DRIVER TRAINING AND LICENSING - CURRENT SITUATION IN SWEDEN

The Swedish driver education and licensing system is currently under rapid change. In September 1993 the age limit for practising was lowered from 17 and a half years to 16 years but the age limit for licensing was kept at 18 years. The evaluation has shown that there was a subtantial reduction in accident risk among those who utilised the new age limit. The main explanation of the good results is the increase of practising which gives more important experience behind the wheel. Even if the evaluation results were very promising, there is still much to do to reduce accident involvement even further among young novice drivers. This is why the government has decided that Sweden should develop a new driver education and licensing system aiming at reducing the accident involvement of novice drivers even more. The decision to develop a new education and licensing system was also a result of the Swedish "Vision Zero" where the government has stated that we shall not accept that people get killed or seriously injured in traffic. All possible measures must be used in order to fulfil this vision. The current situation in Sweden is very positive for development of road safety and the work that is performed in the spirit of the "Vision Zero" will hopefully improve the situation to an even lower accident involvement among road users than we have today. The article describes the road safety situation in Sweden, the historical development of Swedish driver education and the current situation including the current development of a new system. (A)