Every fourth 17-year-old has a passenger car driving license: « It has become so easy to obtain an exemption that it is no longer an exemption »

Which At the end of 2024, the fourth 17-year-old had a passenger car driving, according to the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom) from statistics.

The Driving License Act was renewed in 2018. The change in law made it easier for the 17-year-olds to get a passenger car driving license with an exemption. An exemption can be obtained if it is difficult to go to school or hobby without a car.

On Nurmijärvi on Friday night in a crash The two young people were 17 years old. One of them was a car driver who had obtained a driving license with an exemption.

More than 90 % of applicants receive an exemption, says the CEO of Traffic Safety Pasi Anteroinen.

« It has become so easy to obtain an exemption that it is no longer an exemption, » Anteroinen says.

It seems that there was no need to be prepared for the large number of applications for exemptions. When the bill was discussed, the consequences of the change were assessed on the grounds that the exemptions would be granted in 5,000 per year. However, according to Anteroinen, 20,000 exemptions have been granted each year.

New Drivers are at greater risk of being accidentally involved. According to Traficom statistics, over five 17-19-year-old drivers per 100,000 driving licenses died in traffic between 2022 and 2024. The corresponding figure for 55-74 year olds was about 1.3.

17-year-old car drivers were involved in four deaths and 80 injury to the police in 2024.

However, in about ten years, the deaths of young drivers have decreased slightly. According to Anteroinen, this is due to the general improvement in road safety, which affects all age groups.

Young people’s greater risk of an accident is related to two things: there has only been little driving experience. In addition, age affects driving safety due to the development of the brain. The ability to assess risks is lower in people under the age of 25 than in the older ones.

“A person becomes a safer driver after every year of age. The 17-year-old is a more risky driver than the 18-year-old,” says Anteroinen.

To the driving license law Changes were planned during the previous term. However, the preparation of the changes was not completed.

For example, the presentation would be limited to minors driving at night. One in three of the deaths of young drivers occurs at night.

« I think we need to consider the restrictions on the exemptions. Night -time limit for minors would be highly justified on the basis of statistics. Hope it will be discussed again, » Anteroinen says.