Аннотация:
The article continues the review of medical criteria used in the world practice for admission of drivers (candidates for drivers) to drive vehicles on the example of Switzerland and United States of America. Previously, the journal "Narcology" published the articles on the criteria for admission of drivers in Germany, Spain, and Croatia. Unlike these countries, compulsory in most cases the only condition for the implementation of the specified tolerance in Switzerland and the United States is finding appropriate medical contraindications, indications and restrictions to control the vehicle detected by a ophthalmologist (certified optician). In addition, in the United States, a driver candidate (age 14 and older) is required to report physical disabilities or chronic illnesses to the state Department of transportation. If they are available, the responsibility for admission to the vehicle management of the driver candidate will be assigned to the doctor who has certified the appropriate form.
The first driver’s license in the United States is issued for a period of 4 years, followed by a period of up to 8 years. Federal law in the United States does not provide for the transfer of information from medical institutions to the police about the presence of medical contraindications, indications, and restrictions to the management of vehicles, including mental and behavioral disorders. It should be noted that the alcohol or drug dependence is not a contraindication to driving a vehicle. However, driving a vehicle while intoxicated is regarded in the United States as a very serious illegal act that entails various types of liability.
Regarding the procedure for obtaining a driver’s license for the first time in Switzerland, the following features should be noted: the possibility of obtaining the status of a candidate for a vehicle driver only at the age of 18 years and older; significant cost of driver training, which makes it possible to consider Swiss driver’s licenses the most expensive in the world and, in turn, leads to the fact that young drivers aged 18-24 years are less than 7% of the total number of drivers; there is no need to exchange rights from the moment they are obtained until the age of 70 (in the future, it is provided to pass a medical examination every 2 years); a multi-stage and long-term (at least 5 years) training system, in the course of which it is possible to send driver candidates for a "medical and psychological examination" in order to decide whether the latter should be granted the right to drive a vehicle.
Moreover, it is interesting to examine the following features of detecting driver intoxication and the passenger of the car liability in Switzerland: the absence of a list of signs of driver intoxication in regulations, which allows traffic police officers to conduct a study of the exhaled air for the alcohol content of any driver; the amount of the fine imposed on a driver found to be intoxicated depends on the level of their annual income; the passenger’s liability for the driver’s intoxication when the passenger is obliged to pay the same fine as the driver found to be intoxicated.
Ключевые слова:
traffic accident; traffic injuries; injury prevention; admission to driving; vehicle; driver; medical contraindications; medical restrictions; drug abuse, alcohol abuse; drivers intoxication; legal drugs; psychoactive substances; medicines.