| I'm going to stick my neck out here, but having a low while driving is just as dangerous as driving drunk. Your reflexes are slower and you are not as aware of things. And i think it should be punishable by law, though maybe not to the same extent as driving under the influence.
In the province of Ontario, where i am from (i am not sure of the laws in France, where i am now), if you have a hypoglycemic event that requires the paramedics to come or requires someone to bring you to the hospital, the doctor who treats you is legally obligated to report you to the ministry of transportation. This is true even if you weren't driving at the time of the incident. Of course, most doctors look at each situation as they encounter it and usually don't report. Technically, you are supposed to get your licence suspended until you can prove that your diabetes is in good control and that your risk for hypos is much lower. And that you promise to test EVERY time you get in the car and to always have some form of fast acting glucose on you.
I personally think that the law as written is a bit severe especially since you don't even have to be behind the wheel at the time of your hypo, but i think the idea is good. I don't want to be on the roads with someone who has had one bottle of whiskey too many, and i don't want to be on the roads with someone who has lots of episodes of severe hypoglycemia either.
I went through a period a few years ago, before i went on the pump, where i had lots of hypos, and some pretty severe, where i needed someone else's help to get out of them. I didn't drive much at the time because i was petrified of going low behind the wheel and when i did drive, i tested before i got in the car and about every hour of driving.
I am the last person who would want to discriminate against people who have diabetes, but we have a responsibility on the road to drive safely that has nothing to do with diabetes. Since we do have diabetes, it is our responsibility to make sure that we can drive safe despite our disease. Please keep some juice boxes in your car and test before you drive, especially if you have ever experienced hypoglycemia unawareness.
Andrea  | 
