Neurology

AAN releases updated position statement on seizures and driving

April 1, 2025

The American Academy of Neurology, the American Epilepsy Society, and the Epilepsy Foundation of America have updated their position statement on seizures, driver licensure, and medical reporting, revising their recommendations from 1994 and 2007. The updated statement provides a comprehensive framework for managing driving privileges in individuals with epilepsy, balancing public safety with the rights of patients.

Key recommendations:

• National driving standards: National standards should be implemented through a system such as the Uniform Law Commission to reduce confusion. State licensing criteria should be based on regulations and guidelines from medical advisory boards and motor vehicle departments, rather than statutes.
• Seizure-free interval: Typically, a minimum seizure-free interval of three months should be required before resuming driving, based on a review of favorable and unfavorable features. This interval can be extended by medical advisory boards in individual cases.
• Provoked seizures: Individuals with exclusively provoked seizures, attributable to factors unlikely to recur, may not need a seizure-free interval before resuming driving.
• Medication changes: Driving should be paused during the tapering and discontinuation of an antiseizure medication if another such medication is not introduced.
• Medical reporting: Health care practitioners should be allowed, but not mandated, to report drivers who pose an elevated risk.

Source:

Tolchin B, et al; Ethics, Law, and Humanities Committee, (a joint committee of the American Academy of Neurology [AAN], American Neurological Association [ANA], and Child Neurology Society [CNS]); and for the American Epilepsy Society and the Epilepsy Foundation of America. (2025, April 8). Neurology. Seizures, Driver Licensure, and Medical Reporting Update: An AAN Position Statement. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40073306/