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Driving and Epilepsy

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Motorway driving 

This information applies to people in the UK only. If you live outside the UK, then more information about epilepsy and employment where you are will be available from your local epilepsy organisation.

As many people with epilepsy are seizure free, they may well hold a driving licence. The current driving regulations state that a person can apply for a driving licence when they have been completely free of seizures for one year or have had a pattern of sleep seizures only for three years.

When you are advertising a vacancy where travel is needed, to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act, you cannot stipulate ‘driving licence essential’ unless there is no other way the job could be done. For example, if someone with epilepsy may occasionally have to travel to different locations for their work, as a ‘reasonable adjustment’ they could use public transport or taxis.

Common sense is needed though, because if the vacancy was for a taxi driver or bus driver, then that clearly could not be done by a person without a driving licence, so of course you could state that a driving licence is ‘essential’ without being in breach of the Disability Discrimination Act.

As an example of reasonable adjustment, we have heard of district nurses who have developed epilepsy taking on work in the surgery rather than the community, social workers who have used public transport or taxis to reach their clients and a headmaster who worked 30 miles from home being provided with taxis to and from work through the Access to Work scheme. The Disability Employment Adviser at the Jobcentre Plus can advise you about this scheme.

See also

Last updated 2 May 2007

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We can provide references and information on the source material we use to write our epilepsy advice and information pages. Please contact our Epilepsy Helpline by email at helpline@epilepsy.org.uk.
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Comments

Wow........this has just happened to me for a second time! I worked as a Sales Rep, also in East Anglia, and suffered a Tonic Clonic seizure, despite being on Lamotrigine (2 x 50mg per day). When this happened in April 2008 I had very limited savings so paid a driver £200 per week to drive me 4 days per week.

Since then, and regaining my license, I have moved to Glasgow to cover the Scotland region and was nearly home on Thursday 10 December 2009 and the next thing I knew I was coming to in an ambulance, with my car outside on it's roof! The Police lady could not believe I was still alive!

I now feel indescribably low and have been in tears for most of the weekend. All of my family and friends live in Leicestershire and I've not mentioned this as my Mother has just gone away for a week so I couldn't spoil that for her! In my brain I'm now totally uncertain about my future; how to pay bills etc. Regrettably I am no longer in a position to pay for my own driver as buying this new place has cost a lot and I live on my own.

It is not practical to work from my office in Buxton and am desperate for some good advice from someone who has been through this and knows the extreme pressures this puts on you.

Submitted by Daniel Pinder on 13 December, 2009 - 15:58.