One of the advantages provided by the class B license, the car license, is that it allows you to drive motorcycles up to 125 cc. The regulations establish that drivers with a B license with more than three years of experience can ride motorcycles with a maximum displacement of 125 cc, which ultimately makes scooters the undisputed kings of the market.
However, the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) has announced changes and will only allow those drivers who have passed a specific course granted by the same entity to continue riding motorcycles with a class B license. At the moment it is unknown when it will come into effect. The new regulations come into effect, since the project is in the initial phase, but the intention of the General Director of Traffic, Pere Navarro, is for the regulation to be ready for this year.
The measure is part of the package of updates to road safety regulations announced last January by the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska. These modifications also include the prohibition of using open helmets and the obligation to wear gloves while driving on interurban roads.
There is no doubt that the measure that has raised the most controversy is the obligation to pass a course to drive motorcycles with a B license. Users and companies in the motorcycle sector have openly complained about the measure. “Accidents do not come from 125 cc motorcycles, but from those with a larger displacement,” the rental motorcycle startup Rideon points out to Moveo, an opinion shared by the community of scooter users.
However, the measure will not be retroactive. This was confirmed a few days ago by Navarro after Grande-Marlaska did not specify it in his appearance. The minister remarked in January that “to drive a motorcycle there must be prior knowledge of that vehicle which, evidently, has nothing to do with a four-wheeled one.”
If Pere Navarro's opinion prevails when the measure comes into force, only people who obtain a class B driving license will have to take and pass a specific course to ride a motorcycle starting three years from the date of obtaining the driving license. car.
To drive a rental motorcycle of up to 125 cc, companies that offer this type of service do not require a specific motorcycle license. They allow you to do so both with the A1 permit, which can be obtained from the age of 16, and with the car permit, meeting the legal requirement of three years of experience. But when the regulations announced by Grande-Marlaska are mandatory, users with a B license must also prove that they have approved the specific course to drive a motorcycle.
Companies in the sector are already putting pressure on the DGT to consider an exception in the regulations. They argue that maintaining the status is necessary to "avoid destabilization of the motosharing market," as expressed by a Rideon spokesperson.
The DGT sources consulted by Moveo have not confirmed whether an exception will be considered for scooter rental companies.
We must not forget that motorcycles up to 125 cc are the most popular in our country. In 2023, 199,120 motorcycles were registered in Spain, of which 107,774 correspond to models up to 125 cc, according to data provided by Anesdor. The employers' association of companies in the two-wheeled sector highlights that in the last decade the number of motorcycles has grown by 18.79% and that of motorcycles up to 125 cc, by 49.06%, almost triple.
