Professional driving licence: Dope test now a must
Negative dope test reports from government-affiliated hospitals or laboratories would be mandatory to get or renew professional driving licences from January 30 this year.
A person with a positive dope test report or negative comments would not be entitled to get a professional driving licence from Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA).
However, the dope test would not be required for a non-professional licence.
A professional driving licence is a must for operating commercial vehicles or rental cars or doing government jobs as a driver.
BRTA going to introduce the system more than one year after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gave directives to bring public transport workers under a dope testing system.
The drug addiction of bus and truck drivers is considered to be one of the major reasons behind road accidents.
BRTA Chairman Nur Mohammad Mazumder on Wednesday sent a circular in this regard to all divisional and circle offices to implement the decision.
The dope test can be done at all district-level government hospitals, six hospitals in Dhaka city and all laboratories approved by the Department of Narcotics Control, reads the circular.
The six hospitals in Dhaka city are Dhaka Medical College Hospital; National Institute of Mental Health and Hospital; National Institute of Laboratory Medicine and Referral Centre; National Institute of Diseases of the Chest and Hospital; National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation, also known as Pongu Hospital; and Kurmitoal General Hospital.
Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Health Services on Tuesday wrote all government hospitals to take necessary steps for carrying out a dope test on the licence seekers, reads the circular.
Delivering her speech on October 22, 2020, to mark National Road Safety Day, Hasina directed the authorities to bring drivers under a dope testing system.
"We need to know whether those who are driving [vehicles] use drugs. They need to undergo dope testing. This test is essential for each driver. You must do it," she had said.
Later, BRTA formed a committee that gave several other recommendations including carrying out an on-spot test to check whether a driver drank.
"We will have implemented other recommendations on phases," BRTA Spokesperson Mahbub-E-Rabbani said yesterday.
Earlier, transport leaders had announced to start dope tests on the drivers from December 2019.
Announcing the programme on September 18, 2019, Khondaker Enayet Ullah, general secretary of Dhaka Road Transport Owners' Association, had said that almost half of the public vehicle drivers in the capital are believed to be addicted to various drugs.
He said addiction has become the first and main reason for accidents in the capital. But the move did not see light at that time.
Experts said a driver can feel drowsy after taking drugs and they may lose control over the steering, causing accidents. In many cases, a driver may feel overconfident and try to dangerously overtake other vehicles after taking drugs, they said.
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