After age limits were loosened in Finland, they found that 17-year-olds account for about eight percent of all road infractions even though they make up just 0.3 percent of all license holders (Photo: ECF)
The European Parliament’s transport committee is poised to adopt a position on EU driving licence rules that would permit 17-year-olds to operate trucks and 16-year-olds to drive 2.5-tonne SUVs.
It’s an astonishing proposition rooted in political interest rather than facts, with potentially dire consequences for all road users, especially for people who walk and cycle.
In consideration are proposals to revise the EU Driving License Directive, a law on how to implement and govern driving licence training in EU countries. This includes licensing for truck driving.
Currently, a person must be at least 21 years old before they can begin training as a truck driver. National governments can lower that age to 18 if the person passes an initial theory test. Around half of EU countries allow this.
The transport committee is considering amendments that would require all EU countries to drop the age limit for truck driving training to 17-years-old provided they have an adult older than 24 accompanying them.
What could possibly go wrong?
Statistics indicate a sharp decline in crash rates as age increases, raising concerns about the proposed amendments’ potential impact on road safety.
Research by the German Insurance Association shows a significant crash risk associated with young truck drivers aged 18-20 years, revealing that they contribute to around 25 percent of accidents per number of licence holders — a risk that diminishes with age, dropping to around 1-2 percent for older age groups.
We also know that it is difficult for adults accompanying younger drivers to remain constantly vigilant in the cab. We are starting to see this more frequently with autonomous vehicles colliding into pedestrians and cyclists even with someone in the driver’s seat. Running over a cyclist while turning right at a junction is a common type of crash with trucks. They happen very quickly and are more likely to happen with younger drivers.
Now let’s talk about kids driving heavy cars.
The transport committee is considering a legislative amendment that would allow holders of a B1 licence to drive a vehicle weighing up to 2.5 tonnes if its speed is limited to 45 km/h. The B1 licence, available from the age of 16, is typically used for low-speed quad vehicles weighing between 0.2 and 0.4 tonnes.
If this amendment goes through, any 16-year-old with a B1 licence could drive a vehicle weighing up to 2.5 tonnes. This opens the door for young drivers to handle outsized vehicles like Ford Rangers and Ram 1500s, both under 2.5 tonnes.
Sign up for EUobserver’s daily newsletter
All the stories we publish, sent at 7.30 AM.
By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Evidence shows the vulnerability of young drivers of passenger SUVs and trucks, particularly those aged 16-17, who face a collision risk twice as high as their counterparts aged 18-19. After age limits were loosened in Finland, they found that 17-year-olds account for about eight percent of all road infractions even though they make up just 0.3 percent of all licence holders.
The proposed amendment I have seen stipulates that 16-year-old B1 licence holders can drive vehicles weighing up to 2.5 tonnes if it has “a maximum speed technically limited to 45 km/h.” But it’s not clear what “technically limited” means. Would a cruise control button with an off switch just next to the fingers of an impatient 16-year-old driver fit this condition? Speed limiter devices are easy to install but equally easy to overcome.
What’s more, the transport committee wants to increase the weight limit of B category vehicles (your typical passenger car) to 4.25 tonnes. The argument is that it’s meant to allow people to drive new electric vans with their B licences. But parliamentarians are enabling it for all “alternatively-fuelled” vehicles.
Currently, EU law limits B licence-holders to vehicles weighing up to 3.5 tonnes. This was the only barrier to allowing US-style heavy truck vehicles into Europe. But if that barrier falls, expect to see very large, e-trucks on Europe’s streets.
These amendments address genuine problems but with the wrong approach.
There isn’t a shortage of qualified truck drivers, it’s just that the working conditions are poor, salaries are low, and hours are long. Older teenagers living in rural areas with few transport options don’t need to drive 2.5 tonne vehicles; they need better public transport and more safe walking and cycling infrastructure. If a weight exemption for large electric vans is needed, then this should be specified unambiguously in EU law, because 4.25 tonnes is considerably heavier than any car on the EU market.
MEPs will have a chance to vote on these changes in plenary during the last week of February.
If they genuinely care about road safety for all EU citizens, then they should reject these amendments and ask the transport committee to keep politics outside the door and write sensible policy that doesn’t put lives at risk.
Source: euobserver.com
