Drug abusers and those people – including foreigners – who suffer mental disorders or color blindness would likely be banned from driving vehicles in Vietnam for safety reasons. The Ministry of Health and some other agencies have said in a draft joint circular that those people along with some others must not be allowed to ride motorbikes or drive cars or trucks.  The draft document was announced by Le Tuan Dong, head of the rehabilitation and verification division under the ministry’s Medical Examination and Treatment Department on Tuesday.

Dong noted that the draft circular will also be applied to foreigners studying, working, and living in Vietnam if it gets passed.

The provisional fiat abolishes controversial requirements for drivers’ chest size, weight, strength, and height, Dong said.

The official cited the draft circular as reading that drivers must have their health checked against the following nine categories: psychiatrics, neurology, eyes, ears-nose-throat, musculoskeletal and joint systems, respiration, use of medication and psychotropic substances – including heroin, cocaine, morphine, ritalin, and amphetamine – alcohol, and other mental stimulants or hallucination-causing substances in order to be qualified for driving in Vietnam.

People using the said drugs, failing to recognize three basic colors – red, yellow, and green – and have at least one limb paralyzed are among those who do not meet health requirements for drivers, Dong said. The draft circular defines other unqualified drivers as those who have eye vision of 4/10, are hunchbacked, or suffer from backbone deformities, among other conditions.   People who are on medication that adversely affects the ability to control their senses are also not eligible for driving.  The document also stipulates that people having an alcohol level ranging from 0.25mg to 0.40mg per liter of breath, or 50-80mg per 100ml of blood are forbidden from driving vehicles.   Many drivers are using unreliable certificates of health that have been arbitrarily issued by a number of health centers, Dong warned. 

Others have even bought fake health certificates sold outside health facilities, he added.

Such a situation must be rectified to improve traffic safety and alleviate the road accidents caused by unqualified drivers, including those who drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol, the official insisted.

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