Reductions to training requirements for light-duty trucks

Training requirements for light-duty trucks, that is C1 and C1E driving licence categories, will be reduced. This will lower the costs of acquiring a driving licence in these categories and so improve the availability of freight transport drivers. 

The Government issued a Decree on amending the Government Decree on Driving Licences on 22 November 2018.

In category C1, the new minimum amount of theory lessons is two hours and of driving lessons three hours. Currently there must be at least nine hours of theory lessons and at least five hours of driving tuition.

In category C1E, the new minimum requirements are three hours for both parts.  At present, at least eight hours of theory lessons and ten hours of driving tuition are required for a C1E licence.

The current numbers of lessons and tuition have been considered high with regard to the size and features of the vehicle fleet. A vehicle in category C1 is often a big van that in terms of its control device and driving behaviour is closer to a passenger vehicle or a van than a truck requiring a C category driving licence. 

If a person acquiring a licence has been issued a driving licence of category C1 or C1E with reduced requirements, the amount of training and tuition in categories C and CE will be increased. This will ensure that drivers' skills are adequate in the categories of heavier vehicles.

With a permission by the Transport Safety Agency, Töysä driving school carried out an experiment on applying the new amounts of training and tuition. According to an interim report of the experiment, reductions in the number of training and tuition did not decisively impair the results of the driving test. The experiment showed that adequate skills can be provided with the new amounts of tuition too. 

What next?

The amendments enter into force on 1 December 2018.

Inquiries:
Eero Salojärvi, Coordinator, tel +358 295 34 2123