Regarding the acquisition of medium-duty licenses, large-sized licenses, and class 2 licenses, there has been a revision to the Road Traffic Act, and it has been decided that the qualifications for taking the examination will be reviewed.
The implementation of the review of acquisition requirements is scheduled for May​ ​13, 2022.

Here, we will introduce in more detail than anywhere else the lowering of the age for medium-sized licenses, large-sized licenses, class 2 licenses, etc. (review of eligibility for entrance exams).

Last updated: March 8, 2022

[1] What is the 2022 revised Road Traffic Act and the review of qualifications for second-class licenses, etc.?

The recent lowering of the age for medium-sized licenses, large-sized licenses, class 2 licenses, etc. was based on the revised Road Traffic Act that was enacted and issued in June 2020, and a ``review of class 2 licenses, etc.'' was carried out. It depends.

By relaxing this acquisition requirement, Heavy-duty licenses and Class 2 licenses that can be taken by people 21 years of age or older with a total of 3 years or more of driving experience after obtaining a regular license, etc. but, special caseIf you complete the training, you will be lowered to ``19 years of age or older, with 1 year of experience or more.'' It's a schedule. Similarly, Medium-sized driver's license test available to ``people who are 20 years or older and have a total of 2 years or more of driving experience after obtaining a regular driver's license, etc.'' too, If you complete special training, the age will be lowered to ``19 years or older and 1 year or more of experience.'' It's a schedule.

The age requirement has been lowered, and it will now be possible to challenge for a regular car license in one year or more after obtaining a regular car license, making it possible for people in their first year after graduating from high school to immediately obtain a large vehicle license or class 2 license. It will be. Therefore, in the future, the transportation and taxi industries will increasingly employ young people. It will also be possible for truck drivers and taxi drivers to be born as young as 19 years old.

In particular, the high average age of drivers and the chronic shortage of drivers have been major issues in the taxi/bus industry and the transportation industry association, so easing the requirements for certification is expected to secure young talent and rejuvenate the industry. I am.
In this revision, as shown in the diagram below, as safety measures before and after certification, green "Special Training" and yellow "Young Driver Period" will be established.

What are the conditions for lowering the age?

So what kind of training is required to meet the eligibility requirements of being 19 years old or older and having held a standard driver's license for at least one year?

[2] What is special training?

As a premise, the purpose of this special training is to develop the self-control ability (emotional control ability and ability to objectively evaluate one's own driving skills) guaranteed by the age requirement, and the risk prediction and avoidance ability (vaguely perceived danger) guaranteed by the years of experience requirement. The ability to convert the source into a clear danger as soon as possible, the ability to accurately estimate the risk to strictly avoid underestimating it, and the ability to take specific actions to appropriately respond to the estimated risk. The purpose is to develop the ability to take

As of now, the following three patterns are planned for this special training course.

①Age/Experience

The training curriculum will use regular cars. The planned content will be to develop self-control ability and risk prediction/avoidance ability. Since the special training is a training to lower the eligibility requirements for the entrance examination, you must either re-enter the driving school and graduate after taking the course, or take a skill test at a test center(so-called "one-shot test")and obtain a driver's license. Must be done. There will be no tests to measure the effectiveness of the training, so you will only be required to attend the training.

② Experience process: Among the eligibility requirements, those who have reached the age for taking the exam (medium-sized license: 20 years old or older, large-sized license: 21 years old or older, class 2 license: 21 years old or older), but have driving experience (medium-sized license: 2 years or older, Large vehicle license/Class 2 license: Applicable to those who have not met the requirements (3 years or more)

*If you have reached the eligibility age to take the exam, you can take the experience course. For example, if a 21-year-old wants to obtain a heavy-duty driver's license one year after obtaining a regular driver's license, he or she would not have sufficient driving experience, but if he takes special training, he will be able to obtain a driver's license. It becomes.

③Age process: Applies to those who have not reached the age to take the exam.

*This age process applies only to the following people. If a 20-year-old wants to obtain a medium-duty vehicle license one year after obtaining a regular car license, he or she should not have sufficient driving experience, but if he completes the experience process, he will be able to obtain a medium-duty license. It becomes. If you wish to take the exam for a large-sized driver's license or other license after that, you will only need to take this age process since you have already taken the experience process.

As a safety measure before acquisition​

By completing the special training course, the qualifications for taking the exam will be lowered as a special case.
* "Self-control ability" guaranteed by the age requirement and "danger prediction/avoidance ability" guaranteed by the years of experience requirement.

Training content (example):

• Driving aptitude test
• Overview of personality and driving (lecture)
• Skill recording (actual vehicle)
• Discussion-style instruction (lecture) based on driving aptitude test results and recorded videos
• Instruction that contributes to the development of risk prediction and avoidance skills (lecture/actual vehicle)

[3] What is the young driver period?

As a safety measure after acquisition​

In addition to further strengthening safety measures by operators, a young driver period will be established to encourage drivers to drive carefully. If you commit a violation that falls under the standards before you reach the age of 21 (20 years old for a medium-sized driver's license), you will be required to take a course (young driver course*). (If you do not take the course or if you violate the standards again after taking the course, your license obtained under special circumstances will be revoked.)
*Young driver training
Course content: Extracting the curriculum of the special training for entrance examination qualifications that is considered to mainly contribute to the development of "self-control ability"
Time limit: about 9 hours (2 days)

[4] Aim! Medium-sized license/large-sized license training time quick reference table

Medium-sized Class 1 License Hours Quick Reference Chart

The following is a quick guide to the training times for obtaining a medium-duty license if your license is a regular car or semi-medium-duty license.

Large Type 1 License Hours Quick Reference Chart

Below is a quick reference table of the training times for obtaining a large vehicle license if your license is a regular vehicle or semi-medium vehicle license.

If you start with a regular vehicle license (MT), it will be 30 hours of Driving Lessons (1 hour of subject), and if you start with a semi-medium license, it will be 23 hours (no subject).

[5] Aim! Ordinary class 2 license, large class 2 license training time quick reference table

Ordinary Class 2 License Hours Quick Reference Chart

The following is a quick guide to the training times for obtaining a Class 2 Ordinary License if your license is a regular or semi-medium vehicle license.

From a regular car license (AT), there are 21 hours of Driving Lessons (19 academic hours), from a regular car license (MT), 25 hours Driving Lessons (19 academic hours), and from a semi-medium license, 18 hours (19 academic hours). It will be time.

Large Class 2 License Hours Quick Reference Chart

The following is a quick guide to the training times for obtaining a Class 2 large vehicle license if your license is a regular vehicle or semi-medium vehicle license.

If you start with a regular vehicle license (MT), it will be 34 hours of Driving Lessons (19 academic hours), and if you start with a semi-medium license, it will be 30 hours (​19 academic hours).

[6] Summary

How was it? Although passenger services have not yet fully recovered due to the impact of the coronavirus, forecasts of supply and demand for freight truck drivers have announced that there will be a serious shortage of approximately 270,000 drivers by 2028. We hope that this revision will put a stop to the shortage of drivers, especially in the professional driver industry, and that it will gain popularity and attention as a new job opportunity for young people.