The new sticker requirement will take effect this autumn, months after Finland’s nighttime driving ban for 17-year-olds comes into force.
Starting this fall, 17-year-old drivers will be required to display an age marker on any car they drive.
The marker will be a yellow-green, hexagonal sticker with a white border, attached visibly to the rear of the vehicle.
The requirement stems from amendments to the Driving Licence Act, aimed at reducing traffic accidents involving young drivers.
The law prohibits nighttime driving for 17-year-olds. From Friday 29 May at 00.00, minors will be prohibited from driving between midnight and 5 am.
Authorities say the restrictions are intended to improve road safety, as nighttime driving poses the highest risk for young motorists.
“Twenty percent of road traffic accidents involving 17-year-old drivers that, resulted in personal injury, occurred at night. Of these, 40 percent were fatal accidents,” said Marjo Immonen, leading expert from Traficom, the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency.
Because many teenagers drive family vehicles, the marker has been designed as a magnetic sign that can be easily attached and removed depending on who is behind the wheel.
According to Traficom, the sticker is intended to help police enforce the new rules. Drivers under 18 who fail to display the marker could face a traffic penalty fee.
The vehicle marker was originally expected to launch alongside the nighttime driving restriction, but implementation has been delayed.
“Unfortunately, producing the markers on such a short timetable proved challenging, which is why they will only be introduced in October,” Immonen said.
Some 180 people died in traffic accidents this year, including 15 young people.
