If you have a disease of the nervous system, it could be extremely dangerous for you in regards to your driving. Individuals who suffer from epileptic seizures can suddenly lose all consciousness and control of their body at the onset of one of the episodes. This can place the individual driving at risk for a crash. According to the National Traffic Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) epilepsy is one of the only medical conditions that has driving restrictions enforced worldwide. This disease is unpredictable, and can result in seizures at the most impractical times.

One study shows that about 1 out of every 10,000 crashes is caused by epilepsy, and another state shows that about 4.3 per 1,000 crashes per year are the result of an epileptic seizure. A self-report shows that about 17% of surveyed epileptic patients say that they have experienced a seizure while driving in the past and about 52% of these say that they were involved in a crash as a result of their seizure. Another report by a doctor claims that 25% of his epilepsy patients had one or more crashes die to seizures while driving.

Some factors make an epilepsy patient more prone to seizures while driving. For example, a driver's age will affect his or her potential for a seizure while in the car. A study by Hansotia and Broste shows that age is a strong risk factor when it comes to crashes. Many would assume that older individuals would experience more seizures, but studies actually show that those that are under the age of 25 have 3.3 times the amount of seizure-based crashes than all other epileptic drivers combined.

Also, marital status can affect epileptic seizure probability. Those who are married have a one-third to one-half risk of crashes as compared to unmarried drivers. Those that receive treatment for their epilepsy have a decreased probability for a crash. About nine percent of all Americans will have at least one seizure during their lifetime for one cause or another. The risk of convulsive seizure recurrence in a person who has already suffered a seizure is between 23 and 84%. The recurring rate of seizures in adults is set at 43%. Many times the risk of recurrence has to do with whether or not the seizure was focal in origin or if the seizure was associated with chronic diffuse brain dysfunction.

Individuals with a positive family history of epilepsy will also have an increased risk of seizure recurrence. At one time in the past, there were laws which barred epileptic drivers from carrying a driver's license because of the unpredictability of their condition. Regulations have become less restrictive in many countries lately. Now, in many countries epileptic patients that have been crash-free or seizure-free for a certain amount of time can sometimes obtain driver's licenses.

In the United States, most states have restrictions against driving for individuals with epilepsy. Also, many individuals that carry a license and were then diagnosed with epilepsy will need to prove that they were seizure-free for a set amount of time in order to renew their licenses. Seizure-free requirements among the states range from three months to two years. Most often states require a one-year seizures-free period.

The NHTSA says that epilepsy brings on another concern about the medications that these patients typically have to take. Most often, individuals are required to take medications that can facilitate the possibility of a drug-related car crash. While these drugs may reduce the possibility of a seizure while in the car, they can have other cognitive effects that can result in serious accidents. That is why it is illegal for individuals to drive with strong prescription drugs in their system. If you were involved in an accident where epilepsy was a factor, contact a car accident attorney at our firm today for more information!