Driving and Narcolepsy: Should People With Narcolepsy Get Behind the Wheel?

Written by Allyson Edwards with contributions by Kevin Morton

Dozing off while driving is no small thing. Sleep-related accidents have killed thousands of individuals and are a serious concern to the well-being of our society. And this is exactly the reason why the Drowsiness Is Red Alert mantra is so important to remember.

But the reason drowsiness is red alert works is that people can typically feel their drowsiness coming on. They can then heed the warning signs. But what happens when there are no warning signs? What happens when you have narcolepsy? (What is narcolepsy, you ask? Find out.)

The hallmark symptom of narcolepsy is the cataplectic attack, where sudden bursts of REM sleep (and thus the near-total-body paralysis that comes with it) intrude on the waking state. To put it simply, a narcoleptic patient could go from standing up, talking with friends to suddenly on the floor paralyzed, completely unable to move in REM sleep, in a matter of seconds. (See what a cataplectic attack looks like.)

Of course, some narcoleptics experience cataplectic attacks in various degrees of severity, so in mild cases the individual may just feel very weak at the knees as the muscle atonia mechanism begins to kick in.

Clearly the dangers of driving depend to a large degree on the severity of the symptoms, but as stated above, if the ability to stay alert could be threatened, action must be taken before it is too late.

In addition, excessive daytime sleepiness is also a very common symptom of narcolepsy. The combination of cataplectic attacks and excessive drowsiness really makes driving with narcolepsy a risky endeavor if the narcolepsy symptoms are not under control with the appropriate treatments.

Learn more about the symptoms of narcolepsy.

To conxtextualize things, let's imagine a hypothetical scenario:

Driving with narcolepsy is extremely dangerous if your symptoms are not under control. Putting yourself in a situation where you run the risk of falling asleep at the wheel is, as Dr. Dement is bold enough to say, is even more hazardous than operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, and the numbers back this up.

According to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), approximately 100,000 motor vehicle crashes per year, as reported by authorities, involve sleepiness of the driver as the primary factor. Of these 100,000 sleep-related car accidents, approximately 71,000 involve serious injury and 1,500 result in one or more fatalities.

We absolutely cannot trust our well being or the well-being of others to the possibility of losing control on the road due to a sleep disorder. If you have narcolepsy and your symptoms are not under complete control, you must do something to prevent yourself from adding to those above statistics. If your alertness is threatened, stay off the road.

Spread the message. There is a chance that your neighbor, friend, cousin, waiter, landlord, professor, or baseball coach has narcolepsy and is risking their life every time they turn that key and fire up that ignition. Driving and narcolepsy: TOGETHER, THEY COULD KILL YOU.

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Even if you don't have narcolepsy, this advice is still very applicable. Know what you're risking when you choose to drive while feeling sleepy. Death is not worth it, so always remember that on the road, Drowsiness Is Red Alert!

What's Your Take On Driving With Narcolepsy?

For the 250,000 Americans and many others around the globe affected by narcolepsy, the issue of driving is an important one. What do you think about driving and narcolepsy?

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Read Other Driving and Narcolepsy Thoughts

Click on the links below to read the thoughts of others with regards to narcolepsy and driving. They were all written by other visitors to this page, just like you.