Hospital director Dr Somboon Tosborvorn said the recent news of a 44-year-old, self-described epileptic patient who lost control of his pickup truck in Chon Buri’s Pattaya City, killing two people and injuring 15 others, prompted the Public Health Ministry to set up a committee to establish health guidelines. The guidelines to be complete by the end of March 2018 are based on health requirements in developed countries and will be considered for implementation as law later, he said. About 24 per cent of taxi drivers admitted to having been involved in an accident, while 34.8 per cent said they had “almost” had an accident. As high blood pressure, chronic illnesses and eyesight issues were linked to road accidents, health checks for eyesight, physical reactions and five prohibited diseases was no longer considered to be sufficient, he said. The Public Health Ministry’s Department of Medical Services and Nopparat Rajathanee Hospital were in response formulating the “Fit For Drive” guidelines for driver’s licence applications in cooperation with the Transport Ministry, Somsak said.

Source: The Nation Bangkok December 07, 2017 07:47 UTC