Proposal by senator Paulo Paim (PT-RS) creates a regulatory framework for employed or self-employed drivers
The PL 490 of 2024 It’s a senator’s bill Paulo Paim (PT-RS) that creates the Professional Driver Statute. The text establishes a regulatory framework that encompasses employed or self-employed drivers.
The project will proceed as follows in the Senate:
- initially, it will be analyzed by the Infrastructure Commission, where it is currently located;
- it will then go to the Economic Affairs Committee;
- then, it will go to the Social Affairs Committee, where it will have final decision;
- If approved, it will go to the Chamber plenary.
The senator Laercio Oliveira (PP-SE) is the rapporteur in the Infrastructure Committee, but has not yet presented the report.
The beneficiaries
Paulo Paim’s initiative covers professional drivers who operate motor vehicles, but excludes those who:
- work in the Armed Forces or in public security agencies;
- operate vehicles used exclusively for agricultural, construction, earthmoving or cargo handling work in port and airport areas;
- train drivers in accredited entities.
Paulo Paim states that the project seeks to bring justice to professionals who work in passenger or cargo transport vehicles and face various problems in traffic.
Course
“Noise pollution, traffic jams, overcrowding, tension, insecurity, among other adversities, cause emotional and physical exhaustion to professional drivers. It is only fair that they have rights that can alleviate these harmful effects to which they are subjected daily.”declared the senator.
According to the proposal, anyone who wants to become a professional driver must take a specialized course in professional driving, regulated by the Contran (National Traffic Council), with a minimum workload of 60 hours. The course can be taught by any accredited entity, public or private. After the course, candidates will take a written exam.
The text establishes that those who already work as drivers can take this exam without having taken the course, as long as they pass it within 3 years (counting from the approval of the law resulting from this project). It also determines that anyone who drives a vehicle professionally without having passed the exam will have their license withdrawn and will be suspended for 3 months. In case of recurrence, the suspension will be 6 months.
Working day
The proposal stipulates that the working day will be 6 hours a day, with 20 minutes of rest for those who drive on urban roads and one hour of rest for those who drive on rural roads.
According to the text, overtime will be remunerated with an increase of at least 100% over the normal hourly wage, while night work (which would be from 8pm to 6am) would have the working hour calculated as 45 minutes and would be remunerated with an increase of at least 50% over daytime hours.
The proposal also determines that, on long-distance trips, daily rest must be in a location “that offers adequate conditions”and the use of the vehicle for rest is prohibited.
Furthermore, the project prohibits uninterrupted driving for more than 4 hours on rural roads, requiring a minimum rest of 30 minutes (the driver may extend the driving time for another hour, if this is necessary to reach a suitable stopping place, and as long as this does not compromise road safety).
Compensation possibilities
The project allows the driver to be paid based on the distance traveled, the travel time or the nature and quantity of products transported, “including through the offer of a commission or any other type of advantage, as long as this remuneration or commission does not compromise the safety of the highway and the community or allow the violation of the established standards”.
Rights
Among the rights established in the text are:
- professional drivers may have free or subsidized access to training and improvement programs offered by the National Transport Learning Service in cooperation with public authorities;
- through the Unified Health System, they will have access to prophylactic, therapeutic and rehabilitative care, “especially aimed at the illnesses that most affect them, according to a survey by the SUS”.
The text also determines that drivers may refuse to drive vehicles in unsatisfactory safety conditions, without risk of dismissal for just cause, as long as they act in good faith. However, it allows employers, in these cases, to deduct from the driver’s salary the hours or days stopped, unless an executive traffic authority certifies the unsafe condition of the vehicle.
Duties
Regarding the duties established in the project, it is determined that drivers must be attentive to the safety conditions of the vehicle and report defects or faults in the vehicle to the employer, drive the vehicle with caution and respect traffic laws.
It also establishes that drivers must undergo toxicological tests with a minimum detection window of 90 days and participate in drug and alcohol use control programs established by the employer, at least once every two years and six months. The mandatory exam provided for in the Brazilian Traffic Code can be used for this purpose, as long as it is carried out within the last 60 days from the date in question.
With information from Senate Agency.
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