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Motorists who have epilepsy are usually cleared to drive if their seizures are under control.
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But new research from the University of Florida finds many drivers with epilepsy that is not well controlled continue to get behind the wheel…often out of necessity. Doctors surveyed more than three-hundred patients undergoing treatment for epilepsy and found that nearly twenty percent of those who had at least one seizure a year continued to drive. What's worse, nearly one-quarter of patients who reported having daily seizures also admitted to occasionally driving. Most drove because they needed to get to work: more than half the patients in the study who were employed took to the road, while only twenty percent of those who were unemployed drove.
Dr. Ramon Bautista / UF neurologist
"What's surprising to me is the reasons why they drive: It's not because they just want to have fun, they drive because in many ways they probably need to drive. Work was probably the main reason why these folks drove."
Meanwhile, states have passed laws to keep drivers with epilepsy, and others on the road, safe. In Florida, for example, drivers who are under a doctor's care must be seizure-free for at least six months before being allowed to drive. Research shows that drivers with poorly controlled seizures are at higher risk for motor vehicle accidents. Because many with seizures can't drive, doctors say it's important that employers and communities provide options for breadwinners who have epilepsy.
Dr. Ramon Bautista / UF neurologist
"The laws that regulate driving are all well and good because obviously you want to be concerned about the safety of epilepsy patients and other people as well. But we do need to think deeper than this and come up with solutions to help them maintain their productivity. Solutions like maybe having home-based employment or having a more robust and user-friendly public transportation system."
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At the University of Florida Health Science Center, I'm Mike Garrison
