Epilepsy and driving is a personal and public safety issue. A person with a seizure disorder that causes lapses in consciousness may put themselves and the public at risk if a seizure occurs while they are operating a motor vehicle. Not only can a seizure itself cause a car wreck, but anticonvulsants often have side effects that include drowsiness. People with epilepsy are more likely to be involved in a traffic collision than people who do not have the condition, although reports range from minimally more likely up to seven times more likely.[1][2][3]
It is for this reason that most people diagnosed with epilepsy are prohibited or restricted by their local laws from operating vehicles. However, some places have exceptions built into their laws for those who can prove that they have stabilized their condition. Individuals who may be exempt from such restrictions or may have fewer restrictions include those who had seizures as a result of a medical condition that has been cured, from a physician's experimental medication change that failed, as an isolated incident, whose seizures occur only while asleep, or who may be able to predict their seizures in order to ensure that they do not lose consciousness behind the wheel of a moving vehicle.
The first seizure-related automobile crash occurred at the turn of the 19th century.[4] Since then, laws have been enacted all over the world regarding driving for people with epilepsy. There is an ongoing debate in bioethics over who should bear the burden of ensuring that a person with epilepsy does not drive a car or fly an aircraft.
^Taylor, J; Chadwick, D; Johnson, T (1 June 1996). "Risk of accidents in drivers with epilepsy". Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry. 60 (6): 621–7. doi:10.1136/jnnp.60.6.621. PMC 1073944. PMID 8648327.
^Kaufman, David Myland (2007). Clinical neurology for psychiatrists - Google Books. Elsevier Health Sciences. ISBN 978-1-4160-3074-4. Retrieved 2010-09-16.
^Lings, Svend (2001-08-14). "Increased driving accident frequency in Danish patients with epilepsy". Neurology. 5 (3): 435–9. doi:10.1212/wnl.57.3.435. PMID 11502909. S2CID 35652890. Retrieved 2010-09-16.
^Wyllie, Elaine; Gupta, Ajay; Lachhwani, Deepak K. (2006). The treatment of epilepsy : principles & practice (4th ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 1203. ISBN 0781749956.
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