Overview
- The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport sent a draft package of 15 proposed changes to more than 100 operators and associations, a step that began the formal stakeholder consultation reported on Saturday.
- Key concrete measures in the draft include mandatory helmet use and a registration tag for high-powered electrically assisted cycles known as 'super-bici' and a proposal to allow a category B driving licence at age 17.
- The ministry proposes progressive monetary penalties tied to how far a driver exceeds limits, with examples such as €10 per km over on motorways and €5 per km over in 30/50 km/h zones to raise fines for larger speed violations.
- Other proposals aim to strengthen protections for vulnerable users and motorcyclists by halving parking fines for two-wheelers in prohibited spots, permitting emergency-lane use by motorcyclists during slow traffic, and tightening rules on uninsured and abandoned vehicles.
- If the ministry advances the draft after consultation, the measures would move to revision and formal legislative or regulatory steps, with supporters saying the changes respond to new mobility trends and critics likely to press on enforcement details and impacts on riders and young drivers.