DAM set to take insulin case to European court
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• The Drivers Action Movement has stepped up its fight to overturn the Government's ban on insulindependent truck drivers by pledging to take the issue all the way to the European Court.
This follows the Department of Transport's refusal to issue licences to diabetic drivers of trucks over 7.5 tonnes.
From January next year drivers of vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes who are insulin-dependent will also be banned "in the interests of road safety".
DAM, which is taking legal advice over the issue, says it has "just cause" to continue its campaign.
DAM chairman , Jack Crossfield says: "This is just one part of a Directive which says that people can apply for and retain HGV licences if they have diabetes as long as they follow certain guidelines."
But Transport Minister Glenda Jackson points to evi
dunce which suggests that insulin treatment can lead to a serious risk of hypoglycaemia which can provoke a loss of consciousness and impaired judgement.
Crossfield dismisses American research into the subject as out of date as it was carried out in the 1960s and 1970s.