Driver’s licenses need to be renewed with increased specifics: Education Ministry

If Parliament approves the draft bill on Highway Traffic Regulation, the information pertaining to what vehicles the license holder is permitted to drive will be increased, according to a letter that has been sent by the Ministry of Education.

The Ministry of Education issued a letter to driving schools stating a new Highway Traffic Regulation was being prepared and within this concept, the number of types of driving licenses would be increased from nine to 17, including granting a separate license for drivers who only drive automatic geared cars.

A law proposal to make amendments in the Highway Code that was presented to the parliamentary speaker in April 2012 by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) had sparked a debate about the possible changes to driver’s licenses. The draft bill contained elements of providing a separate driver’s license for those who only drive automatic geared cars. Additionally, the bill moved to allow elementary school graduates who graduated from school before the law was passed in 1998 to increase mandatory education to eight years to also have the right to obtain a driver’s license.

The ministry’s letter stated that to avoid any problems Turkish drivers may encounter in European Union countries, driver’s licenses were to be made more specific, with candidate drivers receiving a separate license, designated by the letter “K” and licenses for those only driving automatic geared cars to be “B1.”

Driver’s licenses will need to be renewed every five or 10 years, according to the category of the license.

The letter stressed that the regulation had not been officially published and did not supply details about the draft bill.