Today, the Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional political agreement on the update of the driving licence directive. This update of the directive will have an important impact on the issuing of driving permits throughout the EU, updating the minimum requirements related to fitness of drivers across the EU, harmonising rules regarding probationary periods for novice drivers and creating a scheme for accompanied driving with a licence obtained at the age of 17.
These revised rules on driving licences are an excellent example of how widespread digitalisation is in the lives of Europeans. Thanks to this update, the rules on and issuing of driving licences will be smarter, more inclusive and fully adapted to our digital society, while at the same time ensuring an important positive impact on the EU’s road safety.
Dariusz Klimczak, Minister of Infrastructure of Poland
Several key elements will be introduced by the update of the driving licence directive.
First, by the end of 2030, a uniform mobile driving licence will be available for all EU citizens, placed in the future European Digital Identity Wallet.
The digital driving licence will be recognised in all EU member states. At the same time, road users will have the right to request a physical driving licence. Both versions, physical and digital, will be valid to drive passenger cars and motorcycles for longer than currently the case, namely 15 years from the date of issuing, except from when the driving licence is used as an ID card (10 years).
Improving road safety
Secondly, to improve road safety, a step will be taken towards harmonising medical screening processes applied in the member states. When issuing driving licences, all member states will either request a medical examination or a screening based on a self-assessment.
Rules regarding probationary periods for novice drivers will also be harmonised: a probationary period for a minimum of two years will be established. During this probationary period, stricter rules or sanctions for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs should apply, without prejudice to the member states’ competences to regulate drivers’ behaviour.
Accompanied driving license scheme
To tackle the problem of driver shortage in the professional categories and at the same time improve road safety, a scheme for accompanied driving with a (C) licence will be introduced.
Such a scheme provides the possibility for applicants to acquire driving licences in the relevant categories before the required minimum age limit is reached, while at the same time being accompanied by an experienced driver. The scheme will be offered in all member states for passenger cars. Member states can also offer this possibility for vans and trucks.
Finally, adjustments will also be made to make it easier for citizens to acquire a passenger car license when living in a different member state than their member state of citizenship. It will be possible to take tests and to get a licence issued in the member state of citizenship, should there be no possibility to take tests in one of the official languages of the member state of citizenship.
Next steps
This provisional agreement will now need to be endorsed by the member states’ representatives within the Council (Coreper) and by the European Parliament. It will then be formally adopted by both institutions following legal-linguistic revision.
Background
The revision of the Driving Licence directive is part of the European Commission’s Road Safety Package (2023). The road safety package fits into the EU’s Road Safety Policy Framework 2021-2030, where the Commission recommitted to the ambitious aim to get close to zero deaths and zero serious injuries on EU roads by 2050 (“Vision Zero”), as well as to the medium-term goal to reduce deaths and serious injuries by 50% by 2030.
Although road safety has significantly improved over the past 20 years, in 2023, according to data of the European Commission, 20.400 people still lost their lives in road accidents across the EU. This marks a 1% decrease from the year before. Preliminary statistics of 2024 also show a decrease of around 3%. However, to reach the target set-out by the Road Safety Policy Framework of halving road deaths by 2030, the annual decrease should be at least 4,5%. The revision of the driving licence directive aims to be one of the tools in helping to reach these targets.
The Road Safety Package not only entails a revision of the driving licence directive, but as well a proposal on driver disqualifications and a directive amending the directive on facilitating cross-border exchange of information on road-safety-related traffic offences.
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