For many years, there were regulations that required anyone insulin treated diabetes to be banned from driving commercial vehicles. There were a lot of safety concerns that were involved with the possibility of having an insulin attack while driving, and thus, causing injuries or fatalities while on the road.
It wasn’t until 2003 that the Diabetes Exemption Program was introduced by the FMCSA that allowed insulin treated diabetics to drive commercially and open the door to interstate commerce, although this program had a few issues that were seen as drawbacks for any new drivers.
One of the biggest issues with this program was that anyone with insulin treated diabetes was required to drive for at least three years commercially and in state before being allowed to operate interstate commerce. This put a huge damper on anyone that wanted to get out on the road and make some money but didn’t have the minimum three years under their belt.
Because of the difficulty of this program, there were only 4 exemptions granted between 2003 and 2005 when the program changed. Once the American Diabetes Association became involved, the minimum of three years was removed and anyone could drive without the experience.
Even though there’s no minimum experience required for insulin diabetes patients, there are still around 57 other regulations and screenings that must be met before you can drive interstate commerce. This doesn’t include the individual states regulations that you’ll have to abide by, either.
All of these regulations can be found on the form that you can get from the FMCSA, which you will need to print and fill out. Some parts of the form will need to be completed by your doctor as well as being evaluated by an Optometrist and an Endocrinologist.
The new regulations do require that diabetics that are treated with insulin will need to show proof that they’ve been on insulin regularly for at least 1 month with Type 2 and two months with Type 1. This may seem a bit strict to some, but it’s highly improved over having to have the three years of experience that was required before.
Besides, it is better to be safe and follow the regulations than it is to have an accident while you are driving. Diabetes is something that you will have to live with but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a CDL, too.
It wasn’t until 2003 that the Diabetes Exemption Program was introduced by the FMCSA that allowed insulin treated diabetics to drive commercially and open the door to interstate commerce, although this program had a few issues that were seen as drawbacks for any new drivers.
One of the biggest issues with this program was that anyone with insulin treated diabetes was required to drive for at least three years commercially and in state before being allowed to operate interstate commerce. This put a huge damper on anyone that wanted to get out on the road and make some money but didn’t have the minimum three years under their belt.
Because of the difficulty of this program, there were only 4 exemptions granted between 2003 and 2005 when the program changed. Once the American Diabetes Association became involved, the minimum of three years was removed and anyone could drive without the experience.
Even though there’s no minimum experience required for insulin diabetes patients, there are still around 57 other regulations and screenings that must be met before you can drive interstate commerce. This doesn’t include the individual states regulations that you’ll have to abide by, either.All of these regulations can be found on the form that you can get from the FMCSA, which you will need to print and fill out. Some parts of the form will need to be completed by your doctor as well as being evaluated by an Optometrist and an Endocrinologist.
The new regulations do require that diabetics that are treated with insulin will need to show proof that they’ve been on insulin regularly for at least 1 month with Type 2 and two months with Type 1. This may seem a bit strict to some, but it’s highly improved over having to have the three years of experience that was required before.
Besides, it is better to be safe and follow the regulations than it is to have an accident while you are driving. Diabetes is something that you will have to live with but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a CDL, too.