| Abstrakt: |
UK driving licences are issued and controlled by a government body, the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency). Diabetic drivers must inform the DVLA and their motor insurer about their condition. Current advice is to test the capillary blood glucose level before driving. If symptomatic hypoglycaemia occurs during driving, the driver should stop, take carbohydrate, and wait 45 minutes after euglycaemia to allow brain function to recover before driving on. Previous studies have shown that diabetic drivers are good at informing both the DVLA and their insurer, but not good at following advice regarding testing and hypoglycaemia treatment. In order to inform our current education process, this study aimed to explore why drivers do not seem to follow this advice by examining the attitudes of patients and their acceptance of current UK advice for diabetic drivers. Fifty consecutive insulin treated drivers attending a hospital clinic were interviewed over a two-week period. All 50 agreed to interview; there were 34 men and 16 women, the median age was 49 years (range 19-77 years), and the median diabetes duration was 16 years (one month to 46 years). A questionnaire modified from Graveling et al. to include attitudes and acceptability of current advice was used. Median driving duration was 22 years (four months to 56 years) and annual mileage 500-50 000 miles. Thirty-six (72%) drove to work by car and 34% (including a lorry driver and a forklift truck driver) drove as part of their job; nine subjects had no period restriction on their licence. Only 34% always carry a blood glucose testing kit with them when driving. Testing before driving was performed: always (20%), long journeys (20%), sometimes (22%), never (38%); however, only 40% admitted to being previously advised to test before each journey. After the advice about testing before driving was explained, 64% thought it was reasonable, but 52% would not accept it. After hypoglycaemia when driving, the subjects reported that they would wait a mean of 25 minutes (5-60) before driving on. Only 10% knew of waiting 45 minutes after hypoglycaemia. After the current advice was explained, 24% found it unreasonable, while 36% would not accept this stricture. Current advice for insulin treated drivers is not widely known. Better education is required. However, when given current advice about testing before each journey and waiting 45 minutes after hypoglycaemia, many patients considered this unreasonable and unacceptable. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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