The government has taken an initiative to bring amendments to the Driving Licence Act with the view to improve road safety for young people.
The Ministry of Transport and Communications sent out the draft proposal for comments and the deadline for submitting comments is December 14, said the ministry in a press release on Monday.
The draft proposal would clarify and partly tighten the conditions under which a 17-year-old may obtain a passenger car driving licence with an exemption.
The purpose is to ensure that exemptions to driving licences are granted only to meet a young person’s continuous and essential need for mobility, and to improve road safety.
Currently, an exemption can be granted if the young person has a regular need to travel, for example to leisure activities or studies.
Under the proposal, the requirement would be tightened so that travel must occur at least four times a week.
At present, there is no clear definition of regularity. The one-way distance would need to be at least seven kilometres on foot if public transport is unavailable, or the journey would take at least 90 minutes by public transport.
Currently, the requirement is five kilometres or one hour. A parent or other person who has custody of the young person would confirm the information.
Supporting documents for the need to travel would be defined more precisely than at present. For example, a student could prove the need to travel with a certificate of attendance from the educational institution, and a working young person with an employment contract of at least two months.
Currently, shorter contracts have been sufficient to obtain an exemption. For leisure activities, the need would be demonstrated with a certificate from a sports federation for competitive training or from an educational institution for attending basic education in the arts.
Finally, the young person must not be subject to a driving disqualification or a temporary disqualification, nor have been disqualified from driving in the past. Currently, an exemption can be granted despite a driving disqualification, but the young person may only take the driving test and obtain a licence after it has ended.
The proposal also includes a ban on night-time driving between midnight and 5.00 for 17-year-old drivers of vehicles requiring a passenger car licence.
Breaching the ban could result in a fine and a driving disqualification. To enable monitoring, a 17-year-old driver would need to mark their vehicle with a special sign. Failure to display the sign could lead to a EUR 100 traffic penalty fee imposed by the police.
The draft proposal would increase the requirements for mandatory risk recognition training for those obtaining a passenger car licence. The training would be extended by three theory lessons and one driving lesson.
Mandatory training for new drivers who have been disqualified from driving would be expanded to cover mopeds, light quadricycles and tractors, in addition to motorcycles and passenger cars. The requirement would also apply to drivers subject to a temporary disqualification by the police.
Candidates or interpreters found cheating in the theory test could be banned for six months from taking the test or acting as an interpreter for such tests.
The Act would also include a provision allowing the use of interpreters in the test. Provisions on this matter are currently issued by a Finnish Transport and Communications Agency regulation.
The proposal would also remove the obligation to return expired driving licences to the authorities. In future, licence holders could destroy their licence themselves, saving costs. It would also allow certain licences issued by Traficom to be presented electronically.
Finally, the Act would clarify that a driving disqualification or a temporary disqualification does not prevent a person from taking a new driving test if the police have ordered them to do so.
- License
- 17-year-olds
- Tightens
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
