Strict EU announcement: Drivers should now take even better care of their driving licenses on vacation

Too many traffic offenses in the EU remain without consequences for the offenders.

Brussels is now reacting.

Drivers will have to be more careful in the future – also abroad.

Brussels – The EU Commission is serious.

A number of changes aim to make roads safer across Europe.

One aspect: Anyone who has driven too fast or parked wrongly in other EU countries should be less likely to get off lightly in the future.

It is one of many building blocks for the major goal of halving the number of road deaths and serious injuries by 2030, says EU Commissioner Adina Valean.

According to preliminary data, the number of traffic deaths in the EU rose by three percent last year.

Compared to 2019, however, the number of deaths fell by around ten percent to around 20,600, according to the EU Commission.

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In Europe, the speed limits for campers are sometimes extremely different.

© Rolf Poss/Imago

Strict EU announcement for drivers: Now you should take good care of your driver's license even on vacation

In order to reduce the number of road accidents in the EU, the Commission is now proposing accompanied driving for everyone aged 17 and over.

New rules for medical fitness to drive, which could affect senior citizens in particular, and the EU-wide driving license from the age of 17 are now to come.

Because more than 40 percent of cross-border traffic offenses in the EU are stopped without punishment, the European Union also wants to punish traffic offenders in other EU countries better in the future, said Valean.

It shouldn't stay that way.

For this reason, cross-border cooperation between the authorities should be made easier.

Perpetrators of particularly serious crimes should not only lose their driving licenses in one country, but in the entire EU.

Driving license – the further plans of the EU:

• In the future, drivers should be able to show their driver's license on their cell phone during traffic checks or when renting a car. 

• In the training of novice drivers, climate-friendly driving should take up more space in the future.

• Young people should be able to get their driver's license at the age of 17 and gain experience through accompanied driving. 

• Seniors should prove their medical fitness to drive from the age of 70.

There is a particular focus on offenses such as exceeding the speed limit by more than 50 kilometers per hour or accidents with fatalities and injuries.

Drivers on vacation should be forced to drive much more carefully.

Because even battery-powered cars are heavier, the Commission announced another proposal: soon, across the EU, vehicles up to 4.25 tons in weight - like larger mobile homes - will be allowed to be driven by owners of a conventional category B car driver's license - provided that these are zero-emission vehicles.

So far, the weight limit for this class in Germany is 3.5 tons.

Numerous people are now affected by the driver's license exchange: the deadline for other vintages did not end until January 2023.

List of rubrics: © Rolf Poss/Imago