2023-11-25 10:20:00
1. Driving license at 17
The European Commission wants to lower the legal age for a driving license to 17. ©pololia – Fotolia
The new European directive would set the legal age at 18 from which all B license candidates might obtain the precious sesame. But, specifies the draft directive, Member States will always be able to “lower the minimum age for issuing a driving license […] for categories B up to 17 years old.” In France, for example, young drivers will already be able to obtain the document from the age of 17, from January 1. While this decision will be up to each state, license holders who are under 18 will only be able to drive in countries where the legal age will be lowered to 17, not in those where it remains at 18. In Belgium, Minister Gilkinet has already expressed his reluctance on this subject. But new elections are taking place next June, and the next Minister of Mobility may not have the same vision of things.
2. Driving a classic car, without having your driving license
People holding an AM license would be authorized to drive traditional cars, without a license, provided they weigh no more than 2.5 tonnes and are limited to 45 km/h. © (c) 2020 Jose Luis Stephens/Shutterstock. No use without permission.
Currently, people who do not have a driving license can only get behind the wheel of so-called unlicensed cars. Or quadricycles similar to scooters which still require possession of a category AM driving license. The aim of the European directive would therefore be to allow people without a license to be able to drive classic cars from the age of 16, in order to resolve mobility problems in the most remote areas. The only condition: the car can only weigh a maximum of 2.5 tonnes and it must be limited to 45 km/h. Teenagers might therefore drive a powerful sports car or a large SUV without holding a B license but a B1 license, provided that they drive with a speed limiter set at 45 km/h, even if this is can be deactivated as desired with a single button. Here too, the decision to apply or not this measure would be at the discretion of each country.
3. A medical examination imposed for seniors
Drivers over the age of 70 would see the validity of their license limited to five years. With extension every 5 years subject to a certificate of aptitude. ©Fotolia
The European Commission wants to reduce to five years or less the administrative validity periods set in the first paragraph for driving license holders residing in their territory who have reached the age of 70. The extension, every five years, of this driving license would be conditional on a medical examination indicating that the license holder is still fit to drive.
4. Alcohol: 0 tolerance for young drivers
The European Commission’s desire is to apply Zero Tolerance for drivers who have had their license for less than two years. ©Belga
Currently in Belgium, novice drivers – who have held their driving license for less than two years – are not subject to any discrimination with regard to blood alcohol content while driving compared to other drivers. Clearly, whether they have had their license for 2 days or 35 years, motorists can drive with a maximum blood alcohol level of 0.5 g/liter of blood (or 0.22 mg of alcohol per liter of expired air). In its draft directive, the European Commission wants to impose sanctions “applicable to novice drivers who drive with an alcohol level above 0.0 g/ml.” In short, zero tolerance for young drivers during the two years following obtaining their driving license.
5. Offending foreign drivers systematically prosecuted
Road offenses for drivers registered abroad ©IPM Graphics
While currently, 50% of foreign drivers who commit an offense in Belgium are never penalized, the European Commission has worked on a draft amendment to the directive on the cross-border exchange of information. The new directive would put in place more effective cross-border monitoring procedures that would prevent this feeling of impunity. Foreign motorists committing offenses in Belgium would therefore be systematically prosecuted. But this would also apply to Belgians committing offenses abroad. Currently, only the following offenses are concerned: speeding; crossing a red light; driving under the influence of alcohol; driving under the influence of narcotics; failure to use a seat belt or child seat; not wearing a helmet on a motorcycle; GSM while driving; and finally illegal traffic on a restricted lane (emergency lane, bus lane, etc.). In the future, 7 others should be: failure to respect safety distances; dangerous overtaking; dangerous parking; crossing the white line; traffic in the prohibited direction; failure to respect the emergency corridor; and finally the use of an overloaded vehicle.
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