MX-5 OC Forum

The DVLA has today issued new guidelines aimed at making it easier for drivers with insulin treated diabetes to understand the new driver licensing rules recently introduced to comply with a new European Directive on driving licences.

The DVLA has worked closely with Diabetes UK, the leading charity for those with the condition, to make sure that the information available to drivers is clear and easy to understand.

Following concerns raised by Diabetes UK that the application form for a driving licence was misleading, DVLA worked closely with Diabetes UK to agree and implement a number of changes to the form, such as making it clearer what is meant by a "severe hypoglycaemic event".

Road Safety Minister Mike Penning said: "I asked the DVLA to work with Diabetes UK to ensure that people with diabetes understand the importance of notifying the Agency about their condition.

"We must make sure that only those who are safe to drive are allowed on our roads, while at the same time avoiding placing unnecessary restrictions on people's independence and their right to work.

"I am extremely pleased that Diabetes UK and the DVLA have worked so closely on this to make sure that the information available for drivers is clear and easily understood."

Barbara Young, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said: "We were concerned about the impact of recent changes to the medical standards for drivers with diabetes. Some people did not understand the implications of some of the questions on the medical questionnaires and were providing wrong answers that meant that their licences could not be granted.

"We raised our concerns with the Road Safety Minster and we are pleased by how the Government has listened to our concerns and been prepared to work with us to develop forms that are easier for people with diabetes to understand.

"We are still worried about the increase in people with diabetes having their driving licenses taken away, but this change means that at least people are unlikely to miss out because they did not understand the application form.

"We will continue to work with the DVLA to monitor the impact of the changes to driver licensing for people with diabetes and to ensure that the process is fair, transparent and safe."

Taken from Fleet news today

Alan
 

I'm in two minds...while I think it's very useful to be able to drive a car, and people should be allowed to if they can/want, I definitely don't believe driving to be a 'right' as this article suggests. And I definitely believe that if you have a condition that makes you prone to passing out unexpectedly, you should not be allowed to take other people's lives into your hands for the sake of getting yourself about, whether you're taking drugs or otherwise.

 Whilst i support people under medication to control "problems" like Diabetes, i once had a pupil i was teaching to drive suffer sweats, and feeling faint.....I suspected he might have Diabetes, gave him some water, and took him home striaght away....Lucky for him his dad was a GP, and had tests done on him that day. He had to suspend his driver training for about 6-8 months until his medication was sorted, and was classed as fit to drive again. If his father was a GP and didn't spot the signs....weight loss, sweats, always thirsty etc...then how could the rest of us?

If he had been driving alone he could well have fainted and caused an accident......but he didn't

I think there is a more pressing concern of drivers not being able to see.......we should be made to have an eye test every couple of years to check we can see properly, as "observation" skills are key to preventing accidents. It could be made into law.......quick eye test.....results reported to DVLA.....or licence revoked....simples............and before anyone says they already pay enough for motoring blah blah blah.......you could be paying with your life if you had an accident cause you didn't see that MX5 belting along.........

I have been getting an eye test every year as I didn't want to find that I couldn't see properly when teaching, have an accident whilst teaching, and be found at fault.

I asked the guy testing my eyes if many "older" people had their eyes checked regulary to see if they were safe to drive, and he said it was rare they came in for driving purposes, but mainly for reading problems, where they were often found to be well below the minimum legal requirements for driving as well, and found it fantastic that when using glasses for driving that they could see again !

same farce goes for GP's signing elderly people off as fit to drive, when they see them in a surgery......how on earth does that pass as a test of their driving skill, and ability to drive safely?....pants

Tin hat on ready for the replies