In Vietnam today, along with policies on ensuring access conditions for persons with disabilities participating in traffic, policies regulating conditions for training and examination to issue road motor driving licenses for persons with disabilities have also been issued, to facilitate maximum freedom of movement of persons with disabilities in accordance with the CRPD Convention and Vietnamese law. However, participating in driver training and taking the test to obtain a motorized driver's license of persons with disabilities still faces many difficulties and inadequacies, requiring the search for many suitable solutions.
Some generalities about the legal framework in training, examination, issuance of motor driving licenses related to persons with disabilities
Road motor vehicles, referred to as motor vehicles for short, include cars; tractors; trailers or semi-trailers towed by cars, tractors; two-wheeled motorcycles; tricycles; motorcycles (including electric motorcycles) and similar vehicles[1].
Regarding legal policies, currently besides "mainstream" documents such as the Road Traffic Law 2008 (amended and supplemented 2019); Decree No. 65/2016/ND-CP [2],circular No. 12/2017/TT-BGTVT of the Ministry of Transport (TRANSPORT) plays a very important role. This is a document detailing the regime of training, examination, issuance of motor driving licenses for citizens, including persons with disabilities. Accordingly, this Circular provides for details of the regulation, the order of procedures for participating in training and taking the examination to be granted a motor vehicle license for vehicles such as A1 (including three-wheeled motorcycles for persons with disabilities), B1 automatic number cars; etc. [3] For the community of persons with disabilities, the introduction of Circular 12/2017/TT-BGTVT and a number of other relevant documents [4] has provided a necessary and effective legal basis for affirming their equal opportunities with non-disabled persons in participating in motor vehicle license training and examination, create mechanisms to ensure the legitimate rights and interests of persons with disabilities in traffic participation, while helping to gradually limit the situation that the majority of persons with disabilities participate in traffic by personal motor vehicles lacking driver's licenses and using unregistered converted vehicles. [5]
In addition, in order to ensure the necessary conditions on traffic safety, the Joint Circular No. 24/2015/TTLT-BGTVT-BYT between the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Health also clearly stipulates that some subjects are not eligible for health to drive in the respective classes. [6]
In general, in terms of policy, up to now, the legal framework regulating policies on training, examination and issuance of motor vehicle licenses in general and for persons with disabilities in particular in our country is considered to have been formed basically.
Difficulties and inadequacies in policy implementation practices and the main causes
Currently, the number of persons with disabilities granted a motor vehicle license is very small, the number of persons with disabilities using motor vehicles, especially homemade tricycles that do not meet the registration requirements is still quite significant in large cities.
For example, after 06 months of promulgation of Circular No. 12/2017/TT-BGTVT, only 01 person has been granted an automatic B1 driver's license. The situation in the Hanoi area is similar[7].
In order to ensure traffic safety, by Resolution 05/2008/NQ-CP, the Government has taken the policy of "tightening" the licensing of three-wheeled motor vehicles in the inner city, inner city, and national highways, except for war invalid vehicles and for persons with disabilities. Homemade vehicles for this object are only allowed to circulate until December 31, 2008. However, the demand for motorbikes and tricycles of persons with disabilities is not small, so a small number still use self-driving cars, do not meet the registration techniques and of course these people also do not have a driver's license. [8]
What is the main cause?
Firstly, the propagation of the Road Traffic Law and the documents detailing the implementation of the Law (especially updating new policies) are generally still limited. This has led to many persons with disabilities lacking up-to-date legal information and simple notions of using private vehicles in traffic.
Secondly, the regulations on the renovation of motor vehicles related to persons with disabilities are still inadequate. Specifically: Circular No. 85/2014/TT-BGTVT on the renovation of road motor vehicles (automobiles) lacks specific regulations, specific to the renovation of motor vehicles for drivers with disabilities[9].
Third, the cost of investing in infrastructure, vehicles and human resources dedicated to training for drivers with disabilities is quite a significant challenge for the vast majority of driver training centers.
In fact, the disability status of learners is very diverse, it is impossible to share the same model. For example, for someone who loses his right leg with an automatic number car, the brakes and throttle is on the right, so if the right leg is lost, the driver is forced to use the left foot which may not be favorable during the driving process. Therefore, in order to train persons with disabilities, they must buy their own vehicles or convert some functions and technical parts of the vehicle and must go through the technical registration to be given training. In addition, the majority of training institutions almost lack specialized teachers to train drivers for persons with disabilities; lack of specific yard conditions for persons with disabilities to learn to drive... In short, the cost is huge, in the condition that few learners will lead to inefficiencies. Therefore, all driving training centers are not "salty" with the training of drivers who are disabled. [10]
What's the solution?
First, it is necessary to increase the scale and effectiveness of the dissemination and propagation of regulations on road traffic, especially newly issued documents. In particular, attention should be paid to propagating persons with disabilities to increase the use of public transport and motorcycle vehicles to national technical standards[11].
Secondly, it is necessary to study and amend Circular 85/2014/TT-BGTVT in the direction of expanding the scope of motor vehicles (including tricycles for persons with disabilities); More clearly stipulate the specific criteria on motor vehicles (cars) related to drivers who are disabled.At the same time, it is necessary to study amendments and supplements to the Joint Circular No. 32/2007/TTLT-BCA-BGTVT in accordance with the conditions of new legal policies and current practices.
Thirdly, localities should encourage enterprises to train and test drivers to strengthen training linkage activities in the province and in the region (intercity) to link the use of specific yards; specialized motor vehicles training drivers who are disabled; Link using a team of instructors... to save costs, enhance the efficiency of training. In addition, it is also necessary to study and promulgate preferential tax policies for training and examination establishments to ensure the requirements for investment in yards and training methods... and there are a large number of persons with disabilities participating in training and examination to receive driver's licenses.
[1] Clause 18, Article 3 of the Road Traffic Law 2008 (amended and supplemented 2018).
[2] The Decree of the CP provides for conditions for driving training and driving test services, which are approved by ND 138/2018/ND-CP.
[3] Class A1 is issued for two-wheeled motorcyclist with a cylinder capacity of 50 cm3 to less than 175 cm3; Class A2 is issued to two-wheeled motorcyclist with a cylinder capacity of 175 cm3 or more and vehicles specified for class A1 driver's licenses; Class B1 is issued to non-practicing drivers driving cars carrying up to 9 seats; trucks and tractors with a tonnage of less than 3,500 kg (Article 59 of the Road Traffic Law)
[4] Circular No. 38/2919/TT-BGTVT amends a number of articles of Circular No. 12/2017/TT-BGTVT;
[5] See also: Persons with disabilities will receive driving training. Difficulty removing GPLX for persons with disabilities https://www.baogiaothong.vn/go-kho-cap-gplx-o-to-cho-nguoi-khuyet-tat-d216960.html
[6] Such as: a mental disorder or chronic mental disorder that does not control the behavior; Paraplegic movement of two limbs or more; amputation or loss of function 01 hand or 01 foot and one of the remaining legs or hands are incomplete (amputation or decrease in function); Vision that is far from the eyes / or one eye is less than 4/10 (including eye adjustment); hearing in the ears is less than 04 m (including hearing aids);...
[7] http://www.hanoimoi.com.vn/Tin-tuc/Xa-hoi/884966/nguoi-khuyet-tat-kho-hoc-lay-bang-lai-o-to; https://baomoi.com/rat-hiem-nguoi-khuyet-tat-dang-ky-thi-cap-bang-lai-xe/c/22457881.epi
[8] Example according to the report No. 512/BC-SGTVT dated July 14, 2019 of the Hanoi Department of Transport, there are only 30 licensed tricycles in the city, but there are 4367 cases of using self-built tricycles, including 99 persons with disabilities.
[9] Circular No. 85/2014/TT-BGTVT of the Ministry of Transport on the renovation of road motor vehicles.
[10] https://infonet.vn/cap-giay-phep-lai-xe-o-to-cho-nguoi-khuyet-tat-con-nhieu-kho-khan-post242619.info
[11] As circular No. 12/2017/TT-BGTVT; Circular No. 38/2919/TT-BGTVT; Joint Circular No. 24/2015/TTLT-BGTVT-BYT; TT 26/2019/TT-BGTVT;etc
