The Effect of Epilepsy or Diabetes Mellitus on the Risk of Automobile Accidents

EVER since automobiles were introduced to the public in the late 1800s, some medical conditions have been recognized as posing risks of driving accidents. Conditions such as epilepsy and diabetes mellitus that can impair consciousness or cause loss of body control have been of special interest to those concerned with traffic safety. By 1940, medical advances such as the discoveries of electroencephalography and of new antiepileptic drugs such as phenytoin had demonstrated that epilepsy could often be controlled. In the case of diabetes, insulin and other medications used to control the disease may actually increase the risk of traffic accidents, . . .