Displaying a diabetes medical decal or sticker on your vehicle can be a helpful way to alert paramedics and first responders about possible health issues that might be affecting your driving.
When you live with diabetes, particularly if you take insulin, there’s always a need to think about safety behind the wheel. You need to ensure that your blood sugar levels won’t dip too low and potentially cause you to lose control of your vehicle.
While some may be hesitant to “advertise” their condition, this type of medical ID display could be beneficial for paramedics or first responders who may need to quickly determine what’s happening if they’re responding to a call, accident, or possible emergency situation.
People with diabetes who take insulin or may experience periodic low blood sugars, especially severe lows, may keep this in mind.
The particular ID could be a sticker or decal on a window or windshield, a seat belt strap, or other similar alerts on the back bumper or side of the vehicle to flag the fact that the person driving has diabetes.
States do not require an alert or medical ID on your vehicle.
Laws regarding driving and diabetes vary by state, but even in the strictest jurisdictions, a medical ID placed on a vehicle isn’t required or even recommended.
However, some clinical medical
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However, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) updated its position statement on driving and diabetes in October 2024, detailing various risks and guidelines for people with diabetes and driving.
Generally, the ADA recommends identifying yourself as someone with diabetes, whether that’s through medical jewelry or some other type of ID.
But specific to driving and diabetes, the ADA emphasizes that risk factors for low blood sugar and affected driving are the most important items that healthcare professionals should discuss with people with diabetes.
This should include awareness and education about safe driving practices, specific laws and regulations, and any steps they should take to help ensure safety behind the wheel.
Some research indicates that many drivers with T1D have experienced a level of low blood sugar while driving, and 25% of them incorrectly believed it was safe to drive when their blood sugar levels were below 70 mg/dL.
Within that research, some findings were that people with T1D who experienced hypoglycemia unawareness and couldn’t tell they were low, had a higher incidence of issues behind the wheel.
The 2023 research also pointed out that less than half of the people involved in that study reported that they’d received education on safe T1D driving practices and that they were aware of resources outlining those safe practices.
Safe driving tips with diabetes
The ADA suggests these tips for people with diabetes to take into consideration before they get behind the wheel to start driving:
- Always check your blood glucose before driving. Research shows that a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) can help provide a more complete picture of blood sugar levels and their trending as you get behind the wheel.
- If you’re 70 mg/dL or lower, treat the hypoglycemia and wait until you’re at a safe blood sugar level before starting to drive.
- Keep fast-acting carbohydrates such as glucose tablets or a sweetened juice in the vehicle in case you go low.
- If any hypoglycemia-related symptoms develop while you’re driving, pull over safely and check your blood sugar level. Do not check your glucose level while driving, except to look at your displayed CGM reading on a hands-free device.
- For longer drives, having emergency glucagon and extra diabetes supplies, including a backup fingerstick meter, test strips, CGM sensor, and pump supplies may be worth considering.
- Wear your diabetes medical ID or have a diabetes alert displayed on your vehicle. You may also consider carrying a “diabetes alert card in your purse or wallet. These can help first responders treat you more quickly.
As someone who’s lived with T1D since childhood, I personally have been driving with this condition since 1996.
I have gone low and experienced hypoglycemia scares that made me question whether I should even have a license. This happened at 2 key points in my life:
- During college: My first incident took place not long after my high school graduation, before I started using an insulin pump. This was at a time when I managed with multiple daily injections (MDI) and we didn’t yet have rapid-acting insulins nor the types of diabetes technology like CGM that we do today. I ended up swerving on the road and eventually getting pulled over by police in a parking lot. I reflect on that with gratitude because no accident occurred and no one was hurt.
- Near my 30th birthday: Just before starting a CGM, I experienced a fast-dropping blood sugar that did not display with the fingerstick at work shortly before I left the office to start driving to a work event. Without feeling the onset of this sudden hypoglycemia, I soon wandered from my office in a daze and into the parking garage, where I found my way to my vehicle and started driving. Somehow, I drove 10 miles and ended up in front of my subdivision in a ditch. Again, my luck prevailed, and no one was injured that time, either.
In that second experience, when paramedics arrived on the scene, I was stunned, but still behind the wheel. Unsure of my surroundings but able to see my subdivision entrance, I tried to get away. A paramedic leaned into the open window and pulled the keys from the ignition to stop me from trying to flee.
That incident inspired me to get a CGM, and I’ve used it consistently for more than 15 years since that experience.
Since that time, I’ve not been behind the wheel without knowing where my blood sugars stand.
The situation also motivated me to start displaying a decal on my front windshield, rear window, and driver’s side window.
For years, I also carried a medical alert on my keychain, along with a plastic case for 4 glucose tablets.
It is a personal choice for anyone with diabetes to display a medical alert on their vehicle or ignition keys. But I’m glad that I took these actions, and that nothing worse had materialized from my earlier driving with diabetes behaviors.
Displaying diabetes on your vehicleThere are many different ways to display diabetes on your vehicle. Some are decorative, some less so. Some resources can be found online and through different diabetes organizations or groups:
- a variety of decals, stickers, and magnets on Etsy and also on Zazzle, where you can also find this seat belt strap for drivers with diabetes
- ‘Diabetic on Board’ and similar decals for windows and vehicle bumpers
- vinyl stickers and decals showing a specific type of diabetes
- custom medical alert car decals
- small businesses that design and sell medical ID products, including Lauren’s Hope medical ID jewelry, MedicAlert Foundation, and MedicalID Fashions
- smartphone screenlock images that show a medical ID alert
Having a diabetes medical decal or sticker on your vehicle can help alert paramedics and first responders to possible health issues that might be affecting your driving.
People with diabetes who experience low blood sugars may be at a higher risk of hypoglycemia while driving. This can motivate people to monitor their glucose levels before and during driving and take steps to help ensure their safety behind the wheel.
Health and wellness touch everyone’s life differently. This is one person’s story. The views and opinions expressed are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Healthline Media.