Minister Ranne: We will seek to improve road safety for young people through amendments to the Driving Licence Act

On 12 June 2025, the Ministry of Transport and Communications initiated a regulation project to amend the Driving Licence Act. The project’s goals are to promote road safety by improving the capability of young drivers to identify and avoid risks and by restricting the times of day young people can drive. Preparations for this project have been under way for a long time.

“Road safety for young people concerns our society as a whole. Finland’s goal is zero traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2050. To achieve this goal, we need legislative amendments and other measures, such as effective traffic education at home and school,” says Minister of Transport and Communications Lulu Ranne.

This project proposes several amendments to driving licence regulations. Key amendments include:

• stricter requirements for mandatory risk identification training and more of this training for category B driving licence holders (passenger cars);
• prohibition of 17-year-old drivers from driving a vehicle that requires a category B driving licence at night, with a badge on the cars of underage drivers to facilitate the control of the night-time driving prohibition;
• expansion of the mandatory driving ban training for newly banned drivers to include the moped, light quadricycle and tractor categories in addition to the motorcycle and passenger car categories;
• a penalty for cheating in the written part of the driving licence examination.

The project would also remove the requirement to return an expired driving licence, which would create savings.

The project will also create an implementation plan for changing the exemption process for 17-year-olds and ensure that the changes will be enacted as quickly as possible. 

The Ministry would examine other improvement needs to road safety for young drivers during the implementation project of the new EU driving licence directive. In connection, the Ministry will implement the changes to the exemption process and launch the necessary additional studies on the requirements for driving a quad bike, and sufficiency of current penalties, among others.

“Young people have the right to travel safely everywhere in Finland. These changes ensure that they get behind the wheel with better skills and attitudes. Exemptions to driving licences should only be granted for an actual need, and the penalties must encourage compliance with the rules,” says Minister Ranne.

Previous monitoring survey supports the preparatory process

There were significant amendments to the Driving Licence Act in 2018. The impact of these amendments was the subject of a three-phase monitoring survey in 2020–2022. The results of the monitoring survey will inform the preparations of this new project.

What’s next?

Preparation for the amendments will begin at the Ministry of Transport and Communications. During this process, the Ministry will consult with stakeholders, such as by requesting comments. 

The aim is to enact these amendments to the Driving Licence Act in summer 2026 at the latest.

Inquiries:

Senior Specialist Monika Mutanen, tel. +358 295 342 204, [email protected]
Requests for interview to Minister Ranne, Special Adviser Tuomas Sorsa, tel. +358 295 342 012, [email protected]