(TRENTON) – Legislation Assembly Democrat Celeste Riley sponsored to help avoid problems between diabetics and police officers was released Thursday by an Assembly committee.
The bill (A-945) requires the Motor Vehicle Commission, at the voluntary request of a licensee, to allow a driver’s license to include a notation that the licensee suffers from diabetes, is insulin dependent and, as a result, may be susceptible to convulsive seizures.
“The notation is to be used solely by law enforcement officials or emergency medical professionals to diagnose a person who has been rendered unable to communicate due to a diabetic seizure,” said Riley (D-Gloucester/Salem/Cumberland). “We’ve seen too many misunderstandings between diabetics and police officers that could have been avoided with this basic knowledge. This will be a big step toward resolving this ever-present worry for both diabetics and police.”
The Star-Ledger recently wrote about incidents between diabetics and police in which misunderstandings led to alleged rough treatment.
The notation will conspicuously display the statement “INSULIN DEPENDENT DIABETIC” and be displayed in a manner determined by the Chief Administrator of the MVC.
The bill was released by the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee.
