Driving with epilepsy

[moolag]

What happens if you are reported for driving with epilepsy? Specifically awareness seizures, where you don’t lose consciousness and don’t have a fit.

Has anyone been in this situation?

I can see online it says a fine, lose licence, prosecution. Has anyone (on here) actually been prosecuted for this?

I haven’t personally but essentially your license is revoked on medical grounds therefore treated like driving without a license.

You need to inform the DVLA of the seizures, and surrender your license. They will then carry out an investigation, and contact your doctor/ neurologist. This leads to a decision on your license.
There is a difference between surrendering the license and having it taken from you.
Not sure that answers your question. Sorry.

Please don’t drive, even with aware seizures… do the right thing, if not for other people’s sake.

you need to let dvla know but it doesn't mean you will loose your license. They will be talking to your doctor and if its controlled you will have medical restricted (?) driving license. you can still use it as usual licence but it need to be reviewed more often

This. You should be asking 'what happens if someone drives with epilepsy?'. They kill someone, potentially.

Driving witch uncontrolled epilepsy could lead to your death or the death of anyone else involved in the traffic accident caused by the seizure.

My daughter cannot drive because of a series of 'episodes' which started over Christmas.

Her appointment with a neurologist is at the end of January.

It's turned her world upside down.

You get fined, lose your licence for at least 5 years and maybe more and maybe for life. And maybe you kill someone, or a few people, get imprisoned for death by dangerous driving which probably a few years or more or maybe life in prison, and probably never driving again. It's annoying not being able to drive, but you learn to plan life round it, and the free bus pass helps.

It would also invalidate your insurance

This too so you'd need to be able to pay upfront for any damage you did to people and property in an accident that was your fault. (Certainly if the accident was caused by a seizure, probably even if it wasn't.)

Well, you’ll get prosecuted if you have an accident when driving when you know you shouldn’t. Hopefully if someone has reported you when you will get prosecuted. You could bloody kill someone!!!!

I work in a related area. One year no driving since last seizure, if no activity in 12 months you tell the DVLA and they usually reinstate. If you don't tell DVLA and you drive and are found, you will have your license removed for a significant period of time at minimum. That's your best case scenario. You could also be liable for legal action.

My BIL desperately wanted to drive but he has epilepsy and his autism meant he just couldn't accept it. He had grand mal seizures at the time. Granted, the seizures he has are very few and far between, but there's no way he can pull over safely and deal with it. Now his seizures appear to have changed to absence ones, ie it looks like he's just nodded off.

I read a clause somewhere years ago that if the seizures are occasional and you always have ample warning of them, like you can feel when one is coming, you might be cleared by the DVLA as long as you can prove that you can pull over safely, but it's very much case by case. A seizure is a loss of function and awareness, and even just for a split second the risk of death is enormous. I wouldn't risk it. Loss of independence is better than a mass casualty event.

@SardinesOnButteredToast do you know the rules if seizures only on awakening?

I have controlled epilepsy (last seizure 2021) in which I never lose consciousness, they’re focal aware seizures. I know I could pull a car over if I had one unexpectedly (and they’re never unexpected.) But when I had my last lot of seizures in 2021 I surrendered my licence to the DVLA for a year. The implications of not doing are too serious. Also if you surrender voluntarily you can start driving again after a year even before you get your physical licence back as long as you and your doctor agree it’s safe. That’s very helpful when the DVLA are so rubbish at getting licences back to people

I would be very careful about insurance. I have a vertigo condition and was legally required to notify insurance co as well as DVLA. Ins said I could drive as long as no one medical told me not to. Unfortunately balance clinic told me not to drive before DVLA had cleared me. It took months to get to talk to the consultant, who told DVLA I was ok to drive and wrote a to whom it may concern letter I could use for insurance co if ever needed.
Long story short, it was insurance requirements that stopped me driving not DVLA.
Only irritation was how long it took me to get to see consultant. Completely understood why insurance wouldn't cover me in the meantime.

I had seizures in 2018, 11 of them. I was awake and having a fit. I lost my licence for a year. The medication worked and after a year I got my licence back.

Thanks all.

Not that this makes any difference, but I haven’t had an awareness seizure in 6 months. I wouldn’t kill anyone as the seizures don’t overpower me. I know In the morning if I’m going to have one that day and I get an ‘aura’ while it’s happening and could absolutely pull over etc.

Appreciate that doesn’t make it any better, but it’s absolutely not the same as losing consciousness and having a Grande Mal seizure and fitting.

I will get in touch with DVLA and hopefully they can sort my license etc and I can have it back in 6 months time.

Someone mentioned it turned their Daughters life upside down and it’s so true. I was seizure free for 5 years before getting pregnant and it triggered them again. They are now controlled again, but I will get in touch with DVLA. Thanks

Hi, I have primary generalised epilepsy. I have been controlled for a long time but due to specific triggers the risk of driving isn’t worth it.

I appreciate that when you were pregnant you had more seizures but loads of things from illness to fatigue can lower your threshold.

I gather by ‘overpower’ you mean that you don’t loose consciousness. You know what is happening around you when the seizure occurs but you can’t prevent the onset, or, more importantly what happens to you while you are aware.

You don’t actually mention what happens when you are ‘aware’.

Focal awareness seizures (FAS) can occur on their own or are sometimes called ‘warnings’ or ‘auras’ because, for some people, a FAS can develop into another type of seizure, (I get this prior to my TCs, and couldn’t drive with the visual aware seizures that occur before my TCs, no chance!)

Some focal aware seizures involve movements, motor symptoms, and some involve unusual feelings or sensations non-motor symptoms.

Any one of them could put you off mirror, signal, manoeuvre long enough to put yourself or someone else at risk.

Here are the facts on driving from Epilepsy Action:

https://www.epilepsy.org.uk/living/driving/driving-rules-for-epilepsy

Epilepsy Society have a more detailed section on awake seizures and the criteria that needs to be met.

https://epilepsysociety.org.uk/living-epilepsy/driving-and-epilepsy

Good luck getting your license back.

You have to inform DVLA as its notifiable. I had brain surgery and lost my licence for a year, as I was at risk, even tho I didn't have a seizure. Read up on Section 22 of RTA!

I stopped driving (sold my car) when I got my diagnosis but didn’t surrender my licence until about a year later as it was useful for ID.

It’s much harder to get your licence back if it’s revoked rather than if you surrender.

All awareness seizures are ‘seizures’ - you mean a tonic-clonic when you say ‘fit’ - but the license applies to any type.

You could kill someone, basically.

Mine went from a momentary ‘aura’ when I could’ve stopped the car, to longer ‘auras’ with loss of consciousness and vomiting. I also had a recent episode where I blacked out and had no warning/memory of what happened.

A family member had a one off (bad) seizure and had to stop driving for at least 6 months. A single seizure becomes classed as epilepsy if you have another seizure within a certain timeframe. The relative decided to take medication for life to reduce the chances of a reoccurrence. Nothing has happened since and they have returned to driving. Stopping driving is not monitored by the DVLA or any other agency. It is a huge weakness in the system. However any responsible and reasonable person would stop driving straightaway as the consequences could be devastating.