Self-driving cars a sign of hope for people with epilepsy

By SONJA KROHN

LANSING – While the expansion of self-driving technology triggers skepticism in some people, advocates for people with epilepsy see them as a sign of hope.

As autonomous vehicles are being deployed and tested across the country, the launch of two pilot projects in recent months brought more of them onto Michigan’s roads.

General Motors began testing its self-driving technology on Michigan highways in March, after Waymo expanded its autonomous ride-hailing service to Detroit in late 2025.

The president of the Epilepsy Foundation of Michigan, Andrea Schotthoefer, said such developments “represent a meaningful step forward in expanding independence, safety and quality of life for people living with epilepsy.”

That is because those who have seizures are often prohibited or restricted from operating vehicles, as states require them to be seizure-free for a certain period of time.

Under Michigan law, the driver’s license of individuals who experience a seizure is suspended for at least six months, until they show they’ve controlled their symptoms through medication or have been seizure-free during that period.

The president of the Small Business Association of Michigan, Brian Calley, said he has a 19-year old daughter with autism and epilepsy. She had her first seizure when she was 13.

“She has medically resistant epilepsy, so it means that medications help reduce seizures but they don’t eliminate them in her case – at least not that we’ve been able to achieve yet,” he said.

“So that means that realistically driving is out of reach until total seizure control is established,” he added.

Looking at self-driving cars, he’s noticed the debate around automation and self-driving cars, saying people are “adjusting to the vehicles doing more of the thinking for them when they’re on the road.”

While most people don’t necessarily think of features like lane correction, backup cameras or blind spot indicators as automated driving, Calley said they are all steps toward it.

“Sooner or later, we will get to a point where humans play a relatively small role in steering vehicles. And people feel a certain kind of way about that,” he said. 

While some are looking forward to it, others can’t imagine it.

“But for a person who cares for and loves a child with a disability that provides a major impediment to being mobile, this holds promise and hope for access to the world – just being involved and able to do things out in the world without being completely dependent on parents or somebody else in order to do that,” Calley said.

“Living a truly independent and self-determined life is difficult if you rely on somebody else’s schedule for your own transportation,” he added.

Schotthoefer said, “The impact on daily life can be significant” because losing the ability to drive can affect employment, access to health care, education and the ability to maintain social connections.

“In areas with limited public transportation, this can create additional hardship and isolation,” she said.

There can also be emotional and financial challenges. Schotthoefer said, individuals may experience stress, anxiety and loss of independence as they need to rely on others or pay for alternative transportation.

“While many people with epilepsy are able to drive safely under the right conditions, these challenges highlight the importance of balanced policies, access to care and continued efforts to expand safe and accessible transportation options,” she said.

There are currently two proposals pending in the Legislature.

A bill sponsored by Sen. Kevin Hertel, D-St. Clair Shores, would continue to impose license suspensions of at least six months for non-commercial drivers. But it would add a requirement for physicians to report a patient’s seizure activity to the Secretary of State.

While physicians currently may voluntarily report patients with seizures to the Secretary of State to assess their driving safety, that legislation seeks to make it mandatory.

According to Hertel, Motor Carrier Officer Daniel Kerstetter “was conducting a traffic stop on the freeway when he was struck by an individual with a history of seizures who should not have been driving” in 2024.

“Following this tragedy, I began working with his widow, Katie, to introduce legislation to ensure that we’re doing everything we can at the state level to prevent something like this from happening again,” he said in a newsletter.

Together with its national partner, the Epilepsy Foundation of Michigan testified against the legislation.

“Mandates can strain the doctor-patient relationship, potentially discouraging individuals from seeking care or disclosing seizure occurrences,” it said in a letter to the Senate Health Policy Committee, where the bill currently sits.

Instead, the foundation supports legislation passed in the House that would keep reporting voluntary but allow for shorter driver’s license suspension periods of an individual who had a seizure.

Bills sponsored by Reps. Curtis VanderWall, R-Ludington, and Nancy DeBoer, R-Holland, would allow the Secretary of State to suspend a person’s license for three months or less if the individual submits a statement from a physician within 30 days after a seizure that declares that the condition has been controlled.

It would also provide options to further reduce or waive that suspension period under certain circumstances. For instance, if it was a partial seizure that did not interfere with the individual’s consciousness or ability to drive.

Schotthoefer said, “The bills aim to balance the need to protect public and individual safety, while promoting independence of certain people with epilepsy and seizures.”

“Driving eligibility decisions should be based on a person’s unique medical history, seizure control and input from the treating health care practitioner on pertinent medical facts – not on rigid, one-size-fits-all restrictions,” she added.

Both proposals are pending in the Senate Health Policy Committee.

Calley said, “Regardless of what happens with self-driving cars, the House package is important” because the suspension is unnecessarily long under the current law. 

In cases where the epilepsy is controlled by medication, he said there can be some finite circumstances that lead to a seizure that are fully understood as to why they are happening.

For example, when individuals catch a virus and can’t absorb their seizure medicine because of vomiting. 

Instead of having to wait six months to prove that the seizures have been controlled, “you can prove it easily in three months,” he said.

Self-driving cars, Calley said, will become more important for people like his daughter who have medically resistant epilepsy.

“I hope someday that science will figure out how to make her seizure-free, but in the meantime, her best shot at mobility that doesn’t require molding to somebody else’s schedule are self-driving vehicles – and what an awesome development that would be for her and others like her,” he said.

Source: https://news.jrn.msu.edu/2026/04/self-driving-cars-a-sign-of-hope-for-people-with-epilepsy/