No age limit for the B driving license

The feared stricter new regulations for driving licenses in the EU are off the table. This means that the B driving license is still valid for vehicles up to 3.5 tons. A directive was under discussion that it should initially only be issued for vehicles under two tons total weight. In addition, according to the original plan, every driver over the age of 70 should have their fitness to drive checked every five years.

Instead, an extension of the driving license has cleared a first hurdle. As part of the planned amendment, the European Parliament has approved an extension of the B driving license to 4.25 tons for motorhomes, among others. Unlike previously envisaged, this will happen regardless of the type of drive.

Several associations and clubs, including the Caravaning Industrieverband Deutschland, the Zentralverband Deutsches KFZ-Gewerbe and the ACE, had pushed for a new regulation that does not discriminate against older drivers and takes into account the environmentally-related increase in the unladen weights of leisure vehicles.

In addition, the EU Parliament called for the minimum age of bus drivers to be adjusted to 21 and for easier recognition of the qualifications of third-country nationals.

The exact framework conditions for the extension of driving licenses will be negotiated in the trilogue between the Commission, Council and Parliament after the new elections to the European Parliament (6 to 9 June 2024). (aum)