A driver using drugs
The move follows a positive pilot use of the device in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak.
Vehicle owner to be held accountable
Under the current laws and regulations, drivers are banned from using stimulants including alcohol and drugs. However, traffic police are currently only capable of checking blood alcohol levels. They find it difficult to deal with drivers using drug as the process needs the involvement of medical agencies that help conduct urine and blood tests.
“When traffic police are provided with drug testing devices, it would be easier to detect suspected drug-using drivers,” an official from the department said.
Nguyen Manh Hung, Chairman of Vietnam Automobile Transport Association, said the Ministry of Transport’s draft decree on administrative punishment over violations of traffic safety rules has yet to address the responsibility of vehicle owner in cases where their driver is found committing violations.
“Vehicle owner should be fined if they hand over substandard vehicles to drivers, or force drivers to work over 10 hours per day or work for four consecutive hours or their drivers are found using drugs,” Hung noted.
According to him, the current regulations stipulate that drivers must take health check-ups once every six months. This means that the Ministry of Health should be held accountable when a driver uses drug but still has a certificate of good health.
Nguyen Hoang Hiep, Vice Chairman of the National Committee for Traffic Safety, said traffic police would intensify monitoring alcohol levels, compliance to the speed limit as well as the installation of monitoring devices on passenger vehicles this year.
“Monitoring devices on board must provide information and images to define how many times the doors are opened during a journey, the hours the driver has worked and the schedule of the journey,” Hiep said.
Traffic police to monitor drug use among passenger vehicle drivers
Regular inspection
Luong Hoang Trung, Vice Chairman of the HCM City Association of Goods Transport said that the monitoring of drug use among drivers should be included in legal documents as the uncontrolled application of the policy could affect drivers’ job and transport firms’ business as well as trouble passengers.
Trung suggested including monitoring drug use as part of regular health checks at transport firms. However, attention should be focused on sorting qualified drivers right from recruitment.
Nguyen Ngoc Tuong, Deputy Head of the HCM City Committee of Traffic Safety, said that the setup of an interdisciplinary working group to monitor drug use was of great significance.
“In order to minimise traffic accidents, driver's self-awareness is not enough as it requires transport firms to regularly supervise their drivers and strictly deal with those who use drugs, especially among drivers on long routes.” Tuong emphasised.