The Spanish driver of the truck drama in Nieuw-Beijerland was not allowed to drive a truck according to Dutch law, if, as his lawyer says, he had indeed taken medicines against epilepsy. Traffic law lawyer Bart Kabel confirms this conclusion to RTL Nieuws.
The rules for driving with medical conditions and medicines are laid down in the Netherlands in the Regulation on suitability requirements 2000. The passage relevant to the truck drama is this:
“If your patient has a full driver’s license, stricter rules apply. If someone is taking seizure medication, he or she is not allowed to drive a truck or bus. This also applies if your patient has not had a seizure for a long time.”
‘Not allowed on the road’
Last night, the driver’s lawyer sat at the table at Eva Jinek’s talk show, where he indicated that the driver had not had an epileptic seizure for years, but that he was still taking medication. If that is correct, it means that the driver has broken the law.
Traffic law lawyer Bart Kabel endorses this conclusion: “If you take medication for epilepsy, you are not considered suitable in the Netherlands to drive a truck or bus,” says the lawyer. “You are not allowed to get a large driver’s license in the Netherlands. If you already have a large driver’s license, you are not allowed on the road.”
Lawyer ‘too busy’ for response
RTL contacted Winston de Brouwer, the lawyer of the suspect driver this afternoon, but he did not want to respond: “Mr Brouwer indicates that he is currently too busy.”
The fact that the driver is from Spain does not change this. “There are basic European guidelines”, explains Kabel, “they also apply in other countries.” An employee of DGT, the Spanish counterpart of the Central Bureau for Driving Proofs (CBR), confirms to RTL News that the rules are the same in Spain: “Whoever has had an epileptic attack in the last ten years, or has taken medication for it, will not come. eligible for a large driver’s license and is not allowed on the road.”
Exceptions are possible, but not in this situation, says the lawyer. “Even in Spain you cannot get or renew a large driver’s license if you have had epileptic seizures in the past ten years or are taking medicines for epilepsy.”
“If this driver has indeed been taking medicines for epilepsy for years, he should not even have had a large driver’s license,” concludes Kabel. “It is strange that he does have this. I once had a case in the Netherlands in which a woman concealed her epilepsy from the CBR and drove two people to death. She was convicted for this.”
Consequences for criminal proceedings
The disclosure by the suspect’s lawyer will probably have consequences for the criminal case, thinks Kabel. “The argument ‘I spontaneously had that attack while I was taking medication’ does not hold. In fact, you took the risk. It can also have consequences for the sentence and the sentence.”
The Spanish driver killed seven people when he drove off a dike in Nieuw-Beijerland into a group of residents during a barbecue.
