New rules have been introduced in the area of driving licenses. However, after long negotiations with the member states, the EU has to give up raising the age limit separately for Sweden.
After long negotiations with the member states, the EU countries have agreed on new rules regarding driving licenses.
Something that hasn't been touched since 2006. One of the proposals was to ban 15-year-olds from driving the so-called A-tractors in Sweden. But the EU now has to drop that again.
This is reported by the Swedish news agency TT .
Even though the age limit will not be raised, the speed limit will. From now on, Sweden will allow A-class tractors to drive at 45 km/h.
In addition, EU countries have agreed to make the driving license available via a smartphone app. Something that Sweden otherwise opposed. Read more about it here .
Here are the new driving license rules across the EU
The member states have also agreed that all new drivers must have a probationary period of at least two years. This is a period during which they can more easily have their driving license taken away from them again. This is already the case in Denmark, for example.
One thing that the EU countries could not agree on, however, was and is a blood alcohol limit. The agreement text does state, however, that 'one must work towards zero tolerance for both drunk and drug driving'.
Today, the blood alcohol limit is 0.5 in Denmark. However, it has been as high as 0.8, which it still is in England, which has since left the EU.
The EU countries could not agree on introducing a general ban on reckless driving. That is, rules like we have in Denmark, where you lose both your driving license and your car. Just as you go to prison for, for example, driving more than 200 km/h on the motorway.
However, EU countries could well agree to lower the age limit for when one can get a driving license for a large truck, i.e. category C. Today it is 21 years. The EU had wanted the limit to be lowered to 17 years.
Especially because according to the EU there is a shortage of drivers throughout the union. The compromise was an age limit of 18 years. Something that we in Denmark already allow. But then it is for what is called a small truck.
