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- Make a note: taxi drivers are asking for the cancellation of daily medical examinations
Make a note: taxi drivers are asking for the cancellation of daily medical examinations
The current requirement in Russia for daily pre-trip inspection of drivers is impossible, public activists said in a letter to the government. According to them, such checks are mostly fictitious now, as there is no necessary infrastructure in the regions. Therefore, the authors of the appeal ask to conduct an experiment, abolishing such a requirement in five regions, and based on the results, decide whether it is worth preserving it. The Ministry of Transport stated that, together with the automotive and expert communities, they are ready to consider options for optimizing existing procedures using digital technologies. What are the problems of inspections and how this affects the safety of transportation — in the material of Izvestia.
How are pre-trip inspections conducted
To conduct an experiment by canceling daily pre—trip inspections of taxi drivers and drivers of other vehicles in several regions, the government was asked by public activists, the Digital World Digital Platform Users Union. He was supported, in particular, by the Association of the Self-employed of Russia.
"In order to provide 10,000 taxi drivers with the opportunity to undergo mandatory medical examinations, it is necessary to open 50-60 round-the-clock medical centers. At the moment, there are from one to five medical centers in cities with a population of 500 thousand people," they described the problem, noting that due to a lack of infrastructure, such inspections still remain fictitious.
And based on the results of the experiment, it would be possible to consider the possibility of excluding these norms from the law, Valery Korneev, chairman of the Digital World, told Izvestia.
"Drivers started buying fake medical certificates," he said. — For two years of operation of Federal Law No. 580-FZ (on the organization of passenger and baggage transportation by passenger taxi. A large—scale market for trade in technical and medical examination documents has been formed in Russia. The cost of these certificates for a week is estimated at 1.5 thousand rubles.
As noted in the appeal, the fictitious passage of medical and technical inspection did not lead to a surge in accidents in the taxi industry.
"This means that the passage of these procedures does not affect the safety of passenger transport," the document says. — The requirement not to drive while drunk and feeling unwell, as well as if the car is malfunctioning, is contained in the traffic regulations. All drivers are required to comply with these regulations. This means that the obligations of additional control can be attributed to excessive regulation."
The cancellation of the requirement will allow drivers to work without excessive checks, Ivan Litvinov, head of the Association of the Self-Employed in Russia, told Izvestia.
"Medical and technical pre—trip inspections have long been fictitious, and with their abolition, nothing will change in terms of safety, except that at least one administrative barrier to entry into the market will cease to operate for drivers," he believes.
The requirements of the taxi law are not being met by carriers today, deputy Dmitry Gusev told Izvestia.
— Almost no one really goes through a technical and medical examination. But there is a law, which means it either needs to be followed, or the requirements need to be changed so that they become feasible for people," he said.
Maxim Taxi supported the initiative of the community activists, noting that they understand it as an exemption from the legislation of an outdated and unenforceable norm.
"We are not talking about canceling pre—trip inspections as a phenomenon, they have not existed in real life for a long time," the company said. — The initiative cannot worsen the safety of trips. The current level of accidents with victims will remain the same.
Izvestia also sent a request to Yandex.Taxi.
Stanislav Shvagerus, head of the Competence Center of the International Eurasian Taxi Forum, agrees that the system of pre-trip medical and technical examinations for all commercial vehicles in Russia is outdated.
— The mandatory requirements originally from the USSR, from the socialist economy, were banally transferred to Russian legislation. It's no secret that all these requirements exist only on paper, meaning all these stamps and signatures are simply drawn by millions of drivers," he is convinced.
How can pre-trip inspections change
Pre—trip inspections are a basic guarantee that the taxi transportation service provided is safe, the press service of the Ministry of Transport told Izvestia.
"The requirements for medical examinations established by the law on road safety protect passengers, drivers, and all road users," the press service of the Ministry of Transport noted. "The Russian Ministry of Transport is ready to work with the automotive and expert communities to consider options for optimizing existing procedures using digital technologies."
They indicated that medical examinations can also be carried out in transport enterprises that have the appropriate license.
Digital solutions can significantly simplify the inspection process for drivers and maintain an adequate level of road safety, the department said. The Ministry of Transport conceptually supported the draft of an experimental legal regime developed by the Center for Strategic Initiatives (CSR), "taking into account the preservation of daily medical examinations in a remote format using digital technologies," the department noted.
Starting from September 1, 2023, pre- and post-flight medical examinations of drivers can be carried out remotely.
"The Russian Ministry of Transport supports the development of the possibility of undergoing medical examinations in a remote format (telemedicine) with an increase in the number of points where such medical examinations are carried out. This method allows you to reduce the time for drivers to arrive at the inspection site, the queue and the inspection itself," reads the response to the editorial's request.
As Izvestia wrote, the CSR initiative provided for the transfer of all paper documents — travel documents, inspection and medical certificates, as well as insurance — into electronic form. This should exclude drivers from entering the route without the necessary documents.
Izvestia also sent a request to the government with a request to evaluate the initiative of public activists.
Stanislav Shvagerus recalled that in 2021, the system of mandatory technical inspection for motorists was abolished.
— It was, as it was believed at the time, the basis for road safety, — he said. — Time has shown that the "sacred coupon" did not affect anything.
Therefore, according to him, automobile transportation "needs reform not in words, but in deeds."
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