, that such claims could end up hurting the vast majority of people with diabetes who are responsible human beings. As we note in the article, other countries restrict drivers with diabetes.

Yes, the headline may have pushed the envelope a bit, but it was intended to be provocative and a bit toungue-in-cheek. I think that if you give a close read to the post, you will see that I am actually an advocate for people with diabetes and loathe the notion that diabetics could be judged as a group (like they are to an extent in England) due to the irresponsible actions of a few.

I am curious to hear your opinion on the topic of the editorial. Have you seen any instances of what I am speaking about in the media?

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Permalink Reply by Kristin on November 2, 2009 at 2:54pm

I had the same reaction as Mark. The title is very misleading. The column is much better.

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Permalink Reply by Sophie on November 4, 2009 at 7:40am

the exact same thing that happens in the uk happens here in aus aswell. we have different stages that we go through to get our liscenses and you require a medical to be performed each time. I had to get three medicals done within a one year gap and now one annualy just because I am "diabetic". bit extreme when I'm only 17 and in perfect health isn't it? the problem with being catagorised like this is it doesn't take into account each person, instead grouping all diabetics in the one group, not taking into consideration differences in control, awareness of low BG, etc.
to put it simply it's absolute crap and unfare.

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