The Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation called the new rules for a medical examination of drivers initiated by the Ministry of Health a mistake.

“Apparently, the Ministry of Health <...> made a mistake that will be corrected,” RIA Novosti quoted the deputy head of the Prosecutor General, Alexander Buksman.

According to him, the real problem is that under the current legislation, physicians are not allowed to transmit data to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate about persons registered as drug addicts or alcoholics. Subsequently, such citizens often receive a driver's license.

“We informed <...> the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the government of the Russian Federation in order to solve this problem comprehensively once and for all,” Buksman said.

Recall that earlier the Ministry of Health decided to postpone the planned entry into force on November 22 of the updated rules for medical examination of drivers. The new regulation ordered an increase in research by checking urine for 11 types of drugs and donating blood for the presence of the CDT enzyme, a marker of chronic alcohol abuse.

Conducting additional tests would increase the cost of a medical certificate for drivers, as a result of which large lines were formed in dispensaries across the country on the eve of the new rules coming into force.

As an example, RIA Novosti cited the situation in the Yaroslavl region, where on November 21 people took the line from the night to manage to get a certificate at the previous price of 350 rubles. According to the agency, after the changes come into force, the document can go up to 4800 rubles.

According to documents published by the department, now the order should enter into force on July 1, 2020. The press service of the ministry said that this decision was connected with the concern of citizens.

“An additional analysis of the methods used for the survey will be carried out in order to ensure their effectiveness with adequate pricing in the regions,” the Ministry of Health emphasized.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave his assessment of the innovations of the Ministry of Health. He called the new rules "bullshit," pointing to the high cost of supplemented medical help. The head of state said that he learned about the upcoming changes from the media.

“We have a minimum wage - the minimum wage - 11,280 rubles, 3 million 200 thousand people get such a salary. Moreover, employers often, unfortunately, break the law and pay less ... Five thousand if you need to pay for this certificate - do you need to give half the salary to a person? And go through all instances, coordinate everything. The Ministry of Labor should at least have to see what it is, ”Putin said.

He added that additional research related to the use of narcotic drugs should be carried out, but such changes should be carried out “wisely”.

Discussion in the State Duma

The State Duma Expert Council on Health intends in early December to discuss the procedure for obtaining medical certificates for drivers, approved by the Ministry of Health.

"There are too many nuances, and while the order is withdrawn, we need to carefully work out all these issues," RIA Novosti quoted the committee as prohibiting the Leonid Ogul. According to him, relevant issues will be discussed at an extraordinary expert council.

The parliamentarian noted that the issue of issuing a driver's license to alcoholics and drug addicts should be raised, but before that, careful study of related initiatives is required.

“Such decisions, which concern the vast majority of the country's inhabitants, in my opinion, need to be introduced only after careful study with the expert community and in an active dialogue with the public,” the parliamentarian said. He also pointed out the importance of such a parameter as pricing.

“The proposed cost of additional tests, in my opinion, is prohibitively high for most of our citizens,” Ogul stated. He also drew attention to the fact that many experts do not consider the marker of CDT level an absolute indicator of alcoholism.

In addition, the parliamentarian pointed out the importance of working out the legal consequences for people in whose blood illegal substances are discovered, and also mentioned the need to conduct a corruption analysis of the procedures proposed by the Ministry of Health.