BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Modernised rules on driving licences and mutual recognition of driving disqualifications entered into force across the European Union Tuesday. The measures aim to reduce the number of crashes on EU roads and undue administrative burden on citizens and authorities.
Last year alone, 19,940 lives were lost on EU roads, according to the European Commission. This is a 2 percent decrease compared to 2023 and marks steady but slow progress toward the EU's Vision Zero goal of halving road deaths and serious injuries by 2030 and getting close to eliminating them by 2050.
The new rules include measures that have been proven to significantly improve road safety, including the introduction of an EU-wide accompanied driving scheme for 17-year-old drivers and an EU-wide probationary period for novice drivers. Mutual recognition of driving disqualifications will ensure that drivers who commit serious offenses face consequences, no matter if they were driving within or outside their home country. Additionally, the EU introduces digital EU driving licences that can be accessed on mobile phones or other digital devices, and can be used across the EU.
The new legislation is now in force and will become applicable in Member States in four years, after transposition into national legislation. Rules on alternatively powered vehicles and accompanied driving will become applicable in two and three years respectively, the Commission said.
Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas said, 'Today marks a major step forward in modernising our driver's licencing system and bringing down the unacceptable number of road deaths across the EU. Every life lost on our roads is one too many. Our new rules will bring us closer to our Vision Zero - zero deaths and serious injuries on EU roads by 2050.'
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