New driving license rules rolled out by the European Commission have apparently already entered ‘into force’, but closer inspection reveals that they will take years to make it onto the roads.
The European Commission (EC) this week proudly announced that a raft of new driving rules had officially come ‘into force’ across Europe.
The changes, the EC says, “aim to reduce the number of crashes on EU roads and undue administrative burden on citizens and authorities.” Figures show that last year alone 19,940 died on EU roads.Â
New rules include, among many other measures, the introduction of digital driving licenses and bloc-wide driving bans for dangerous drivers. All change on European roads then, you might assume — but not quite, or not yet, it turns out.
Closer inspection of the press release reveals that the majority of these rules changes won’t actually be applicable on the road for up to four years.
READ ALSO: ‘This will save lives’ – EU adopts new rules on Europe-wide driving bans
New EU driving rules
One of the headline changes is a new directive introducing a fully digital driving licence on mobile phones to be issued into the EU Digital Identity Wallet, as well as imposing EU-wide bans on drivers who lose their licence in one country.
The aim is to streamline administrative processes and ease cross-border driving, but as The Local has covered previously, drivers will still be able to ask for physical licenses. Similarly, the new rules also establish mutual recognition of driving disqualifications so drivers who commit serious offences in one Member State face consistent consequences across the EU.Â
The other major change is that compulsory medical exams for drivers will also be introduced. Though the exact details are to be decided on a country-by-country basis, medical checks are being brought in to ensure “more systematic checks of the fitness to drive” — especially older drivers.
The regulations also focus on younger drivers, however, specifically by implementing an “accompanied driving scheme” for 17-year-olds behind the wheel and stricter rules for “novice drivers” that will include a two-year probationary period during which “they will be subject to stricter rules and sanctions in the whole EU”.
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When do the rules really ‘come into force’?
These are significant changes that drivers need to be aware of, but the truth is that many of the rules won’t actually become road ready for some time.
The EC press release claims that as of November 25th, “modernised rules on driving licences and mutual recognition of driving disqualifications enter into force across the EU.”
However, that’s not actually the case. Buried in the press release is important information revealing that the rule changes haven’t actually ‘come into force’ and won’t for some time — several years in some cases.
At the bottom of the press release, it clearly states: “The new legislation is now in force and will become applicable in Member States in four years, after transposition into national legislation, with an exception for the rules on alternatively powered vehicles and accompanied driving, which will become applicable in two and three years respectively.“
Classic European institutions getting bogged down by bureaucracy, you might think! So, what’s going on here?
A source at the European Commissions tells The Local that although the legislation is now technically in force, it takes time for this to be put into national legislation: “The Directive has entered into force, and it is now time for the Member States to transpose it into national legislation,” the source explains.
“To make sure that the new rules will be implemented seamlessly and safely, Member States need time for the technical and legal preparation. This is not unusual with Directives – developing and putting in place a safe and sustainable framework takes time. While the new measures will bring positive changes, they also mean significant adjustments for some Member States,” they add.
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“The required time was deemed less for the measure to authorise driving of heavier alternatively fueled vehicles (2 years) and for accompanied driving schemes (3 years) as there are already many best practices in place in Member States, which will facilitate implementation. The other measures are expected to take more time to implement,” the source explained, meaning rule changes on licenses, driving bans and possible medical tests for license renewals will likely take four years to be fully implemented.
This is to ensure road safety, the Commission argues: “It is important that the new rules are being applied in a coordinated manner – both for road safety and exercising driving rights. For example,if the rules on the mutual recognition of driving licences are not transposed and applied with a definitive certainty, situations could arise under which drivers would not be able to exercise their right to drive across the EU.
“New rights, such as to drive motorhomes up to 4 250 kg with a B licence, come with new responsibilities and have consequences for several actors in the national systems,” they add, giving examples of “driving schools [and] national licensing procedures”.
