Microcar salesmen worry about proposed moped licence reforms

Ministry of Transport and Communications justifies amendment on road safety grounds

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Finland’s Ministry of Transport and Communications is in the process of preparing a new law on driving licences, in connection with which the moped licence requirements will also be looked at.
      The proposed amendment has upset the importers of the so-called moped cars or microcars.
      If the amendment is accepted, the age limit for driving a moped car would be raised by one year to 16, and the vehicle in question would require a driving licence of its own.
     
The ministry justifies the new classification and the new age limit on road safety grounds.
      “It is a completely different thing to ride a two-wheeler as opposed to driving a quadricycle”, argues Director of Traffic Safety Unit Anneli Tanttu.
      “In traffic the moped cars use the same lanes as all the other cars.”
      At the turn of the year, around 6,500 moped cars were on the vehicle register in Finland.
      According to the Finnish Motor Insurers´ Centre statistics, last year fewer than 20 bodily injuries were sustained in accidents involving moped cars.
      The number of microcars, however, is on the up, and the authorities wish to ensure that the moped cars will be in the hands of safe drivers.
      The proposed amendment is based on an EU directive, the aim of which is to unify the driving licence classifications within the Union.
     
”But this amendment would just add to the driving licence jungle, and not simplify it, which I believe is the directive’s purpose”, says Harri Nyholm from the micro car importer Suomen Mopoauto Oy.
      The proposal suggests two licences for mopedists, namely the national MO licence that one could obtain at the age of 15, plus the EU-based AM licence, the age requirement for which would be 16 in Finland. The AM licence would be recognised anywhere within the EU.
      The holder of the AM licence would be able to operate any two-, three-, or four-wheel vehicle with a top speed of less than 45 km/h.
      The MO licence is a Finnish peculiarity, the aim of which has been to safeguard the mobility of 15-year-olds, particularly those living in rural areas.
      Sweden carried out a similar licence reform last autumn.


Links:
  Microcar (Wikipedia)
  Suomen Mopoauto Oy (Site in Finnish)

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