Talk:Epilepsy and driving

Source?
In the New York section it states that "those who have been seizure-free for a year without medication need not report the condition" - where is the source for this? The DMV asks whether you have experienced any loss of consciousness/seizure, not whether you have had the experience in the past year. 69.120.2.107 (talk) 19:48, 28 May 2011 (UTC)


 * The Epilepsy Foundation of America lists the laws for each US state . Tatterfly (talk) 03:50, 29 May 2011 (UTC)

The authors abuse the mission statement of the Epilepsy Foundation of America by posting this with unauthorized claims to gain authority. Studies are not clearly documented when statistics are claimed, many reports on the bibliography are abused. For example the EFA's Mission Statement is listed with claims just to deliver some sort of authority. Some of the authors are afraid of an epileptic driving a motor vehicle but are unaware of a concept called variance. The effect of this article is that anyone with epilepsy becomes stereotyped because the authors, like the general public, are unaware that statistics are case-specific and incomparable; a source must be listed in the bibliography for every statistic and this is not the case. The inaccurate claims made within this article are simply mixed with other citations and the sources do not support the claims made by the authors. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.111.166.19 (talk) 18:33, 13 March 2015 (UTC)

Bias
The article is riddled with bias. It has the POV of those scared an uncontrolled "epileptic missile" will come hurtling down the highway bringing death and destruction to innocent drivers.

For example, in the section on driving in the USA, it is noted that only about 1/3 of the drivers comply with self-reporting requirements, the "leniency" of states relaxing laws is with the "hope" that sufferers will comply with the law, &c. No sources for any of it. Weasel words all.

I have a source: WebMD cites a John Hopkins and U of MD Baltimore study ( http://www.webmd.com/epilepsy/news/20040927/epilepsy-causes-few-fatal-car-accidents ) showing that in all fatal car crashes from 1995 to 1997, 44,000 drivers per year were killed each year. Of all of those deaths, 86 were a result of seizures. By contrast, take a guess at the number caused by alcohol and driving. Or heart attacks and strokes. One could argue that hamburgers are a greater danger, as high cholesterol is implicated in heart attacks and strokes.

The Epilepsy Foundation is noted in the article as vigorously fighting for those suffering from epilepsy. They note that the biggest fear of physicians is that stricter and more draconian measures will cause people to fail to report epilepsy and a host of other conditions. In point of fact (anecdotal evidence here, so it is not valid for a citation): I had to move to a different state, because the one I lived in imposed requirements to be examined by so many medical specialists every year, that I could afford to buy a new house every year rather than pay specialists.

While I am certain this helps make money for specialist physicians, does it actually make the public safer? It will certainly give a person cause to fail to report. Not because they are dangerous, but because they cannot afford it.

I am not sufficiently skilled in writing or editing articles on Wikipedia to actually tackle the problems with this article. It is shot-through from beginning to end with bias, most of it unsupported. It might be better scrapped and rewritten without an agenda.

James K. 71.50.19.103 71.50.19.103 (talk) 02:04, 24 July 2011 (UTC)

Remove or overhaul
This article is nothing but fear mongering. A little more than fear mongering, it justifies some stigma of common culture. I wonder where the claimed bioethical debate is held that ensures an epileptic drives car or fly's an aircraft. Washington? Joe Louis Arena? Perhaps the kitchen of the authors' parent! It does illustrate the error of common culture. It shows a weakness of Wikipedia, as long as the sources are reported, they don't have to match. They can be attached to say anything. That's unethical. Someone like me who just makes a comment really isn't doing anything good because it just motivates another idiot who is afraid of someone with epilepsy. It would be fun to see what they would report about race and ethnicity on Wikipedia if it existed in 1750. It is time for Wikipedia to take some responsibility and remove an article.
 * Even if you think the fear of people with epilepsy driving is irrational, it is still a good idea to have this article. People with epilepsy do have legal restrictions on their ability to drive in a lot of places. Andrea Carter (at your service &#124; my good deeds) 05:48, 24 September 2015 (UTC)

Rio de Janeiro accident
Can someone a little bit more tech savvy add that the Rio de Janeiro car plowing accident of January 18th was an epilepsy seizure related accident? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.193.27.21 (talk) 20:52, 19 January 2018 (UTC)

Washington
How do you get a physician to waive you from seizures before driving? Evope (talk) 23:48, 6 June 2018 (UTC)Evan Kalani Opedal