ZSA achieves – from 1.09. the number of tractor driver categories will decrease

Amendments have been in effect since May 10 of this year. In the Road Traffic ActBut the amendment to the clause that determines changes in the categories of tractor driver's licenses will come into force on September 1 of this year, and amendments to the Cabinet of Ministers regulations are currently being developed.

After a long period of work by the ZSA, the amendment to the law, which will come into force on September 1, provides for reducing the number of categories of tractor drivers, making the process of obtaining a driver's license less bureaucratic and more logical, and provides for exempting all tractors from the first state technical inspection for 24 months if the duration of the vehicle's engine operation does not exceed 250 engine hours at the time of registration.

The changes to the law combine several tractor categories into one category, thus reducing the current number of tractor categories to four tractor categories. Along with the changes in the grouping of tractor categories, it is also planned to change the names of tractor categories, replacing the letters A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H with the abbreviations TR1, TR2, TR3, and TR4. Thus, the category names will not overlap with driver categories in Latvia and the European Union.

The categories of tractor drivers are grouped according to the specification of the tractor and its main use as follows:

TR1 — tractors, agricultural self-propelled vehicles, municipal vehicles, universal self-propelled vehicles, excavators, loaders and special self-propelled vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of up to 7500 kilograms,

TR2 — all tractors, agricultural self-propelled machines, municipal machines, universal self-propelled machines, bulldozers, excavators, loaders and special self-propelled machines,

TR3 — forestry machines, excavators, loaders and special self-propelled machines,

TR4 — road construction machines, bulldozers, excavators, loaders and special self-propelled machines.

From now on, the distribution of tractor weights will remain the same as before: TR1 tractor category and tractor driver's licenses can be obtained from the age of 16 for tractors with a gross vehicle weight of up to 7,500 kg, and from the age of 17 for other tractors. By changing the tractor driver's license and obtaining the new category without taking additional exams, the tractor group of the category will expand, so the person will be entitled to drive a wider range of tractors.

The previous categories C and H (excavators, self-propelled loaders and specialized self-propelled vehicles) will be included in all categories, as the use of this equipment is very important in all sectors. Category D (agricultural self-propelled machines) will be included in categories TR1 and TR2, as tractors and agricultural self-propelled machines are used mainly by representatives of one sector – farmers, while category E will be included in category TR4, as they are road construction machines.