Categories C and D driving licence holders will be required to follow professional retraining every five years in order to keep their entitlement to drive professionally, according to new regulations just published, the Malta Transport Authority said.

The new regulations, amending the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations, provide for an initial qualification and periodic training for drivers of goods-carrying vehicles, buses, coaches, minibuses and minivans and for the need to hold a Certificate of Professional Competence besides the driving licence for the category of vehicle they are driving.

The main scope of this new requirement is to have better qualified drivers, an improvement in road safety and standard of service and a reduction in environmental damage.

The compulsory initial qualification will apply to all new category C drivers (C, C+E, C1 and C1+E) as from September 2009, and to all new category D drivers (D, D+E, D1 and D1+E) as from September 2008. Drivers who are already in possession of a category C or a category D driving licence are exempted from the initial qualification.

However, all existing category C and category D drivers and those who will obtain an initial qualification in 2008/2009 and thereafter will have to undergo periodic training every five years in order to maintain and improve their professional knowledge and skills. This means that drivers will have to complete a minimum of 35 hours of approved training every five years, carried out in periods of at least seven hours each.

The training will be based on an approved syllabus which has three main subject areas:

1. advanced training in national driving based on safety regulations,

2. application of regulations, and

3. health, road and environmental safety, service, and logistics which includes fuel efficiency

Another important amendment to the Driving Licences regulations concerns drivers aged 70 years and over. The amendment provides for the renewal of driving licence for drivers aged 70 and over every five years instead of every two years.