• Counseling patients with NEE is challenging given the paucity of information about the NEE driving population. This ultimately leaves providers to make recommendations on an individual basis with minimal guidance.

Nearly half of patients admitted to the EMU were diagnosed with NEE (n=75/163). Although the NEE group had a statistically significant higher frequency of events (p=0.01), 87.7% of these patients reported compliance with the driving law recommendations, suggesting a trend that patients who were counseled regarding fitness-to-drive are likely to follow the recommendation. One-third of patients with NEE reported an event while operating a motor vehicle and 8% resulted in a motor vehicle collision severe enough to require hospitalization. However, 25% of patients with ES reported a typical event while driving, and 25% of those resulted in a collision requiring hospitalization. The incidence of habitual events while driving was higher in the NEE population (n=25) compared to those with ES (n=8). In contrast, patients with NEE were less likely to become involved in an accident resulting in seriously bodily injury.

Compared to patients with NEE, patients with ES had less frequent episodes, but more severe vehicle collisions requiring hospitalization. This study reinforces the need for diligent driving counseling to help prevent driving-related injuries in patients with NEE and ES.