The Ministry of Health (SAM) and "Regitra" remind drivers to have a mandatory health check-up by the end of this year - those who fail to do so will have their right to drive suspended.
"From January 2025, 1, those drivers who do not have a valid health certificate will have their driver's licenses no longer valid," Vice Minister of Health Aurimas Pečkauskas said at a press conference on Tuesday.
"Persons who do not renew their medical certificate on time will need to visit doctors, have their health checked, and we will take care of everything else. The person will not have to apply to "Regitra" additionally, because digitally we will receive information about the updated certificate and at the same time renew the validity of the driver's license", Vaidas Dominauskas, General Director of "Regitra", said at the press conference.
According to V. Dominauskas, almost halfway through the year, more than half of all drivers in the country have not had their health checked.
"The share of drivers who have not yet taken care of this duty is high - more than 50 percent. and today it reaches 237 thousand. People between the ages of 30 and 65 should hurry to check their health, because their share is the largest," said V. Dominauskas at the press conference on Tuesday.
He pointed out that to find out if they need a mandatory health check, drivers can do it on several online platforms.
"Those who have not yet checked whether this certificate is valid can do so very simply by visiting the electronic services portal. This is the first channel where you can identify yourself, leave your contacts, and we will make sure that customers receive reminders about the expiring certificate," noted the head of "Regitras".
"The second channel is the opportunity to visit our website. Those persons who cannot identify themselves with their driver's license number and personal identification number can also check the information relevant to them", V. Dominauskas added.
Those who do not have their health checked will be fined by officials and will be recorded by automatic systems
Persons whose driver's license has ceased to be valid due to an unrenewed health certificate will also be fined by police officers, notes Vytautas Grashys, head of the Public Order Office of the Police Department.
"Those who do not do that (health check-up - ELTA) will certainly be subject to administrative liability and will have to pay a fine of 30 to 50 euros before passing the medical check-up. A protocol will be drawn up for such a person and he will no longer be able to drive - he will have to take care of another vehicle, or his vehicle will have to be driven by another person, or it will be taken away by hiring drivers", said V. Grašys at the press conference.
In addition, as V. Grashys pointed out, drivers with an expired license will also be recorded by automatic systems on the country's roads.
"Of course. Automatic systems that record a violation in the absence of mandatory civil liability insurance, in the absence of a technical inspection or in the event of a certain violation, that person will also be held liable for an invalid driver's license," emphasized V. Grašys.
"Therefore police urges drivers to get their health checked before January 1, so as not to burden the police and not have bigger problems themselves," the official added.
ELTA reminds that in the fall of 2022 Seimas decided to link the validity of the driver's license with the duration of the medical certificate. Drivers who do not undergo regular health checks will have their driver's licenses suspended.
Viktorija Smirnovaitė (ELTA)
