Congress overrides Lula’s veto and makes law require toxicology screening for categories A and B of driver’s licenses.

The National Congress on Thursday overruled President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s veto of parts of the bill amending Brazil’s traffic law. With this decision, toxicology testing will become mandatory for anyone who obtains the first license in categories (A) (motorcycles and scooters) and (B) (passenger cars). Until now, this requirement only applied to professional drivers, such as truck drivers and bus drivers – Categories C, D and E.

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In June, the president partially approved the bill, vetoing parts of the text approved by parliamentarians five times. Among the provisions that were vetoed were specifically the requirement to conduct toxicity testing for categories A and B upon first licensure and to allow medical clinics – where technical vision and psychological tests are already performed – to serve as collection points.

At the time, the government justified the decision by saying that the measure would make the national driver’s license (CNH) more expensive. It also claimed it was “contrary to the public interest”, arguing that the high cost could alienate residents and increase the number of people driving without a licence.

Session of the National Congress that analyzed Lula's veto – Photo: Caio Magalhães/House of Representatives — Session of the National Congress that analyzed Lula’s veto – Photo: Caio Magalhães/House of Representatives

To overturn the veto, parliamentarians said the government’s justifications for increasing costs were outdated. Congress relied on the recent change promoted by the National Traffic Council (CONATRAN), which relaxed the rules for obtaining a license and eliminated the obligation to attend driving school in the traditional way.

From the lawmakers’ point of view, since the licensing process has become cheaper and less bureaucratic with the new ruling, it has become possible to require toxicology testing without making obtaining a driver’s license financially unaffordable.

Another important point in the new law concerns the site of toxicology screening. The approved text allows medical clinics to install laboratory collection stations in their spaces. To do this, they need to hire a laboratory accredited by the National Traffic Secretariat (Senatran).

The government has objected to this possibility on the grounds that mixing services could generate so-called “linkage” and jeopardize the integrity of the samples (chain of custody). However, Congress rejected this hypothesis.