The countries of the European Union agreed this Monday that you can start driving cars from the age of 17, as long as you are accompanied by someone over 24 who has had a license for at least five years, although the final regulations will still have to be negotiated. with the European Parliament.
The measure, which was agreed upon by EU transport ministers during a meeting in Brussels, prohibits the passenger from having lost their driving license in the previous five years.
Furthermore, it provides that you can only drive a vehicle at the age of 17 in the country that issued the driving license and not in the rest of the Member States.
On the other hand, the ministers also agreed to lower the truck driving age to 18, from the current 21, although with several exceptions.
This measure would only affect the driving of fire trucks, those used to maintain public order and those that undergo road tests for repair or maintenance.
The ministers also aligned themselves with the European Commission's proposal so that the withdrawal of a driving license in a Member State automatically means that that person cannot drive in any country of the European Union.
Currently, this legislation only covers violations such as speeding or driving under the influence of drugs, and Brussels wants it to also be extended to cases of driving without maintaining a safe distance, dangerous overtaking, driving in the wrong direction or using overloaded vehicles.
The countries, for their part, added crimes such as failure to comply with vehicle access restrictions or the rules at a railway level crossing, as well as cases of hit and run.
Transport ministers also agreed on a common approach on updating rules on rest times for professional drivers carrying out occasional passenger transport, such as tourist buses.
Broadly, the Twenty-Seven adopted the suggestions of the European Commission's initial proposal in the revision of the regulation, but advocated allowing the required minimum rest period of 45 minutes to be replaced by breaks of at least 15 minutes each (adding at least 45 minutes), spread over the driving period of 4.5 hours, provided that the total accumulated driving time for that day has not exceeded 7 hours.
They also advocated providing "flexibility" to "postpone the daily rest period by 1 hour, provided that the total accumulated driving time for that day has not exceeded 7 hours, and that this option is exercised once during a trip with a duration of at least 6 days, or twice during a trip of at least 8 days.
Likewise, facing the final negotiation with the European Parliament, the ministers defended that the weekly rest period can be "postponed up to 12 consecutive days after a previous regular weekly rest period, provided that the service lasts at least 24 consecutive hours" , an option that is already applied in international services.
"Once adopted, the new rules on minimum breaks and rest periods for bus drivers will ensure better working conditions for them and ensure safer road trips for tourists across Europe," said Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente, representing the Spanish presidency of the Council of the EU.
