Traffic fines should fund driving lessons for hard-up youngsters, says Podemos
Thursday, November 26, 2020 @ 2:29 PM
TRAFFIC fine money should be used to pay for driving lessons and tests for young people from hard-pressed families, says left-wing Podemos.
The party governing in coalition with the socialists (PSOE) and whose leader, Pablo Iglesias, is first deputy president of Spain, says that although public transport passes for free or at a discounted rate are available for people with very low incomes, outside of large cities, such methods of conveyance can be virtually non-existent.
And without being able to drive, young adults are unable to apply for jobs.
But lessons are only legally permitted through an accredited driving school, which normally has a physical premises and is State-run – it is against the law for a parent or other adult to take a learner out in their own car with L-plates, even off-road.
Tests are expensive for families struggling to make ends meet, and an estimated 73% of candidates will fail their first one at least.
Whilst in Spain, the 'rush' to take driving lessons on the very day young people become legally old enough is more of a 'stroll' – most youths will spend their university summer holidays taking lessons, or even leave it until they graduate – not being able to get about could seriously hamper their chances of finding work.
In Spain, lessons and tests can only be taken from age 18 onwards, although most brand-new drivers tend to be in their early 20s.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com