The changes proposed by the Polish government are a response to the EU directive from March 2023, which aims to improve safety and eliminate fatal road accidents by 2050. One of these changes would be the possibility of obtaining a driving license for categories B, C and C1 at the age of 17.
We want to better prepare young people to use the roads and we already have a ready project that will restore the possibility of taking a driving license for people who turn 17. They will therefore be able to obtain a driving license one year earlier than at present. However, this will require, first of all, the consent of parents or legal guardians, and then, until they become adults, such a driver will only be able to drive a car if they have an accompanying person with them who has had a driving license for a longer period of time – said Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Stanisław Bukowiec in an interview for the portal brd24.pl.
Driving license from the age of 17, but under certain conditions
Although young people will be able to obtain a driving license a year earlier than before, it will be associated with certain restrictions. The first of these will be an absolute requirement of sobriety (including 0.0 per mille of alcohol), which the deputy minister announced in the aforementioned interview. In addition, drivers up to the age of 18 will have to drive a car in the company of another, more experienced driver, which is to be a period of introduction to using the roads independently. It is no secret, and police statistics also confirm this, that young drivers often distinguish themselves by reckless driving. And it is precisely this next restriction that is intended to counteract this. Additionally, the planned regulations assume that the maximum power of a car that a driver up to the age of 18 will drive will be 70 kW, or 95 horsepower.
Bravado behind the wheel
According to the Police report, the group of so-called "young drivers" aged 18-24 is characterized by the highest rate of accidents per 10,000 population. In 2023, they were responsible for 2,898 accidents (15.2% of accidents caused by drivers), 275 people died in them, and 3,664 were injured. Unfortunately, as we read in the report for 2023, the cause of 35.8% of accidents caused by young drivers was "failure to adjust speed to traffic conditions", and their severity is evidenced by 61.1% of people killed in accidents caused by them. These data indicate that young drivers are characterized by recklessness and lack of experience. Will the new regulations actually increase driver safety through the gradual introduction of young drivers? We asked one of our editorial colleagues – Kamil Pawłowski, head of the Agricultural Technology department, for his opinion.
– I took my driving test back in the 90s, when you could apply for a driving license after your 17th birthday, which I took advantage of, of course. The change came in 2003. Did it change the accident statistics in any dramatic way? If a 17-year-old lacks imagination and skills on the road, an 18-year-old will make the same mistakes. It doesn't really matter. So how do you temper the temperament of young people? Introducing a rule that a young driver will drive with an adult in the passenger seat for the first year should work. Although, of course, it won't eliminate the risk of two "crazies" behind the wheel. So another solution is to allow driving a car with a maximum power of 70 kW, or about 95 HP. This is a good idea, because driving too fast in a modern and powerful vehicle is a common cause of road accidents among young drivers. The group of vehicles up to 95 HP includes new, not very dynamic cars such as the modern Dacia Sandero with the TCe 90 engine, as well as slightly older cars in the B segment, such as the Opel Corsa, Ford Fiesta or Renault Clio. A young driver can also choose a lot of even older vehicles – cheap, without many systems that make driving easier, in which he will learn real motoring. Of course, with 95 HP you can also drive fast, all a 17-year-old needs to do is get a light car from a few decades ago, e.g. Fiat Punto II 1.4l 16V, Volkswagen Polo II 1.3 GT, Honda Civic V 1.5l. There are plenty of such cars and they reach 100 km/h in under 10 seconds. Young drivers may also be interested in all popular classics from Polish Fiats and Polonez through Ladas, older Mercedes to slightly newer, but for people born after 2007 already classic, Fiat Cinquecento – comments Kamil Pawłowski.
Are you in favor of implementing these regulations? Do you think they will improve the situation on Polish roads and is it a good idea?
