Proposal to not require alcohol testing during driver's health check

This afternoon, October 2, the Ministry of Health held a meeting to collect opinions from management agencies, professional agencies, and hospital representatives on the draft circular regulating health standards, health examinations for drivers and specialized motorbike operators; periodic health examinations for car drivers; and building a database on the health of drivers and specialized motorbike operators (hereinafter referred to as the draft circular).

The draft proposes that doctors will order alcohol tests when examining drivers' health in specific situations.

This Circular is issued by the Ministry of Health, replacing the Joint Circular regulating driver health issued by the Ministry of Health - Ministry of Transport in 2015 regulating driver health.

At the meeting, Mr. Vuong Anh Duong, Deputy Director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management, Ministry of Health, said that the draft circular was developed by the Ministry of Health based on the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety 2024.

Clause 2, Article 59 of this law stipulates: Drivers of vehicles participating in road traffic must ensure health conditions appropriate to each type of vehicle they are allowed to drive.

The Minister of Health shall prescribe health standards for drivers, health examinations for drivers and operators of specialized motorbikes; periodic health examinations for car drivers; and establishment of a database on the health of drivers and operators of specialized motorbikes. The Ministry of Health shall issue a circular before October 15, 2024.

According to Mr. Duong, this circular applies to drivers; specialized motorbike operators; employers of car drivers; medical examination and treatment facilities that conduct health examinations for drivers, specialized motorbike operators and related organizations and individuals.

The consensus is that drivers are responsible for providing complete and honest information about their health status.

Compared to the previous draft, the new draft retains the drug test content in the health examination form; proposes that doctors be the designated person to test alcohol concentration for drivers, depending on the specific situation. These contents also received high consensus from experts during the commenting process.

Regarding the proposal to require drug testing during driver health checkups, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Cong, Traffic Police Department, Ministry of Public Security, said that drug testing is very necessary for drivers. This is also one of the important factors to ensure that drivers are healthy enough to drive when participating in traffic.

There is no change in the health and physical strength of Vietnamese people.

According to Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan, the draft circular was developed with most of the standards inherited from Joint Circular No. 24/2015 of the Ministry of Health - Ministry of Transport issued in 2015, regulating health standards for drivers, as well as periodic health examinations for car drivers and regulations on medical facilities for health examinations for drivers.

"Since 2015, the health and physical strength of Vietnamese people have not changed much, so the standards and criteria related to drivers' health proposed in this circular are basically kept the same," said Mr. Thuan.

This draft circular changes the way health standards are grouped according to driving license categories to comply with new regulations in the Law on Traffic Order and Safety. At the same time, it adds regulations on connecting and sharing health examination data of drivers and specialized motorbike operators.

Regarding the responsibilities of drivers and operators of specialized motorbikes, the draft circular stipulates that drivers and operators of specialized motorbikes are responsible for providing complete and honest information about their health status and medical history and are legally responsible for the information provided during health examinations.

According to the draft, drivers need to proactively re-examine their health after treatment, after an accident, or after a work accident that affects their driving ability.

At the same time, drivers must comply with the request for periodic or unscheduled health check-ups from employers or state health management agencies or competent state agencies...

Also at the meeting, a representative of the Ministry of Health affirmed that currently, cases of changing driver's licenses still need to be examined and issued a health certificate.

According to the draft circular, health standards for drivers and specialized motorbike operators are divided into 3 groups of standards, specifically:

Group 1: Applicable to A1, B1 driving licenses, specialized motorbike drivers.

Group 2: Applicable to class A, B driving licenses.

Group 3: Applicable to driving licenses of class C1, C, D1, D2, D, BE, C1E, CE, D1E, D2E, DE.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/de-xuat-khong-bat-buoc-xet-nghiem-nong-do-con-khi-kham-suc-khoe-nguoi-lai-xe-18524100219263128.htm