Directive 2003/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) has been substantially amended several times (4). In the interests of clarity and rationality, that Directive should be codified.
(2)
In its White Paper of 28 March 2011, entitled ‘Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area – Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system’, the Commission sets out a ‘vision zero’ objective according to which the Union should move to a position where there are close to zero fatalities in road transport by 2050.
(3)
The Commission, in its communication on policy orientations on road safety for 2011-2020, entitled ‘Towards a European road safety area: policy orientations on road safety 2011-2020’, proposed the goal of further halving the overall number of road fatalities in the Union by 2020, starting from 2010. With a view to reaching this goal, the Commission laid down seven strategic objectives, including improving the education and training of road users and the protection of vulnerable road users.
(4)
A binding target of a domestic reduction in economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions of at least 40 % by 2030 compared to 1990 was endorsed by the European Council of 23 to 24 October 2014. This target for emissions reduction will help to fulfil the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement adopted in 2015 under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (5), and all sectors of the economy should contribute to achieving it. The transport sector needs a comprehensive approach for the promotion of emission reductions and energy efficiency. Progress should be made towards low-emission mobility, inter alia, through research and through the introduction of technological advances that are already available. Drivers need to be properly trained to drive in the most efficient manner.
(5)
To enable drivers to meet the demands relating to the road transport market, Union rules on the minimum level of training for road transport drivers should be applicable to all drivers, whether they drive as self-employed or salaried workers, and whether on their own account or for hire or reward.
(6)
Union rules on the minimum level of training for road transport drivers should be aimed at ensuring that, by means of his or her qualification, the driver is of a standard to have access to and carry out the activity of driving.
(7)
More particularly, the obligation to hold an initial qualification and to undergo periodic training is intended to improve road safety and the safety of the driver, including during operations carried out by the driver while the vehicle is stopped. Furthermore, the modern nature of the profession of driver should arouse young people’s interest in the profession, contributing to the recruitment of new drivers at a time of shortage.
(8)
To avoid unequal conditions of competition, this Directive should apply to the activity of driving carried out both by nationals of a Member State and by nationals of third countries who are employed or used by an undertaking established in a Member State.
(9)
It is desirable, in order to respect the principles of Union law, that drivers of vehicles used to carry out transport where this is considered to have a lesser impact on road safety or where the requirements of this Directive would impose a disproportionate economic or social burden should be exempted from the application of this Directive.
(10)
Certain exemptions should be laid down in relation to situations where driving is not the principal activity of the driver and where it would impose a disproportionate burden on drivers to require them to comply with the requirements of this Directive. Generally, driving is deemed not to be the driver’s principal activity where it occupies less than 30 % of the rolling monthly working time.
(11)
Where the driving occurs infrequently, takes place in rural areas and is carried out by drivers who are supplying their own business, exemptions should apply, provided that road safety is still ensured. Due to the different conditions in rural areas within the Union in terms of geography, climate and population density, Member States should have discretion in determining whether such driving can be considered to be occasional and whether such an exemption has an impact on road safety, for example on the basis of the type of road, the traffic volume or the presence of vulnerable road users.
(12)
Since the distances that persons working in agriculture, horticulture, forestry, farming and fishery, who are exempted from this Directive, need to cover in the course of their work vary across the Union, it should be left to Member States to determine, in their national law, maximum permissible distances, calculated from the undertaking’s base, to which the exemptions apply.
(13)
In order to establish that the driver complies with his or her obligations, Member States should issue the driver with a certificate of professional competence (CPC) certifying his or her initial qualification or periodic training.
(14)
Member States should be able to choose between several options so as to facilitate the implementation of the provisions relating to the initial qualification.
(15)
In order to maintain their qualification of driver, existing drivers should be obliged to undergo periodic retraining in the skills essential for their profession.
(16)
Those drivers who were exempted from the initial qualification requirement should, while continuing to benefit from that exemption, nonetheless be required to undergo periodic training to ensure that their knowledge of matters which are essential for their work remains up-to-date.
(17)
The minimum requirements to be met for initial qualification and periodic training concern the safety rules to be observed when driving and while the vehicle is stopped. The development of defensive driving (anticipating danger, making allowance for other road users), which goes hand in hand with rational fuel consumption, should have a positive impact both on society and on the road transport sector itself.
(18)
This Directive should not affect the rights acquired by a driver who has held the driving licence necessary to carry out the activity of driving since before the date laid down for obtaining a CPC certifying the corresponding initial qualification or periodic training.
(19)
Only training centres which have been approved by the competent authorities of the Member States should be able to organise the training courses laid down for the initial qualification and the periodic training. To ensure the quality of such approved centres, the competent authorities should set harmonised criteria for their approval, including that of a well-established high level of professionalism.
(20)
Not only the competent authorities of the Member States but also any entity designated by them should be responsible for organising the tests provided for in connection with the initial qualification and the periodic training. Given the importance of this Directive for road safety and for the equality of conditions of competition, the competent authorities of the Member States should supervise such tests.
(21)
Member States should prescribe that the first course of periodic training is to be completed and should issue the corresponding CPC within the five years following either the date of issue of the CPC certifying the initial qualification or the expiry date of the time limit set for certain drivers to claim their acquired rights. It should also be possible for those time limits to be shortened or extended. Following the first course of periodic training, the driver should undergo periodic training every five years.
(22)
To certify that a driver who is a national of a Member State is the holder of one of the CPCs provided for by this Directive, and to facilitate mutual recognition of the various CPCs, Member States should affix the harmonised Union code laid down for that purpose, together with the code’s expiry date, either to the driving licence or to the driver qualification card, to be mutually recognised by Member States, the standard model of which is depicted in Annex II to this Directive. That card should meet the same security requirements as the driving licence, given the importance of the rights which it confers for road safety and the equality of conditions of competition.
(23)
Member States, in cooperation with the Commission, should electronically exchange information on CPCs. They should develop the necessary electronic platform, taking into account a cost-benefit analysis by the Commission, including the option of expanding the EU driving licence network set up under Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (6). Among other benefits, that will allow Member States to easily access information on completed training which is not documented on the driving licence of the driver. It is important that Member States and the Commission make efforts to develop that functionality further, with the goal of real-time access during roadside checks.
(24)
Taking into account developments in training and education, and in order to enhance the contribution of this Directive to road safety and the relevance of training for drivers, subjects relating to road safety should be dealt with in the training courses, such as hazard perception, the protection of vulnerable road users, in particular pedestrians, cyclists and persons with limited mobility, fuel-efficient driving, driving in extreme weather conditions and carrying abnormal loads. In that context, the courses should also relate to intelligent transport systems and should evolve in order to keep pace with technological developments.
(25)
Member States should be provided with a clear option to improve and modernise training practices with the use of information and communication technology (ICT) tools, such as e-learning and blended learning, for part of the training, while ensuring the quality of the training. When improving and modernising training practices with the use of ICT tools, it is important to take into account the fact that some specific topics require hands-on training and cannot be properly addressed with such learning tools: for example, fitting snow chains or securing loads, or other training elements where the practical side is important. Practical training could, but does not have to, consist of driving. A substantial amount of the training required under this Directive should be carried out at an approved training centre.
(26)
To ensure consistency between the different forms of training required under Union law, Member States should have the possibility of combining different types of relevant training: for example, it should be possible for them to combine training on the transport of dangerous goods, on disability awareness or on animal transport, with the training provided for in this Directive.
(27)
To prevent differences in practices between Member States from impeding mutual recognition and restricting the right of drivers to undergo the periodic training in the Member State where they work, Member State authorities should be required, if completed training cannot be marked on the driving licence, to issue a driver qualification card, in the form prescribed by the standard model depicted in Annex II to this Directive, that will ensure mutual recognition for every driver who fulfils the requirements of this Directive.
(28)
The use of driver attestations by drivers from third countries as evidence of compliance with the training requirements might present an obstacle for drivers when the haulier returns the attestation to the issuing authorities, particularly when those drivers wish to take up employment in another Member State. To avoid situations where, under such circumstances, drivers have to repeat their training when taking up new employment, Member States should be encouraged to cooperate and exchange information on driver qualifications.
(29)
Special certification provisions should be laid down for drivers covered by this Directive who are nationals of third countries.
(30)
In order to adapt this Directive to scientific and technical progress, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of amending Annexes I and II to this Directive. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making (7). In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States’ experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.
(31)
Since the objective of this Directive, namely the setting out of a Union-wide standard of initial qualification and periodic training for drivers of certain road vehicles for the carriage of goods or passengers, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States but can rather, by reason of the cross-border nature of road transport and of the issues this Directive is intended to address, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article, this Directive does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.
(32)
This Directive should be without prejudice to the obligations of the Member States relating to the time-limits for the transposition into national law and the dates of application of the Directives set out in Part B of Annex IV,
