[RF Law 2021] What is the difference between a medical examination and a medical examination of a driver

All persons who are employed in work related to traffic are required to undergo:

preliminary medical examinations upon entry to work,
periodic medical examinations,
pre-trip medical examinations.

This is the requirement of Article 213 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, which applies to all drivers. This requirement is supported by Federal Law No. 196-FZ of December 10, 1995 “On Road Safety”.

Article 20 of Law No. 196-FZ establishes that enterprises and individual entrepreneurs are required to organize and conduct pre-trip or pre-shift control. And, Article 23 of the same Law states that enterprises that hire drivers are responsible for providing civil liability insurance to vehicle owners.

The driver’s obligation to undergo medical examinations is also enshrined in the Resolution of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated December 19, 2016 No. 18-AD16-173. If a driver gets behind the wheel to carry out an assignment from a company or individual entrepreneur to deliver cargo or a passenger, he is required to undergo medical control.

Procedure for medical examinations of drivers

The procedure for conducting pre-shift, pre-trip and post-shift, post-trip medical examinations was approved by Order of the Ministry of Health of Russia dated December 15, 2014 No. 835n. For enterprises with dangerous and difficult working conditions, the order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russia dated April 12, 2011 No. 302n approved its own procedure.

A preliminary medical examination must be carried out when hiring a driver.
Periodic medical examinations are carried out throughout the period of work as a driver.
Pre-trip medical examinations must be carried out before the start of the working day. Medical workers must check the driver’s health, the absence of intoxication and its residual effects.

When is a medical examination necessary?

In this case, the referral of drivers for a medical examination is regulated by Order of the Ministry of Health dated June 15, 2015 No. 344-. The act explains in what cases the driver is sent for examination and how the necessary medical certificate is obtained.

A driver's commission is required in the following cases:

The fact of obtaining a driver's license.
Replacement of the VU due to its expiration (in the Russian Federation - every 10 years).
Return of a seized (due to expiration) driver's license by the court.
Opening of the next driver category.
Employment as a driver.
Regular re-examination of professional drivers.

Not only regular drivers undergo medical examinations

Law No. 196-FZ does not limit the obligation to undergo preliminary, periodic and pre-trip medical examinations only to full-time employees - drivers.

The obligation to undergo medical examinations is not regulated by the contract with the driver. If the car rental agreement or employment contract does not say anything about medical control, this does not exempt the driver from the need to undergo medical examinations.

Read in the berator “Practical Encyclopedia of an Accountant”

How to organize medical examinations for employees

Letter of the law

Carrying out and passing driver's medical examinations is regulated by the following Russian legislative acts:

Federal Law No. 437 (2013). This act stipulates the rules and conditions for passing the driver's commission.
Instructions for taking the traffic rules examination certification.
Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development No. 302-(2014). Here is a list of conditions that do not allow a car owner to drive.
Art. 23 Federal Law No. 196 (year of publication - 1995, year of last edition - 2016). Contains a list of medical measures to ensure road safety.

We've covered the laws regarding medical examinations for drivers. It follows clearly from them: a citizen is fit to drive a vehicle only after receiving the appropriate medical certificate.

Types of medical examinations

Where to take a driver's medical examination? Professional drivers report to a medical facility designated by the employer. As for private car owners, they can choose to go to either a public clinic or a private clinic.

There are usually two types of medical examinations for car drivers:

Passing a medical commission for the traffic police - to obtain/change a driver’s license.
Inspections for admission to carry out professional activities as a vehicle driver.

Passing the “new” medical examination

Let's look at the nuances of passing medical examinations for car owners in 2021:

As before, you should contact only medical institutions authorized to conduct such medical examinations.
The car owner must have a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation with him. As for nonresident citizens, they must additionally present a certificate of temporary registration.
Real car owners provide their driving license for the next medical examination. As for professionals, they must also present the conclusion issued at the previous examination.
As before, the certificate is drawn up and issued by a general practitioner. The specialist analyzes the conclusions of other doctors and the results of examinations completed by the driver.
The narcologist retains the right to prescribe a urine/blood test to rule out drug use or chronic alcoholism.
If a psychiatrist discovers signs of diseases that make driving a vehicle dangerous, he has the right to order a psychiatric examination of the driver.
The result of the medical examination is a certificate of standard form No. 003 with a physician’s conclusion on the suitability of this driver to drive a vehicle of a certain category.

For professional drivers

Periodic medical examination of drivers is a mandatory procedure for professionals, for whom Russian legislation imposes stricter requirements than for ordinary car owners. Penalties are imposed for any violation of the prescribed procedure.

Let's look at specific examples from legislation:

According to clause 4 of Federal Law No. 437, clause 1 of Art. 213 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation introduces mandatory periodic inspection of drivers in the entire range of motor transport enterprises. Regardless of the distances that drivers cover, the type of vehicle they drive. The rule applies not only to ATPs with a large staff, but also to individual entrepreneurs.
Part 7 art. 213 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation indicates that driver’s medical examinations at the enterprise are paid not by the drivers themselves (as is the case with vehicle owners), but by their employers.

Legislation update

Now let us draw the reader’s attention to those updates in the legislation that are, in one way or another, related to driver’s medical examinations.

In 2016, Order No. 344-(2015) of the Ministry of Health was officially registered with the Russian Ministry of Justice. It concerned specifically future/current vehicle drivers.

According to this document, the following changes became relevant:

New procedures for conducting medical examinations for drivers.
Abolition of the previous order.
Introduction of new rules for testing car owners for various states of intoxication.
Regulation of the examination process when exchanging driver's licenses due to their expiration date.
The procedure for returning a driver's license after its withdrawal.
Introduction of a new form of driver's medical certificate - 003 v/u.

To be brief, these are the main provisions of the new law on medical examinations for drivers.

Pre-flight inspection

As for the medical examination of drivers before flights, this is a slightly different procedure than a standard medical examination. It was introduced back in the Soviet era in the 60s. Then and now, the procedure pursues a similar goal: to promptly identify workers who are in various states of intoxication, under the influence of narcotic drugs, potent drugs that reduce the reaction rate, in a state of serious illness, or extreme fatigue.

The introduction of such a measure made it possible at that time to reduce the number of accidents on the roads several times. Therefore, since the 1970s, pre-trip medical examinations have become mandatory everywhere, in all major ATPs. However, in those days the procedure was carried out not by medical workers, but by specially trained instructors. It was only in the 1990s that pre-trip examinations of professional drivers became the prerogative of doctors.

As for 2021, today every employer with a motor transport business - both a large organization and an individual entrepreneur - must organize a pre-trip medical examination. This is reflected in Art. 20 Federal Law “On Road Safety”. This rule is not introduced only for emergency services: Ambulance, police, traffic police, gas service, fire safety, etc.

The grounds for removing a driver from driving a vehicle are:

Presence of symptoms of certain diseases.
Blood pressure level, heart rate deviating from the norm.
Signs of any intoxication.

The results of the test are recorded by the doctor in a special logbook. If no deviations were found, the health worker puts a “permit” stamp on the waybill. The document also states the following:

Time of medical examination.
Full name of the health worker who was responsible for the procedure.

A fine, if the driver has not passed a periodic medical examination before the trip, is imposed not only on the driver, but also on his employer. If the doctor gives a permission that does not correspond to reality, then punishment awaits him too.

Comparison with previous regulations

If we compare the new legislation with the previous one, it will become noticeable how the requirements for medical examination of motorists for the presence of traces of alcohol or drug use in the body have become more stringent.

But at the same time, the rules for passing the medical examination required to obtain or replace a driver’s license have become simpler. For example, it has become optional to visit specialists: surgeon, gynecologist, otolaryngologist, neurologist.

As for the last doctor, his conclusion is necessary only in one case - if the therapist has found a reason for this. A similar condition is set for undergoing EEG - electroencephalography. Now neither a narcologist nor a psychiatrist can demand from the driver both EEG results and a certificate from a psychologist.

However, the simplification of the procedure applies only to drivers of passenger cars and motorcycles. As for periodic medical examinations for drivers in the organization, they are still strictly carried out to this day.

Who will not be able to pass the commission?

If the driver refuses to undergo an examination by at least one of the specialists, whose conclusion is mandatory, the therapist cannot issue him a certificate No. 003. If you refer to the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 1604 (2014), then citizens with the following diseases, abnormalities, pathologies will be refused to receive this medical document:

Chronic endocrine diseases.
Serious vision problems.
Pathologies of the limbs.
Regular loss of consciousness, seizures.
Delay in both mental and physical development.
Socially dangerous mental illnesses.
Drug addiction.
Heart disease.
Alcoholism.

The refusal here is reasonably motivated: driving a vehicle in the conditions described above is dangerous both for the citizen himself and for the people around him.

In 2021, it has become much easier for drivers to undergo both initial and periodic medical examinations. To issue certificate No. 003, you must obtain a satisfactory opinion from only 4 specialists. As for professional drivers, for them both periodic medical examinations and pre-trip examinations remain just as strict.

Where do the commissions take place?

Both public and private medical institutions have the right to issue certificates of passing a driver’s medical examination in Russia. But both of them must have a license to conduct such activities. Despite the fact that the driver can undergo a medical examination at any of these specialized institutions, a visit to a psychiatrist and narcologist means going only to a public clinic at the place of his registration or residence.

We have already discussed the cost of this service. Please note that obtaining a certificate from a narcologist and a psychiatrist is paid separately. An appointment with each of these specialists will cost you, on average, 300-1000 rubles. The price depends on the region of residence and the clinic you contact.

What specialists should you contact?

The new procedures have significantly reduced the number of doctors whose opinions are required to pass a driver’s medical examination. Thus, applicants for the most common categories need to be examined by only four specialists. However, at the direction of the therapist, they may be referred to other doctors.

So, for drivers with categories A, A1, B, BE, B1, M, the following medical commission is provided:

Mandatory examination: psychotherapist, narcologist, ophthalmologist, therapist.
As prescribed by a therapist - a neurologist.
As prescribed by a neurologist - EEG.
On the direction of a narcologist - a urine/blood test.

As for professional drivers, they will have to undergo a more serious medical examination. Applicants of categories C, CE, C1, C1E, D, DE, D1, D1E, Tm, Tb must undergo the following examination:

Required: therapist, narcologist, ophthalmologist, otolaryngologist, psychotherapist, neurologist, as well as an EEG.
If you are referred for a medical examination by a narcologist, you will need to submit your urine/blood for analysis.

If a driver intends to test for several categories of license at the same time in the near future, then he should notify doctors about this in advance so that, if necessary, he can immediately undergo a more extensive commission. This will help save money - you won’t have to spend money on going through the same specialists during a second medical examination for a new category of rights. However, in this case, you need to have time to pass all the necessary driving tests within a year. After all, this is how long certificate No. 003 is valid.