Neurológia pre prax 6/2021

Driving motor vehicles in patients with epilepsy

The article presents current information on assessing the medical fitness to drive motor vehicles in persons with epilepsy. There are two driving licence categories: Category 1 (Groups A, B, B+E, AM, and subgroups A1 and B1) and Category 2 (professional drivers in Groups A, B, B+E, AM, subgroups A1 and B1; as well as C, C+E, D, D+E and T, C1, C1+E, D1, and D1+E). In Category 1, driving can be allowed after 12 months of being seizure-free if the patient is taking antiepileptic drugs, or after 6 months of being seizure-free if there was an isolated seizure and no treatment with antiepileptic drugs was commenced. In Category 2, driving can be allowed 10 years after complete withdrawal of antiepileptic drugs provided the patient has remained seizure-free. After an isolated seizure following which treatment with antiepileptic drugs was not initiated, driving can be allowed in 5 years. There are exceptions to the above-mentioned rules which are included in the present article. Some more complex situations are illustrated using case reports. Finally, a summary table is presented.

Keywords: driving licence, epilepsy, driving licence category 1, driving licence category 2