The resolution of National Traffic Council (Contran) which makes the process of obtaining the National Driving License (CNH) may cause legal uncertainty. This is what experts and traffic managers consulted by CNN Brasil. The text, according to them, completely changes the way of obtaining a license, based on a resolution approved on Monday (1st).
Known as , the resolution makes the learning process allowed online stages more flexible and reduces the minimum number of practical driving classes from 20 hours to 2 hours. You Driver Training Centers (CFCs) They are no longer mandatory and the student can hire independent instructors.
According to Colonel Ricardo Silva, vice-president of Santa Catarina Traffic Department (Detran-SC)the Ministry of Transport focused its efforts on reducing costs for the license candidate, leaving structural road safety criteria in the background.
For him, the removal of the mandatory face-to-face classes in driving schools and the possibility of self-study may compromise the rule of law traffic, transforming the final test into the only evaluation filter.
“There will be a certain loss in , until there is definitively a better qualification strategy. There will be a great deal of legal uncertainty regarding the validity of the instructors, the validity of the exams and the inspection of those accredited. And there will be a certain lack of interest on the part of new drivers in knowing the traffic legislation”, said Silva.
The Ministry of Labor, however, believes that the rigor of the assessments is sufficient to maintain safety. “Classes alone do not guarantee that someone is able to drive. What guarantees is the test. The new model follows international standards adopted by countries such as the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, where the focus is on assessment, not the number of classes”, said the Minister of Transport, Renan Filho, in an official statement.
For Carlos Elias, known as Professor Carlão, from the Manual do Trânsito channel, there are still questions about the speed of the change process. He believes that the measure should have gone through more specialized bodies even before the public consultation.
“The process could have been discussed more, including, before the public consultation, it would have been important to have been assessed by the thematic chamber”, he observes. According to him, the country has a history of accelerated regulatory decisions on traffic, without sufficient technical support.
In the opinion of the vice-president of Detran-SC, the lack of clear operational guidelines for state agencies, it will make it difficult to control independent instructors and monitor the conditions of learning vehicles. He also highlights that the resolution does not clarify essential technical points, such as the standardization of — including the use of automatic transmission — nor the mandatory dual controls, currently present in driving school training cars.
On the other hand, Carlos Elias recognizes that the Flexibility can democratize access to licensemainly affecting people who already drive irregularly. “As proposed, I believe in a reduction of 50% to 60% of those who already have some practice, that is, those who already drive illegally. Regarding the consequences, time will tell.”
Other models
The comparison made by the government with models adopted in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada is also questioned. “Brazil has very different characteristics from these countries, including in terms of citizenship and sense of community. That’s why I think it’s reckless to compare this type of situation,” said the expert.
The analysis suggests that the transposition of international models may ignore cultural and structural differences in traffic behavior.
For Ricardo Silva, the resolution legitimized the objective of cost reduction, but failed to create solid foundations for process validation and quality assurance. “There is already a Draft Legislative Decree (PDL) seeking to annul the effects of the rule, which highlights the degree of controversy and legal uncertainty,” he added.
