MIT, close on the souped-up minicars, personalized license plates arrive

The new Highway Code approved yesterday in the Council of Ministers does not provide for the possibility of a B driving license for 17-year-olds. This can be read in a note from the MIT, which explains that the measure, initially foreseen in the first draft of the text, was eliminated at the request of minister Matteo Salvini, "whose priority is safety and conscious driving behaviour". The proposals that initially provided for penalties for pedestrians who use smartphones while crossing roads have also been removed.

Instead, there is a crackdown on souped-up minicars. Finally, provisions have been introduced aimed at allowing, upon request of the interested party, the issue of personalized license plates, formed according to a succession and use of dedicated alphanumeric characters.

As regards minicars, explains the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, "we wanted to introduce, for the safety of younger people, provisions aimed at aggravating the penalty in the event of alteration of the construction characteristics of the so-called minicars which, like light quadricycles, are often modified with respect to the speed limit of 45 km/h prescribed by law. In case of violation, the new text also adds a driving ban for 30 days to the financial penalty and immobilisation".

The introduction of having personalized plates, explains the MIT, is "an option that integrates the possibility recognized for historic vehicles to obtain a plate from the historical period of construction, also reproducing the alphanumeric code, provided that this code is not already in use on another vehicle".