Deficiencies and Improvements in the Legal Regulation of Drivers’ Mental Health Conditions in China

A driver’s mental health has a significant impact on his or her driving ability and traffic safety. A mentally ill driver driving a car is significantly more likely to be involved in a traffic accident than a healthy driver. The laws and regulations in place to address the driving risks of mentally ill drivers in China are inadequate and there is an urgent need for appropriate legal regulation to maintain road safety and public order. The main shortcoming of the law is the lack of a proper mechanism for assessing the driver’s mental state and the accompanying risk control measures for the temporary expiry of the driver’s licence, not to mention the re-validation of the licence after the driver’s mental state has been restored. China could learn from some of the EU and US practices and establish a legal mechanism to assess the mental health of drivers and control the validity of their driving licences based on the existing traffic law system.