The Law on Driving License is amended
A proposal of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works regarding the amendment of the Law on Driving License was approved at its session today by the Council of Ministers. The final text of the amending bill was drafted in its current form following decisions taken at an extraordinary meeting of the Road Safety Council, which had as its main topic the road safety of motorcyclists. The data from the road collisions in the road network were also taken into account, according to which 16 motorcyclists and motorcycle passengers lost their lives in 2019, 14 in 2020 and 14 in 2021, as well as the suggestions that emerged from the consultations that took place. by the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works with almost all organized ensembles of motorcyclists.
With the promoted amendments to the relevant Law, the aim is to properly regulate the driving of apprentice drivers on the road network, so as to stop the phenomenon of their self-education. In addition, the duration of the student leave and the appropriate protective clothing that trainees and moped and motorcycle riders must wear during their work are determined as the most prone to road collisions, especially during their work.
Specifically, the Driving License (Amendment) Law of 2022, provides the following:
1. The validity of the student leave is set at two years. After the expiration of the two-year period and in case the driver has not received a regular driving license, he must re-submit to the process of examination and issuance of his student license.
2. Driving on the road network by an apprentice driver is regulated in such a way that trainees of all categories of moped and motorcycle can be trained on the road network, provided that they are accompanied (in another vehicle) and are under the direct supervision of a licensed driving instructor.
3. The trainee drivers they must, in addition to the protective helmet, wear the appropriate protective clothing that a motorcyclist must wear. More specifically, in addition to the protective helmet, they must wear:
- Jacket or vest with phosphorescent stripes,
- Trousers and boots or shoes, and
- Knee pads and knee pads, gloves and back and hip protectors.
4. The moped and motorcycle riders during their work in addition to the protective helmet, they must wear the appropriate protective clothing that a motorcyclist must wear. More specifically, in addition to the protective helmet, they must wear:
- Jacket or vest with phosphorescent stripes,
- Pants and boots or shoes,
- Knee pads and knee pads, gloves and back and hip pads, and
- Airbag, special for the use of vehicles of categories AM, A1, A2 and A.
The bill will soon be submitted to the House of Representatives for a vote on a law.
Today's decision of the Council of Ministers is part of a series of actions taken to ensure the greatest possible protection and safety of motorcyclists on the road network.
In this direction, the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works is in the final stage of defining the parameters and implementation within 2022 of the mandatory technical inspection of motorcycles.
In the same direction, the Ministry will put in the coming days in public consultation a bill, which regulates the establishment and operation of driving schools, in order to provide a comprehensive solution to the issue and to introduce modern regulations, such as the obligation of lifelong learning of driving instructors, the introduction of the institution of the School of Driving Instructors, the categorization of instructors and schools according to the knowledge and teaching aids they have respectively, the introduction of a process to ensure the quality of operation of schools, etc.
In addition, within the first half of 2022, a subsidy scheme for protective equipment for motorcyclists for the period 2022-2024 will be implemented, with a budget of 1 million and 50 thousand euros for the three years. Through the Plan, all types of protective equipment will be subsidized, with priority given to the purchase of a protective vest-type airbag.