Drivers License & Pilot License

Researchers from the University of Virginia, with funding from the National Institutes of Health, are conducting a study on driving safety with regard to people with type 1 diabetes, and they need your help.

0 comments - 11 Sep 2007 -

Was that person arrested for drunk driving truly under the influence of alcohol—or could it be that he was simply a diabetic having a low? The similarity in symptoms caused by alcohol intoxication and low blood glucose levels is striking and commonly leads to easy—but false—conclusions by law enforcement officers.

2 comments - 1 Sep 2006 -

Telling the world you have diabetes is not the easiest proposition. Coming "out of the closet," so to speak, could bring support or condemnation from others.

0 comments - 1 Oct 2002 -

Living with diabetes means living in a world of limitations—some imposed by society and some by the disease itself. Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 5, I've spent the last 35 years trying to break free of those limitations.

0 comments - 1 Mar 2002 -

As a trial lawyer in California who has type 1 diabetes, I have represented more than two dozen people with diabetes whose driver's licenses were suspended by the state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). While all of my clients eventually had their licenses returned, they all suffered emotionally and financially while inadequately trained and overworked DMV hearing officers delayed and denied the return of their driving rights for weeks or months at a time.

0 comments - 1 Jan 2002 -

As blanket bans on commercial driving licenses for people with diabetes come under increasing fire, a new study leaves the debate on safety at a crossroads.

1 comment - 1 Sep 2000 - Not Yet Rated

In 1971, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Bell v. Burson that driving is an "important interest" that may not be taken away from a licensed driver without a government agency's providing procedural due process.

0 comments - 1 Oct 1999 -

A study published in the August 25 Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reports that people with type 1 diabetes "may not judge correctly when their blood sugar levels are too low and may consider driving with a low BG." In the study, "low" was defined as less than 70 mg/dl.

3 comments - 1 Oct 1999 - Not Yet Rated

Dr. Arthur Neumann, a retired physician, has lived with diabetes since 1951. He awoke at 4:00 a.m. one morning suffering from a severe hypoglycemic attack and within minutes blacked out. Luckily, his companion was there to inject him with a shot of glucagon-a solution which raises blood sugar by forcing the liver to release stored glucose. Naturally, Neumann reported the incident to his doctor.

0 comments - 1 Jun 1996 -

In contrast to European governments, which have progressively restricted driving permits for individuals with insulin-dependent diabetes, the United States has been far more liberal in its restrictions. In an attempt to determine the decline in driving capability by insulin dependent adults experiencing hypoglycemia, the University of Virginia's General Clinical Research Center conducted a study of twenty five adults, measuring both their driving performance as well as their awareness of their driving performance during and after artificially-induced episodes of hypoglycemia. The study participants were infused with intravenous regular insulin, administered to produce mild and moderate hypoglycemic reactions, while they drove high-tech driving simulators. Immediately before and after each test, the participants were asked: "Would you choose to drive right now? Yes/No." The participants were kept shielded from their blood glucose levels throughout the tests.

0 comments - 1 Jun 1993 - Not Yet Rated