Regarding obtaining medium-sized vehicle licenses, large-sized vehicle licenses, and Class 2 vehicle licenses, the Road Traffic Act has been amended and it has been decided to revise the eligibility requirements for taking the exams.
The revised certification requirements are scheduled to come into effect on 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 revision to the Road Traffic Act and the review of eligibility to take exams for Class 2 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 taxi and bus industries and the transportation industry have been faced with major issues such as the high average age of drivers and a chronic shortage of drivers, so it is hoped that the relaxation of the requirements for obtaining a driver's license will help secure young talent and rejuvenate the industry.
With this revision, the green "special training" and yellow "young driver period" will be introduced as safety measures before and after obtaining your license, as shown in the figure below.

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 be for regular vehicles. The planned content will be to develop self-control and risk prediction and avoidance abilities. Since the special training is designed to lower the eligibility requirements, after taking the course, you will need to either enroll in a driving school and graduate, or take a practical test (the so-called "one-shot test") at a testing center​ ​to obtain your driver's license. There will be no tests to measure the effectiveness of the training, so you will only be able to take 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​

The following qualifications, which are guaranteed by the eligibility requirements for taking the exam for a Class 2 driver's license (age requirements and years of experience requirements), will be exceptionally lowered upon completion of special training.
* The age requirement guarantees "ability to control oneself" and the years of experience requirement guarantees "ability to predict and avoid danger"

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 set to encourage drivers to drive more carefully. If you commit a violation that meets the criteria before reaching the age of 21 (20 for medium-sized licenses), you will be required to take a course (young driver course*). (If you do not take the course or commit another violation that meets the criteria after taking the course, your license will be revoked even if you received a special exemption.)
※Young driver training course
Course content: Selections from the curriculum of the special training course for exam eligibility that are thought to contribute primarily to the development of "self-control abilities"
Time limit: about 9 hours (2 days)

[4] Aim for a medium-sized or large-sized license! Quick reference guide to training times

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 are holding a standard vehicle license (MT), Driving Lessons, and if you are holding a medium-sized vehicle license, the training time is 23 hours (no theory).

[5] Aim for it! Class 2 regular vehicle license, Class 2 large vehicle license - Quick reference table for training times

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 are holding a standard vehicle license (MT), the training hours will be 34 hours (19 hours theory) of Driving Lessons training, and if you are holding a medium-sized vehicle license, the training hours will be 30 hours (19 hours theory).

[6] Summary

What do you think? Due to the effects of COVID-19, passenger services have not yet fully recovered, but a serious forecast of a shortage of approximately 270,000 drivers for freight truck drivers has been announced in 2028. We hope that this revision will put a stop to the driver shortage, especially in the professional driver industry, and that it will become popular and attract attention as a new employment opportunity for young people.