Sweden's Teens Drive Porsches And BMWs, No Licence Needed

Huddinge, Sweden, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Mar, 2023 ) :Too young for a driver's licence at 15, Evelina Christiansen is already cruising in a sleek BMW in Sweden, where teens can drive any car modified to roll no faster than a golf cart.

An almost century-old regulation originally applied to agricultural vehicles allows kids 15 and older to drive without a proper driver's licence, as long as the vehicle has been altered to have a maximum speed of 30 kilometres per hour (18.6 miles per hour).

Called an "A-traktor" -- with Swedes often using "EPA" as the older designation -- these cars and trucks have become so popular in recent years that authorities are now concerned about a rise in road accidents.

"I got it a year ago, in April, for my birthday," Evelina tells AFP proudly in front of her dark blue 5-series BMW in the driveway of her family's home in a southern Stockholm suburb.

The gift was a special reward for her achievements in school.

While teenagers elsewhere have to make do with a moped or scooter until they get a driver's licence, young Swedes can use almost any vehicle that has its top speed capped.

In Stockholm's wealthy suburbs, young kids are regularly seen driving Porsche Cayennes on their own.

"I usually use it when I go to school or meet up with friends," Evelina says.

A triangular warning sign in the back indicating a slow-moving vehicle and a hitch ball for trailers are both mandatory for an "A-traktor".

The back seat must also be removed, so they can carry only the driver and one passenger.

All that is required is a simple moped licence, available from the age of 15, or a tractor licence, from 16.

The system is surprisingly lenient in a country known for championing road safety -- the three-point seatbelt is a Swedish invention -- and for its strict drink driving rules.

The system was relaxed even further in mid-2020, when it became possible to cap cars' top speed electronically, making it much easier to modify a modern car.

Originally the domain of youths in rural areas, city kids have increasingly been getting wheels of their own, with the number of registered A-traktors doubling to 50,000 in just two and a half years, in a country of 10.3 million inhabitants.

The predecessors to today's A-traktors originated during the 1930s Depression, when there was a shortage of agricultural equipment.

To encourage the construction of cheap vehicles when tractors were still out of reach for farmers, the government allowed them to cobble together simple cars.

In the 1950s, as the economy prospered, real tractors became more common and the need for these homestyled vehicles began to subside.