The Minister of the Interior has presented his new Road Safety Strategy 2030, a plan with the aim of “being the national framework of reference in road safety policy”, according to Fernando Grande-Marlaska. Hand in hand with this strategy comes a somewhat controversial proposal: introduce a new card for 16-year-oldswhich has been talked about since November last year.
The new B1 permit: A new license, accessible from the age of 16, which allows driving heavy quadricycles (category L7e) of up to 15 kW of power (20 CV), with a maximum speed of 90 km/h, maximum weight of 400 kg (550 kilos in the case of vehicles for the transport of goods) and a weight-power ratio of 0.03 kW/g.
On a legal level, it would be one step below the driving license B (that of the car, of all life) and above the AM card, which opens the door of access to quadricycles and motorcycles limited to 45 km/h. The permit was regulated by European regulations, but it was up to each country to implement it or not.
Image: PONS Road Safety
more european. Countries such as Portugal, Italy, France have already adopted this type of card, framed within the Directive 2006/126 / EC. Spain would thus join the European strategy of allowing the youngest to access light quadricycles, taking a small step forward in electric mobility.
The objective? Grande Marlaska places special emphasis on facilitating mobility in rural areas, where public transport is not as accessible. In the same way, the B1 license is a door to electric mobility for the youngest, and a boost to driving within this same group.
An evolution of what already existed. It is not new that young people can drive. If we talk about light quadricycles, at the age of 15 you could already access the AM card, which allows you to carry quadricycles of up to 6 kW (8 CV) and a maximum speed of 45 km/h. At the age of 16, there is also access to the A1 license, which allows you to drive motorcycles with up to 11 kW (15 CV) of power, a displacement of 125cc and with no limit on maximum speed. This B1 license is more an evolution of the AM license than a step to approach B.
And the exam? The preparation of the exam is the competence of each country, although it should be similar to obtaining the B card: theoretical and practical part in open way. The same happens in the case of the A1 license for 125cc motorcycles, the AM being the only license that exempts from the city test. Being the B1 card above the AM, everything indicates that the exam will be quite complete, although the details have not yet emerged.
What cars can be driven? At the moment, few cars. Companies such as Elecmobility market in Spain the YoYo, a quad limited to 90 km/h. Another proposal can be the small Silence S04, with 149 kilometers of autonomy and removable battery. Little offer, at the moment, since few vehicles meet the weight requirements.
When? There is no closed date for the implementation of the B1 card. It is expected to come into force throughout the 2023 academic year, once the necessary requirements for obtaining it are specified and the Council of Ministers definitively approves its arrival.
For those who can afford it. The price without aids for an XEV YoYo is almost 13,000 euros. The AMI, also without aid, rises from 7,000 euros. The price is not too far from the current gasoline quadricycles, which easily exceeds 10,000 euros in manufacturers such as Microcar or Aixam (manufacturer that has models of more than 16,000 euros). Boosting electric mobility, yes, but for those with ample pockets.
Dangerous? Attending to the accident figures from the DGT, the main victims of traffic accidents are motorcyclists (they account for 1 in 4 fatalities) and, in the case of urban roads, pedestrians and cyclists. There are no data that point to a particular danger in young people with small quadricycles, although the debate is open as to whether or not a 16-year-old should be allowed to legally drive a vehicle that reaches 90 km/h.
