Driving, work and travel with diabetes

Practical tips for staying safe on the road, knowing your rights at work, and travelling with insulin, pumps and other diabetes supplies.

6 min read · last reviewed October 3, 2026

A diabetes diagnosis doesn't mean giving up the things you need and love to do. Most people with diabetes drive, work and travel just like anyone else. A little planning helps you do them safely and with confidence.

Driving

The main safety concern for drivers with diabetes is low blood sugar, which can affect your judgment and reaction time, sometimes before you notice it. This mostly matters if you take insulin or a medicine that can cause lows, such as a sulfonylurea (for example, gliclazide or glyburide). If you only take medicines that rarely cause lows, such as metformin, the risk is much lower. Ask your team which group you're in.

Before you drive

Diabetes Canada suggests drivers at risk of lows:

• Check your blood sugar before you drive, and about every 4 hours on long trips.
• Remember "above 5 to drive." If your blood sugar is below 5.0 mmol/L (about 90 mg/dL), have a snack with carbohydrate and re-check before you start. Commercial drivers may be asked to keep their sugar higher.
• Keep supplies within reach: your meter or CGM, and fast-acting sugar such as glucose tablets or juice.
• Don't drive if you're low. Treat the low, wait until your sugar is above 5.0 mmol/L, and give your brain time to recover. Diabetes Canada notes this can take up to 40 minutes.

If you feel low while driving

Pull over as soon as it's safe. Turn off the engine and take the keys out. Treat the low with fast-acting sugar, re-check, and wait until you've fully recovered before driving again.

Licensing rules

Rules for drivers with diabetes are set by each province, territory, state or country, and they're stricter for commercial drivers (such as truck, bus or taxi drivers). In many places, you must tell the licensing office if you have a condition that could affect your driving, and doctors may have to report people who aren't safe to drive, such as someone who has had a recent severe low or who doesn't feel their lows coming on. Ask your team, "Are there any driving rules I need to follow?"

Something you can do today: Put glucose tablets and a spare meter or CGM reader in your car's glove box or console.

Work

Most people with diabetes can do almost any job. A few changes can help you stay safe and well at work.

Your rights

In Canada, diabetes is treated as a disability under human rights laws. Employers have a duty to accommodate you up to the point of "undue hardship." In the U.S., the Americans with Disabilities Act offers similar protections. Common accommodations include:

• breaks to check your blood sugar, eat a snack or take medicine
• a private, clean place to check your sugar or take insulin
• a place to keep supplies and food
• time off for medical appointments
• flexibility in shift work or schedules

Do I have to tell my employer?

In most jobs, you don't have to tell your employer you have diabetes. You might choose to tell a manager or coworker so they know what to do if you have a low. Some safety-sensitive jobs, such as commercial driving, flying, policing or firefighting, may require you to share health information and show that your diabetes is well managed.

Shift work and busy days

Shift work, long hours and skipped breaks can make blood sugar harder to manage. Talk with your team about timing your meals and medicines around your schedule. Keep snacks and fast-acting sugar at your workstation.

If you feel you've been treated unfairly because of diabetes, contact your provincial or federal human rights commission, or in the U.S., the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Diabetes Canada and the American Diabetes Association also offer advice.

Something you can do this week: Make a small "work kit" with snacks, glucose tablets and spare supplies.

Travel

With a little planning, diabetes can travel anywhere you go.

Before you go

• See your team a few weeks ahead, especially for long trips or crossing time zones. Ask how to time insulin or other medicines.
• Get a letter from your doctor saying you have diabetes and need to carry medicines, needles, a pump or a CGM.
• Pack double. Bring at least twice the medicine and supplies you think you'll need, including extra batteries, sensors, pump supplies and a backup way to take insulin.
• Get travel health insurance that covers diabetes.
• Keep your medicines in their original labelled packages, and bring a list of your medicines with their generic names.

At the airport

• Keep insulin and supplies in your carry-on, never in checked luggage, where temperatures can damage insulin.
• In Canada and the U.S., you can bring insulin, juice and gels over the usual liquid limit. Tell the screening officer.
• Pumps and CGMs: Diabetes Canada advises not to send them through body scanners or X-ray machines, as this may affect how they work. Ask for a hand search instead, and check your device maker's advice.

On the trip

• Protect insulin from heat and freezing. An insulated case or cooling pouch can help.
• Check your blood sugar more often. New foods, activity, heat and time changes can all affect it.
• Wear medical ID, and carry fast-acting sugar everywhere.
• Look after your feet. Wear comfortable shoes, and check your feet every day.

Something you can do before your next trip: Make a packing checklist and keep it with your supplies.

Questions to ask your care team

• Can any of my medicines cause low blood sugar? Does that affect my driving?
• Are there driving rules I need to follow where I live?
• How should I time my medicines around shift work?
• Can you write a travel letter for me?
• How do I adjust my insulin when I cross time zones?

This article is general information, not medical advice. Talk with your health care team about your own situation. In an emergency, call 9-1-1 or your local emergency number.

In an emergency, call 9-1-1 or your local emergency number.

General information, not medical advice. It does not replace your own care team. If you think you or someone else is having a medical emergency, call 9-1-1 or your local emergency number. If you are in crisis or thinking about suicide, call or text 9-8-8 (Canada and the US).

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