Background: Ten years ago, the new Road Traffic Act No. 8/2009 of the Collection of Laws was validated. By its amending act No. 313/2011 (par. 91, art. 4) a new legal duty putting under obligation persons sued for drink-driving to undergo psychiatric examination was enforced on the 1st of November 2011. The goal of this research is to investigate the availability of psychiatric examinations for the aforementioned legal purpose in two regions (of Bratislava and Prešov districts), and the conditions for these examinations. Methods: Two research teams conducted a telephone survey in October 2018 targeting psychiatric outpatient offices in Prešov and Bratislava regions. First, a web-searched list of telephone contacts was created, and subsequently it was compared with the list of psychiatric offices registered by the regional health bureaux. Results: There are officially 61 psychiatric outpatient services (offices) registered in the Bratislava region, and 50 in the Prešov region. The web-searched list consisted of 46 and 28 offices, respectivly. In the Bratislava and the Prešov regions, 21 (46%), vs. 26 (93%) of these offices were successfully contacted, respectively. In 9 (20%), vs. 16 (57%) of them, resp., a date for possible appointment was obtained. In the Bratislava region, the waiting period was longer (average 13.2 vs. 5.2 days, median 8 vs. 3 days), and the examination/administration fee was higher (average 117.28€ vs. 54.67€, median 110€ vs. 50€). 30 offices (11 in the Bratislava and 19 in the Prešov regions) provided information on additional requirements. It was found, that in 73% of offices no medical file was requested, as well as in 57% no blood sample and in 80% of offices neither presence nor information from family members were necessary (lower requirements were in the Bratislava region). Conclusion: We conclude, that it is feasible to obtain a term for psychiatric examination in due time (30 days from the delivery of the police ruling to the person under consideration) both in the Bratislava and the Prešov regions. Nevertheless, the availability is lower in the Bratislava region, as well as the administration/examination fee is higher and the waiting period is longer there. Examination requirements (quality requirements) are low.
Key words: traffic law – psychiatric examination – availability – quality – fee – regional differences