Changes in driving licenses and easier collection of fines. New project of the European Commission

On Wednesday (01.03.2023), the European Commission proposed a package of new regulations, which – after approval by the European Parliament and voting by EU governments in the EU Council – will strengthen cooperation between EU countries in terms of road safety. Already now, the authorities of EU countries must cooperate in collecting fines for traffic offenses that occur in other countries (e.g. a Polish driver on the road in Germany), but this system is highly leaky.

Will drivers lose their license more easily? This is what the European Commission wants

For example, in 2019, about 40 percent. “cross-border” traffic offenses (a car registered abroad and a driver unidentified locally) went unpunished. 8.2 million payments were collected (8 million voluntarily, around 200,000 as a result of successful cross-border enforcement), and it failed in the case of around 6.3 million offenses.

The new rules should radically improve cross-border prosecution of offences, including through mutual access to national databases of driving license holders. In addition, the list of offenses in which the authorities of individual EU countries are obliged to cooperate will be expanded. So far, these are speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol. Today, however, the European Commission proposed to add: dangerous overtaking, failure to keep the appropriate distance from the car ahead, dangerous parking, crossing the white solid line, failure to comply with the rules for using emergency corridors and driving an overloaded vehicle.

The project will for the first time introduce mutual recognition in the Union of decisions to withdraw a driving licence. Currently, a Polish citizen who has been punished in this way in Poland, e.g. for 10 years, may immediately apply – after appropriate courses and exams – for a driving license, e.g. in France. Now the European Commission wants to block this possibility if it has been picked up for grossly over-speeding (at least 30 km/h), for driving while drunk or under the influence of drugs, and for causing death or serious injury as a result of any traffic offence.

Driving license. No alcohol for beginners. Category B and C from the age of 17

– We are not harmonizing blood alcohol levels across the EU. The exception is the trial period for novice drivers, i.e. for two years after obtaining a driving license. During this time, the zero-tolerance rule, i.e. zero per mille of alcohol, is to apply, said Adina Valean, EU Commissioner for Transport, today. Individual EU countries should specify themselves how they will specifically enforce the stricter rigors of such a new “trial period” for road novices.

In addition, today’s proposal will introduce the possibility to obtain driving licenses for cars and trucks throughout the EU from the age of 17 (category B and C), although in this case the young driver would have to drive with an adult until he reaches the age of majority . The main motive for this solution is the shortage of professional truck drivers in , which is partly to be remedied by the introduction of 17-year-olds into this profession.

The European Commission proposes that a category B driving license will entitle you to drive passenger cars up to 4.25 tonnes (instead of the current limit of 3.5 tonnes) due to the greater weight of electric cars. And driving courses and exams should prepare drivers to drive cars in the era of increased “micromobility”, i.e. with an increasing number of bicycles and electric scooters on the roads. In the case of, for example, a Pole living in Germany without sufficient knowledge of German (and in the absence of an interpreter on the course), it would be possible to conduct his driving test in Poland. The project also provides for the introduction of an electronic driving license throughout the Union. Now in electronic form, i.e. on the phone, you can show them, e.g. in Poland, Spain, Denmark.

At present, the medical fitness to drive is assessed through screening tests based on the driver’s age. However, now the threshold from which EU countries increase the frequency of testing is to be raised from 50 to 70 years. On the other hand, category B driving license holders would be required to complete a form with a self-assessment, i.e. an indication of diseases requiring monitoring due to driving a car. “Making medical examinations compulsory for all would mean significant costs normally borne by citizens. Self-assessment is often sufficient and has a didactic purpose, making drivers aware that certain diseases can affect driving and require medical examination,” explains the European Commission.

If the draft is agreed fairly quickly, i.e. within one year by MEPs and the Council of the EU, it will become applicable throughout the EU in 2025 at the earliest.

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