Rules on epilepsy in the third Driving License Directive

28.6.2017

Question for written answer E-004310-17
to the Commission
Rule 130
Ole Christensen (S&D)

Commission Directive 2009/113/EC of 25 August 2009 amending Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on driving licences (the third Driving License Directive) stipulates minimum requirements for truck drivers who have experienced epileptic seizures and want to acquire or recover the right to drive group 2 vehicles.

The directive provides that drivers must go without having any medicine or experiencing a seizure for a certain length of time before they can acquire or recover those rights. The requirement that drivers must not be following preventive treatment for seizures has led to a change in the previous Danish rules, and that change has resulted in drivers losing their driving rights and thus their livelihoods.

To our knowledge, there is no ban on preventive treatment in other Member States apart from Denmark, so a derogation from that requirement must be possible. Outlawing treatment seems distinctly counterproductive if the goal is to avoid drivers experiencing epileptic seizures.

In this context:

Is it possible for Member States to dispense with the requirement that drivers must not be on anti-epileptic drugs during seizure-free periods, taking health conditions into consideration?