The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) says its policy of banning people from driving lorries if they inject insulin for their diabetes is not unnecessarily stringent, despite research showing otherwise. A study carried out earlier this year by doctors at Exeter University found no significant difference in accident rates of diabetic and non-diabetic motorists when classified by age.
Researchers say it shows that restrictions preventing drivers from driving category C1 and D1 vehicles have been put into place without any consistent evidence to back up the policy. People who inject insulin to treat their diabetes are thought to be at risk of suffering a hypoglycaemic attack, which could cause an accident if they were driving.
A 2006 study commissioned by the Department for Transport also revealed differences in hypoglycaemic risks between 
href="http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/type1and2/" target=_new>type 1 and 2 diabetes and the length of time they have been injecting insulin.
The Exeter University researchers argue that there should be individual risk-based assessments instead of a blanket ban. But the DVLA says: "Having considered the arrangements for other member states in some detail, the agency is of the opinion that the UK's arrangements are not exceptionally or unnecessarily stringent."