Anonymous Sources: At times, the DMV will receive a “tip” from an anonymous source that a driver suffers with diabetes and may not be safe to drive. Even though the source of the information may not be known; and even though the validity of the information may be questionable, the DMV is still mandated to investigate.
Immediate Suspension: If the DMV receives information from any source which suggests that a diabetic driver poses an immediate hazard to the safety of the public, it will issue an immediate “Order of Suspension.”
This most often occurs when a person who is apply for an original driver license, or a driver who is seeking to renew their license, checks a block on an application form that alerts the DMV to a diagnosis of diabetes.
Self sabotage is not my thing so that box won’t get a check mark !
Check your sugar before driving. It only takes one of us to make the papers with a hypo crash to inspire them to take even more draconian measures against us. We have no due process, its suspend first then its your problem to go prove your innocence.
Due Process of Law
A fundamental, constitutional guarantee that all legal proceedings will be fair and that one will be given notice of theproceedings and an opportunity to be heard before the government acts to take away one’s life, liberty, or property.
Yeah, I always checked, and now I’ve got a CGM so I look at that. Any indication I’m dropping, or am already low, I carb-up before driving. Sometimes it makes it hard to keep an appointment but getting my bg’s to a safe level is priority-one.
The thing about California’s question (or was the last time I renewed} was it asks if you have various things wrong one of which is diabetes that will interfere with your ability to drive. It never interfered with my ability and it was never going to, so I never ever checked that box!
BTW the vast majorities of doctors won’t do this, but I had a customer that a doctor sent a letter to the DMV about she had diabetes. But I don’t think she knew if it was from an emergency visit or her doctor.
There is a new law being proposed in NY now to immediately suspend the driver’s license of any pwd who has been unconscious( not anything to do with driving but just at all as far as I know). I can’t remember where I read this now, maybe it was here. There was a link to object to this which I did. Scary stuff and it is classic fascism.
California has been cracking down on this for over a decade. The Superior Court of California are the entity that suspends the license, not DMV. If you are pulled over while your blood sugar is low, they treat it the same as a DUI. I never check the box on my renewal. If you do, they will not renew the license until you’ve completed a mandatory two day course on diabetes management. I also take offense that my license will be branded with the words “diabetic” in big red letters.
And lets not even start the conversation that if you don’t have a license in California, whether it’s suspended or you never got it, it’s usually just a ticket and go on your way, so much for the possibility of lying on your driver’s license if you never had one to begin with.
HIPAA is a federal law that gives you rights over your health information and sets rules and limits on who can look at and receive your health information.
Every bank teller and store clerk, rental car place ect ect or anyone else who looks at your ID is not entitled to your private health information.
Even getting a job what if I want to be quite about the diabetes, everyone would know.
I just read in a comment above that they are putting diabetic on driver licences. That is pushing towards the likes of Star Of David Nazi badges.
Comparisons to the Nazis is thrown around too much these days diminishing the horrific events of WWII but putting my medical condition on my ID so I am treated differently by the authorities ? My Star Of David Nazi badges comment is not out of line.
Uh oh. The ADA is going after these rules in MN as “discriminatory.” It will come around this year. See H.F. bill 365… I guess the main opposition is an out state cop who says that DMV regs are the only way they can force diabetics to take care of themselves…since its totally the job of local PD to enforce medical care and they do it soooo well. I wish the police could stay in their lane.
I wish they would have given a little more context the driver’s license bill. I’m too lazy to Google it, but I get the feeling that the current law is invasive to privacy of people’s health information. How do they get around HIPAA laws so easily with this stuff?
Well, I would think that holding protected health information is certainly a liability for the unstable MN computer system. However, they may get around it because drivers are required to self report use of insulin as a condition of obtaining a license.
I know it all too well, I was born and raised in San Francisco. Got my masters from Berkeley, my Psy.D. from USC, and ended up staying in Los Angeles after graduation. I’ve seen it all, nothing surprise’s me anymore but I love living in this state.
The ONLY thing I like about Calif is the weather. Our weather is fantastic most of the year. Where I live there are no floods, tornadoes, hurricanes. We seldom have earthquakes and few people die (comparatively) when they occur. Fires ravage some communities, but not where I’m at. But I haven’t forgotten the Oakland and Paradise fires–those were horrific.
Retired in San Francisco. T2 all they ask me is they want to know if I am taking any medication to lower BG levels. Which I don’t. That was the end of discussion new license at least until I am 75. Then who knows what the rules will be and then I also need to consider giving up my driving license. And do muni, Uber or walking.
I have a bus one block east and muni train one block west. And I don’t really Use Uber I use Lift. I lived here for seven years with a private car. I could do it again. But that was my plan.
I stood on line for 7 hours at CA DMV only to get turned away for something stupid.
What I found amazing was the other people. It was like a social science experiment on how far can people be pushed.
Very scary results, out of the hundreds of people that day, 1000’s maybe that line was long, only me and 3 other guys got loud with them and told them off.
The take a number system was not linear. No pattern that me or any of the people I was talking too could figure out. You couldn’t leave to eat or do anything without risking missing it.
And these people went so slow. You could feel the contempt they had for us as they ran out the clock to get that overtime. Slow as possible cause they can’t turn away the people who were waiting so they want a big line at closing time.
I must be missing something here. You’re waiting in line at the DMV and you’re shocked nobody but 3 people around you wanted to incite a riot? My faith in humanity just went up a little.
I felt the opposite. I thinks its scary that people will let the criminals running things steal from them so easily. But they do. People with 3 bedroom little houses and $12,000 property tax bills ect ect.
Humanity is in trouble.
No need for a riot but I am not saying thank you or have a nice day to a person who works for a crooked system ripping people off all day.
The job market is pretty good, those people could work to help others instead of just being thieves. They are greedy selfish … why should I be nice ? I have to work. I cant just make up stupid rules and sell stupid stickers to get money.
Register the car EVERY year. What if I didn’t renew and it broke down on the highway, blown motor, I guess since its “unregistered” I could just walk away and abandon it cause being “unregistered” they would not know who it belonged too ? Ya right.
People make it too easy and every year they steal more of our money and liberties. I won’t be nice to them.
I wish the police could stay in their lane.