Drivers of certain road vehicles for the carriage of goods or passengers: initial qualification and periodic training; driving licences

PURPOSE: to improve the EU-wide standard of initial qualification and periodic training for drivers of certain road vehicles for the carriage of goods or passengers.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Directive (EU) 2018/645 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2003/59/EC on the initial qualification and periodic training of drivers of certain road vehicles for the carriage of goods or passengers and Directive 2006/126/EC on driving licences.

CONTENT: this Directive amends Directive 2003/59/EC to address a number of shortcomings relating to: (i) legal uncertainty in, the interpretation of exemptions; (ii) the content of the training, which was found to be only partially relevant for drivers' needs; (iii) difficulties for drivers in obtaining mutual recognition of completed or partially completed training undergone in another Member State; (iv) and inconsistencies of minimum age requirements between Directives 2003/59/EC and 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council.

This Directive shall apply to the activity of driving carried out by nationals of a Member State, and nationals of third countries who are employed or used by an undertaking established in a Member State.

Exemptions: the Directive shall not apply to drivers of vehicles:

• with a maximum authorised speed not exceeding 45 km/h;
• used by, or under the control of, the armed forces, civil defence, the fire service, forces responsible for maintaining public order, and emergency ambulance services, when the carriage is undertaken as a consequence of the tasks assigned to those services;
• for which a driving licence of category D or D1 is required and which are driven without passengers by maintenance personnel to or from a maintenance centre situated in the vicinity of the nearest maintenance base which is used by the transport operator, provided that driving the vehicle does not constitute the driver's principal activity;
• used in states of emergency or assigned to rescue missions, including vehicles used in the non-commercial transport of humanitarian aid;
• used for non-commercial carriage of passengers or goods;
• used, or hired without a driver, by agricultural, horticultural, forestry, farming or fishery undertakings for carrying goods as part of their own entrepreneurial activity, except if driving is part of the driver's principal activity or the driving exceeds a distance set in national law from the base of the undertaking which owns, hires or leases the vehicles.

Periodic training: periodic training shall focus on road safety, health and safety at work, and the reduction of the environmental impact of driving. The Directive strengthens certain important aspects of training, such as hazard perception; the protection of vulnerable road users, in particular pedestrians, cyclists and persons with limited mobility; fuel-efficient driving; driving in extreme weather conditions and carrying abnormal loads.

To ensure consistency between the different forms of training required under Union law, Member States shall have the possibility to combine different types of relevant training: for example, it should be possible for them to combine training on the transport of dangerous goods, on disability awareness or on animal transport, with the training provided for in Directive 2003/59/EC.

Training shall be organised by an approved training centre. Training shall consist of classroom teaching, practical training and, if available, training by means of information and communication technology (ICT) tools or on top-of-the-range simulators.

Union code: on the basis of the CPC certifying an initial qualification and the CPC certifying periodic training, Member States' competent authorities shall mark the harmonised Union code, ‘95’, provided for in Annex I to Directive 2006/126/EC, alongside the corresponding categories of licence: on the driving licence, or on the driver qualification card drawn up in accordance with the model shown in Annex II to this Directive.

It is specified that those amendments do not invalidate the training undergone, or the driving licences issued to certify such training, before their application.

In addition, the Directive introduces in Directive 2006/126/EC an explicit derogation stipulating that driving licences may be issued at the minimum ages laid down in Directive 2003/59/EC.

Alternatively fuelled vehicles: in order to contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the improvement of air quality, Member States shall be given the possibility to allow, in their territory, holders of a category B driving licence to drive certain types of alternatively fuelled vehicles of which the maximum authorised mass is greater than 3 500 kg but does not exceed 4 250 kg.

Enforcement network: Member States shall develop, in cooperation with the Commission, an electronic network to exchange information on CPCs issued or withdrawn. They shall assist each other in the implementation of the Directive and exchange information on the permits they have issued, exchanged, replaced, renewed or withdrawn.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 22.5.2018.

TRANSPOSITION: no later than 23.5.2020.