Driving licence: driving from the age of 17, it will be possible in 2024, the explanations

DRIVING LICENSE – In an interview with Brut, Tuesday June 20, 2023, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne confirmed that from January 2024, it will be possible to take a driving license from the age of 17.

“I can confirm that from January 2024, we will be able to take a driving license from the age of 17 and drive from the age of 17”, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne announced on Tuesday June 20, 2023 during a meeting. an interview with Brut. To date, it is necessary to wait for the majority, that is to say 18 years, to be able to have a driving license and to circulate.

The Head of Government explained that, while this measure was not of interest to all young people, especially those who live in cities very well served by public transport, the news should be welcomed by rural areas, where moving around without car is much more complicated. “There are territories in which the young person who must [se déplacer entre] his home, the apprentice training center and the company where he does his apprenticeship” finds himself in “a real hassle”, she justified. And to conclude: “Allow to pass the driving license earlier, I think it’s a real plus for these young people.”

During this interview, Elisabeth Borne clarified that the aid of 500 euros, to pass the permit, intended for apprentices would now be accessible to students of vocational high schools. Finally, responding to the reluctance of associations that promote road safety vis-à-vis the passage from 18 to 17 years old, the Prime Minister wanted to be reassuring: “We will remain very attentive to the level required of a young person to obtain his license. To drive.” And to insist: “At our neighbors who implemented the license at 17, we could see that there had not been more accidents. It is not specifically among 17-year-olds that there are accidents.” The government also wishes to “reinforce learning about the Highway Code” within schools.

The theoretical driving license test is better known as the “code”. To prepare for it, each candidate benefits from hours of training delivered by the driving school on which he depends. On the day of the exam, a valid identity document (or one that has been expired for less than two years) is essential to gain access to the test. To obtain his code, the learner driver must not make more than 5 errors out of the 40 questions he is asked. Obtaining this theoretical test is essential in order to take the driving test.

With his code in his pocket, the candidate for the driving license exam can therefore take the practical test on the road. This lasts about 35 minutes, including 25 minutes of actual driving. The examiner performs a vision test of the candidate, usually having them read a license plate from a distance. Then comes the heart of the event, where all the skills of the learner driver are studied. Compliance with the Highway Code, control of the vehicle, behavior towards other road users and ability to react are analyzed in real conditions. At the end of the test, if the candidate has passed his driving test, a certificate is then issued to him. This certificate allows him to take the wheel of a car while waiting for the delivery of his final driving licence.

The average cost of a driving license is 1,800 euros in a classic driving school. Often, the price of 1200 euros is advanced but this price is for a driving package including the mandatory 20 hours on the road and unlimited code training. However, in the event of failure of the practical test, the candidate is advised to carry out new hours of driving, the unit cost of which is approximately 40 euros. Repeated failures can therefore considerably increase the bill for the driving license…

ATTENTION : Since March 1, 2004, people who have just obtained the license only have a probationary license at 6 points for three years.

The motorist loses between 1 and 6 points depending on the seriousness of the offense observed. All offenses are classified according to a scale which you can find out about by going to our page dedicated to the withdrawal of points. It is impossible to lose 12 points at once. The deduction of points does not take place as soon as the infringement is observed. It is when the offense is judged and when this judgment has become final by exhaustion of the appeal procedures that there is a loss of points. This loss of points is effective when it is recorded in the national driving license file. The driver is informed, for each withdrawal, by simple letter addressed to his domicile.

You can find out the number of points remaining on your driving license on the Internet via the Télépoints site (see: Télépoints: the site to find out its points balance). Otherwise, you must go to your prefecture or sub-prefecture in person, with your original driving license and another piece of identification.

You can recover driving license points as long as your license has not been revoked.

• After 6 months : If you only lost one license point, you get it back if no violation is recorded. If you ever commit a new offence, you will have to wait 2 years.
• After 2 years : If you do not commit any traffic offence(s), you automatically recover all your license points from the payment of the last fine or the last conviction. If you ever commit a new offense during this period, the time limit starts running again from the last conviction.
• After 3 years : If the last offense is considered a misdemeanor or a 4th or 5th class misdemeanor and you do not commit any offence(s) during this period. If you ever commit an offense again, the 3-year period starts again from the date of the last offense.

By attending awareness-raising courses: the awareness courses can be followed voluntarily or be imposed on you according to the decision of the judge and will allow you to recover 4 points for 260 euros. They last two consecutive days. You can do one every year. These courses are carried out by organizations controlled by the prefects. ATTENTION : Awareness courses last two days. They are paid and you can only follow such a course every two years.

Permit with points: what are the effects of losing all the points?

When the capital is reduced to zero, the driving license loses its validity with a ban on obtaining a new one before a period of 6 months. The loss of validity concerns the authorization to drive any motorized land vehicle for which a driving license is necessary. The holder is informed by registered letter of the cancellation of his permit. He has one week from receipt of the letter to return his driving license to the prefecture.

It’s necessary :

• be recognized as fit following a medical examination and a psychotechnical examination.
• pass the highway code test for people who had held a license for more than 3 years when it was cancelled.
• ATTENTION : for this, the request for a new license must be submitted to the prefecture less than 9 months after the cancellation of the old licence, otherwise the driving must also be retaken.
• pass the full test (highway code and driving) for holders of a driving license for less than 3 years when it is cancelled.