Just a quick update that the law was just changed in MN so that t1s don’t have to submit medical certification paperwork in order to drive (unless you crash a car and PD notifies the State). It took around 4-5 years and finally passed in Omnibus. American Diabetes Association helped by claiming discrimination. If you have any questions about the process of legislation changes, or this leg specifically, please feel free to reach out. I posted briefly on Marie’s forum post, this is just a broader notification.
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I am in CA and this is the first time I put I was diabetic on my license renewal. I started the process in March and my license expired in may but the DMV gave a 2 month extension for all May exp. Now I can’t drive until I have some sort of hearing. I have never had an accident related to blood sugars, but they told me last week that it could take a month before I speak to anyone. Can anyone tell me about this type of experience?
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In MN we have a medical review board. It is made up of Doctors who work on behalf of Dept of Public Safety. No one is required to have a hearing unless they have an accident behind the wheel, get reported to the State by the police on scene, and the State suspends their license, but their Doc says they are medically fit to drive. The medical board hearing gets triggered by a disagreement between the endocrinologist and the State, regarding a diabetics ‘fitness to drive.’
Something like this happened to me once (a 6 week suspension) when the States computer systems were broken and unable to process my medical form. Thats the closest I have come to your experience.
My advise for the hearing is to keep really complete BG records using a dexcom. You ought to prepare for this hearing like you are going into court. You are entering a court where you have all the data/records and they have nothing, so I anticipate that your case will be very easy to win. But, I recommend over preparing.
MN and CA have really tricky DMV systems, so I always keep BG records as if I will need to show them to court. They look like this:
One of the unwritten rules with medical records is that the more complete they are, the more credible the provider/patient. Note: There are nurses that write a lot in their own secret codes that look like hieroglyphics so that if they end up in court, they can interpret those records in a way that benefits them.
I recommend reaching out to your American Diabetes Association representative in the West if you think that might help fix this is the long term. My rep is in Denver for the Midwest. But, in the short term, keep solid records and have solid control. If they give you any trouble, let us know. I think they are doing something bad to you that they should not be doing.
This is the legislation brought to MN some years ago. It has all passed to prevent scenarios such as yours. The 3rd bill listed is the one regarding driving and discrimination against diabetics.
one pager mn day at capitol .docx (26.9 KB)
Note: @El_Ver is in CA. He will know more about this - much more.
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I’m happy to hear there has been an improvement in your state. I live in Florida and as far as I know we don’t have any laws related to this.
I think I would be furious if I had to deal with a situation like this. I wonder if the board of doctors have experience treating Diabetics or even better have T1D themself. In general I think the average doctor has little insight into T1D and I wouldn’t put a lot of faith in their opinions.
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Thank you for the information. That spreadsheet you have looks like a full time job! Do you put in the numbers at the end of each day? Those are incredible records!
Sue
Have a great day! 
California is like that. I will need to do something this next renewal. They recently changed the wording of the question where I could say no to it.
It was something like “ do you have diabetes, epilepsy or any condition that could cause you to lose consciousness “
And since I was diabetic who never lost consciousness, I said no to that for many years.
It’s a little tougher to get around the current wording. Involving anticonvulsants and insulin.
I’m 55, I’ve lived this long without crashing my car. My insurance company already overcharges me for being diabetic.
If they really wanted to limit accidents, they would asked if you have ever been drunk, or smoked pot. Or people who are just stupid or bad drivers.
How about cell phones? It seems bizarre that we are singled out like this when there are so many higher risk people driving around.
You can be arrested in California for reckless driving or street racing and get your license back by doing community service and traffic school.
You can be blind in one eye and totally deaf, and get your drivers license by filling out some forms.
But someone taking insulin? No you need an extensive medical report and a doctor swearing you are in control. And then you need to plead your case to a judge.
After that you need to renew this every few years.
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We have the same in CA. I’ve been there several times, and each time lost driving privileges. There is no next time without a permanent loss of a drivers license.
What @mohe0001 states regarding medical documentation is definitely the key. Prepare like you are going to court - you are. The idea is to demonstrate as conclusively as possible that the reason you are in front of the MRB is an aberration and unlikely to be a repeatable problem. How your Dr fills out the medical forms from the MRB has a huge bearing on how the MRB receives your end of the story. Show contrition and an understanding of what caused you to be in front of the MRB; how to avoid it in the future and what steps you plan to use going forward to ensure you are/will remain a safe driver and not a potential hazard to other drivers because of your diabetes.
A drivers license is a privilege not a right, protect your privilege at all costs because mass transit in the US is not as awesome as it should be.
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I have always said no to that question, even though I have had hypo-induced seizures and hypo-induced loss of consciousness. Anyone who answers yes to that question will lose their driving privilege until the MRB can do a full assessment (somewhere in the 3-6 month range). That assessment may restrict, suspend or terminate your driving privilege, and the MRB has the final say. There is no Judge Judy to arbitrate.
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I don’t have any plans to move but this is something I’ll have to take into account if I wanted to move to another state.
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I mostly just make notes throughout the day on post it notes, then when I have time I format into a spreadsheet for the Doc. I don’t do this all the time, just before endo appointments. These records are in part designed to bring the wrath of God to a medical review board, should that ever become necessary. 
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Actually, that would be “the wrath of @mohe0001 …”
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