Epilepsy and Driving

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Abstract
The risk of losing consciousness while driving a motor vehicle and the need to drive a car in today's society are opposing forces at play in determining the fitness and ability of people with epilepsy to drive. We must remember that until some 20 years ago, in Canada and in many other countries people with epilepsy were not allowed to drive. A movement by Canadian neurologists to establish guidelines which would enable people with controlled or remitted epilepsy to drive was headed by the late Dr. Francis McNaughton and by Dr. Guy Courtois. At present, legislation allowing people with controlled epilepsy to drive exists in every province or state of Canada and the United States and in many other countries. The International League Against Epilepsy, the professional society concerned with research, teaching and patient care, has a standing committee devoted to the problems of driving a motor vehicle. The Canadian League Against Epilepsy, the national branch of the International League, has carried the issues raised by driving and by the legislation governing it on the agenda of its annual meetings for the past several years. A committee headed by Dr. Guy Rémillard has compared pertinent laws and rules in different provinces with a view to establishing universally acceptable criteria and guidelines.