According to the current Law on Road Traffic Safety, the maximum age for drivers of passenger cars with more than 29 seats, including buses and sleeper cars, is 57 years old for men and 55 years old for women. However, the Vietnam Automobile Transport Association believes that this regulation is no longer suitable, recommending raising the age to 62 for men and 60 for women.
The reason given is that the average life expectancy of people is increasing; vehicles and transport infrastructure are increasingly modern and convenient, reducing pressure on drivers. Therefore, raising the age of professional drivers is considered reasonable and in line with current reality.
Many traffic experts also believe that the current age limit is not appropriate and needs to be adjusted because this is a group of experienced drivers who can still ensure safety if they are healthy enough. In addition, drivers who want to continue working must undergo a periodic health check according to the regulations of the Ministry of Health.
According to a representative of the Vietnam Automobile Transport Association, many transportation businesses currently report that the gap between working age and age limit for drivers of passenger cars, buses, and sleeper cars is making it difficult for them to arrange personnel. If workers are past the age of driving, businesses do not know what to do, while not every unit has a smaller vehicle for them to continue working, leading to a waste of experienced human resources.
Also according to statistics from the Vietnam Automobile Transport Association, on average, each affiliated enterprise lacks 10 - 50% of drivers, especially passenger drivers with more than 29 seats and container trucks. The Hanoi Public Passenger Transport Association also said that each year, the number of Class D bus drivers decreases by 10 - 15%. The whole city currently has about 6,000 - 6,500 bus drivers, of which more than 40% are over 50 years old, about to reach the age of driving. If the age increase is not adjusted soon, compensation for human resources will be very difficult.
Vice President of the Hanoi Public Passenger Transport Association - Mr. Nguyen Hoang Hai said that training a class D driver takes a lot of time and money because class D drivers are not directly trained but have to go through lower levels. Accordingly, a driver must have 3 - 5 years of driving with B, C, accumulating 50,000 - 100,000km to be eligible for upgrading.
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper reporter, Mr. Do Van Bang, owner of Sao Viet car company, commented that raising the age of E- drivers to 62 years old is reasonable because the current traffic infrastructure and vehicles are much better, while the population is getting younger. The training and experience accumulation process of a D-class driver is also long, so extending the professional period will help ensure safety and efficiency.
It is known that the proposal to increase the age of professional drivers has been sent by the Vietnam Automobile Transport Association to the National Assembly, the Government, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Construction.
