EU Reverses Course on Proposal to Allow Teenagers Behind the Wheel of HGVs

The European Union has stepped back from plans that would have required all member states to permit 17-year-olds to begin training as heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers.

Originally proposed by the European Commission in 2023, the draft regulation aimed to introduce uniform rules across the EU, enabling teenagers to pursue HGV licenses earlier. However, after negotiations concluded in March, the final legislation now gives each country the choice to adopt—or reject—the measure.

Teen Lorry Driving Left Up to Member States

Currently, only five EU nations — Finland, Germany, Ireland, Poland, and Spain — allow individuals as young as 18 to operate a lorry. The revised framework leaves room for countries to decide whether to extend such training to 17-year-olds, but the push for a mandatory rollout has been abandoned.

Safety advocates, including the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), have welcomed the change. ETSC policy director Ellen Townsend strongly opposed the original proposal, citing crash data that suggests younger HGV drivers pose a greater road safety risk.

“Allowing 17-year-olds to drive lorries was always a bad idea,” said Townsend. “Evidence clearly shows that younger drivers are significantly more likely to be involved in collisions.”

New Driver Rules: Gains and Setbacks

Despite the reversal on teenage HGV licensing, the updated EU road safety legislation introduces several new measures aimed at improving safety standards:

• A minimum two-year probation period will now apply to all new drivers across the EU.
• While a mandatory zero-alcohol limit for novice drivers was proposed, it was ultimately dropped from the final law.
• Instead, member states are encouraged to implement stricter enforcement against driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Townsend expressed disappointment over the weakened alcohol rules, saying:

“Zero-tolerance for drink-driving among new drivers is a straightforward and proven policy. It’s unfortunate that the EU didn’t make this uniform across all member states.”

Currently, countries like Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, and Finland still permit a blood alcohol content (BAC) of up to 0.5 for novice drivers — a threshold ETSC hopes will soon be lowered in line with most of the EU.

Other Notable Changes:

• In countries where alcohol interlock programs are in place (such as France, Sweden, and Poland), more offenders will be eligible to use them instead of facing full driving bans.
• Learner driver training across the EU will also be updated to include driver-assist technologies, helping prepare new motorists for advanced vehicle systems already present in many fleets.

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