The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport has sent working materials for the rewriting of the Highway Code to over one hundred associations and operators in the sector. This opens the final phase of the consultation desired by Minister Matteo Salvini. The parties involved will have until 13 September 2026 to submit observations and up to five targeted amendment proposals, after which the Government will define the final text by 14 October, the deadline for the delegation, to send it to Parliament in autumn 2026 for discussion and final approval.
The B driving license at 17 and the European directive
The stated objective is “to make the link between the behaviors adopted by users, exposure to risk factors and the prevention of road accidents more evident”. As regards the possibility of obtaining a driving license at the age of 17, the MIT project aims to follow the new European legislation, the legal basis of which is Directive (EU) 2025/2205 on driving licences, approved in October 2025, which lowered the minimum age for access to driving. The European directive gives member states until 26 November 2028 to implement the new rules.
News for people with disabilities and the CUDE
Among the proposals contained in the text there is a segment dedicated to people with disabilities. The new Highway Code will aim to “ensure greater safety for the circulation of people who use devices and mobility aids, including electric ones, equipped with specific equipment, in order to break down the existing architectural barriers that prevent them from circulating on the pavements”. Furthermore, with the new Highway Code, it is intended to make membership of the CUDE, the European parking permit for people with disabilities, binding for municipal administrations. Municipalities that remained outside the system could no longer rely on electronic gates to remotely fine violations relating to reserved parking and restricted traffic zones.
Motorcycle on the highway and overtaking on the right
For two-wheelers, “we are working on greater protection on the motorway and on the possibility, in the event of accidents or severe slowdowns, of using the emergency lane, always guaranteeing the passage of emergency vehicles”, and at the same time the proposal that is causing the most discussion is the rule of overtaking on the right on the motorway. In fact, we read in the text, that “it is intended to apply circulation in parallel rows on three-lane motorways and expressways, which would entail the possibility of overtaking on the right”.
Crackdown on those driving without insurance and progressive sanctions
The text reads a crackdown on those traveling without insurance, including enhanced controls thanks to the Motorization databases and the introduction of the digital driving ban. If the owner does not regularize the situation, the vehicle will be seized directly at the first roadside check.
As regards sanctions, the reform aims at a system in which the size of the fine reflects the real weight of the infringement committed. The new system abandons the four-band model to adopt linear progressivity, where the amount of the fine increases proportionally to the km/h exceeded the limit. “All sanctions, main and ancillary (including the deduction of points), will be contained in an easy-to-consult table, which will provide for a reorganization of the main sanctions from 82 to approximately 21 sanction bands”.
Appeals and notifications: what changes for those who receive a fine
A further front concerns the protection of those who receive a fine. On the one hand, the weight of the appeal before the prefect grows and self-defense becomes simpler, on the other, the timescales are tightening and for surveys carried out remotely, the useful window for notifying the document would go from ninety to thirty days. Then there is the question of where the proceeds of fines end up. MIT’s proposal is that 70% of the proceeds be “reinvested in activities aimed at strengthening road safety standards, from signage to road maintenance, up to the installation of containment barriers”, and the remaining share, 30% of the proceeds, would instead go to those carrying out the assessment, so as to finance control and notification activities.
Finally, as stated in the ministry’s slides, “The process of adaptation to the new European regulation is brought forward, which provides for the lowering of the age limit for obtaining the C1 license to 17 years. The age for obtaining the CQC, necessary for exercising the profession of haulier, will thus be brought forward by one year”. In essence, in parallel with the possibility of obtaining the B driving license at the age of 17, the C1 could also be obtained at the age of seventeen and with it the entry into the professional qualification path would be anticipated. A choice designed to respond to the shortage of hauliers. For now these are working hypotheses, the definitive text will take shape only after the consultation, with the expiry of the delegation set for 14 October.
