Length of Seizure while Driving May Increase Likelihood of Car Accident

Preliminary research released today at the American Epilepsy Society 70th Annual Meeting provided additional insight into driver safety for people living with epilepsy.

Driving is typically safe for the 75 percent of people with epilepsy that have found seizure control with existing therapies. For cases where seizure control is limited, the driving decision relies on the self-report of people with epilepsy to their physician. Physicians then examine seizure frequency and make a decision regarding driver safety.State laws vary on how long a person with epilepsy must wait before driving again after a seizure.

The Study

Hal Blumenfeld MD, PhD, the Mark Loughridge and Michele Williams professor of neurology and professor of neuroscience and neurosurgery and director of the Yale Clinical Neuroscience Imaginge Center, led a driving simulation study with 16 people in an epilepsy monitoroing unit. Participants were monitored continuously with video EEG while using a driving simulator as long as they could. The simulator consisted of a steering wheel, gas pedal, and brake attached to a laptop computer. Measurements taken from the simulator included velocity, steering wheel movement, braking, and crash occurence. People in the study drove for an average of three to four hours.

Results

• Seizures lasted an average of 75 seconds in those who crashed.
• Seizures lasted an average of 30 seconds in those who did not crash.
• All people in the study experienced a seizure and seven of those seizures resulted in a crash.

Recommendations

More research is needed to fully understand the safety implications and appropriate limits on driving for a person with seizures. "It's going to take a lot more data to come up with a reliable way of predicting which people with epilepsy should drive and which should not," said Dr. Blumenthal. "We want to unearth more detail to learn if there are people with epilepsy who are driving who shouldn't be, as well those who aren't driving who can safely drive."

People living with epilepsy should continue to monitor their seizure activity and talk with their health care team about their ability to safely drive. The Epilepsy Foundation My Seizure Diary is one method to conveniently track seizure frequency.

Learn more about Driving and Transportation while living with epilepsy.