"Torch" march: the Ministry of Health will force drivers to breathe deeper

Employees of drug dispensaries will be obliged to warn drivers in advance about the consequences of falsifying or imitating the process of medical examination for intoxication. And the time allotted to medics for the collection of tests will be increased. Corresponding amendments to the legislation have been prepared by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. How the rules of sobriety tests will change and what it threatens motorists, "Izvestia" found out.

Breathe in and out

The Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation has prepared a draft order changing the rules of medical examination for intoxication. The amendments clarify and specify the procedure for testing drivers for sobriety in drug dispensaries.

According to the draft order, it will be mandatory to obtain the voluntary consent of the person being examined for medical intervention. At the same time, the doctor or paramedic will be obliged to warn about what will be considered a refusal to conduct a medical examination.

"Refusal of medical examination is considered a refusal of examination by a specialist doctor (paramedic), including resistance (by action or inaction) to physical examination; refusal of any instrumental or laboratory tests, falsification of exhalation; falsification of a sample of biological object", - stated in the text of the document.

The draft order clarifies the peculiarities of the procedure of medical examination for intoxication, as well as the rules of making a conclusion on the state of intoxication in the case when the driver is unconscious after the accident.

In particular, from the current 20 minutes to 25 minutes increases the maximum time allotted to narcologists for the second analysis of exhaled air. Also, from 30 to 60 minutes, the period during which the driver must pass urine for examination is increased. If the motorist does not meet this hour, he will have to give blood. It is also planned to expand the list of the main groups of narcotic and psychotropic substances, for which some types of synthetic drugs are tested.

Five minutes, five minutes...

The draft order proposed by the Ministry of Health is more structured and understandable for both doctors and motorists and other citizens who are subject to intoxication tests, says Alexander Kovtun, a psychiatrist and narcologist. However, there are still certain questions to it, he emphasizes.

- For example, now, when taking a sample of urine is mandatory to measure its temperature, relative density, acidity, creatinine level. This makes it possible to determine that the examinee really passed the analysis "on the spot", and not brought urine with him or diluted it with water - such facts occur. These actions of a doctor or a paramedic are not specified in the proposed order of examination, - said Alexander Kovtun.

The drug psychiatrist also drew attention to the description of the order of blood test selection. According to the current regulations, the skin above the vein into which the needle is inserted must be pretreated with an alcohol-free disinfectant solution. The proposed regulations do not have this requirement.

- This may lead to incorrect results of the analysis, as there is a risk that the alcohol used for skin treatment will get into the blood samples," Alexander Kovtun said.

In his opinion, it is also necessary to specify what is meant by "intoxicating" substances specified in the draft order". Alexander Kovtun considers the additional five minutes, which will be allotted for a second breathalyzer test, to be of no principle. However, he admits that for some drivers they can still be decisive.

- We are talking about situations when the first test showed "borderline" results - 0.161-0.163 mg of ethyl alcohol per liter of exhaled air. But the share of motorists with such readings is extremely small: maybe one or two people out of a thousand," he said. - With large readings of the device additional five minutes do not play a special role.

Legal subtleties

An important legal innovation of the project is the mandatory informing of the driver about the consequences of attempts to avoid sobriety tests or falsification of test results, says the lawyer of the movement "Freedom of Choice" Sergei Radko.

- Notifying the driver before the test that any of his actions or inactions, as well as refusal of this or that procedure will be considered a refusal of medical examination is very important," he emphasized.

He said that in an attempt to avoid responsibility drunk motorists often try to deceive narcologists in one way or another: they pretend that they cannot exhale the required amount of air for analysis, they do not exhale, but, on the contrary, inhale air, etc., and then try to challenge the conclusions of doctors, including in the Supreme Court. Since the driver will be informed in advance about the consequences of such tricks, there will be fewer disputes around the alleged impossibility to pass a medical examination, the lawyer believes.

- If the Ministry of Health's proposals are adopted, the driver will have to sign two documents: one - a report on the referral for medical examination - at the inspectors, the second - consent to its conduct - at the doctors. At the same time, the refusal of either of them will be threatened with deprivation of license for up to two years and a large fine, - emphasized Seregoi Radko in a conversation with "Izvestia".

Additional papers

The draft order of the Ministry of Health only complicates the procedure of medical examination, forcing the driver to sign unnecessary documents, said Igor Morzharetto, a member of the Presidium of the Public Council under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. In his opinion, the requirement to additionally inform the driver about the consequences of attempts to avoid the test is redundant.

- Recently, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has prepared its own draft order on this topic, which suggests reducing the number of documents when sending a driver for medical examination. And here it is planned, on the contrary, to increase the number of papers to be signed. All nuances in attempts to deceive still cannot be foreseen: one driver will declare that he can not exhale, another will draw air into himself, the third will exhale through his nose. It turns out that every trick requires a separate order? - notes Igor Morzharetto.

Unresolved issue

The main issue that the new document still does not solve is related to the presence of prohibited substances in the tests, which are contained in a number of medicines taken by drivers, experts interviewed by Izvestia say. According to Alexander Kovtun, the content of substances affecting attention and reaction is minimal in drugs authorized for free sale in pharmacies. If the doses specified in the instructions are observed, such drugs usually do not have an intoxicating effect on a person.

- According to the CAO, deprivation of license is provided for the very fact of the presence of narcotic and psychotropic drugs in the driver's tests, regardless of their quantity. Therefore, drivers before taking any medication should very carefully study the instructions to it. If there are contraindications to driving a vehicle, one should refuse to travel," emphasized lawyer Sergey Radko.