A new B1 license for heavy quadricycles? This was announced by the Minister of the Interior, Grande-Marlaska, during the presentation of the ‘Road Safety Strategy 2030’. This new card for young people from 16 years old will be part of the measures that will aim to halve the number of deaths and serious injuries caused by traffic accidents in the next eight years. The DGT has included in its Road Safety Strategy the proposal by Pons Seguridad Vial and Aedive to launch the new B1 license for heavy quadricycles in Spain.
Currently, to drive a heavy quadricycle, minicars of more than 15 kW (20 hp), you need the A license, the same license that allows you to drive motorcycles and scooters of more than 35 kW (47 hp), tricycles of more than 15 kW (20 CV), quads or ATVs of more than 4 kW (5 CV) and Side by Side. They can also be driven with the B license. The minimum age to obtain the A license and drive quads is 21 years old (20 for motorcycles). In this link we explain the different types of motorcycle license, how to obtain them and prices.
According to the consulting firm Pons Seguridad Vial and the Business Association for the Development and Promotion of Electric Mobility, Aedive, with this new B1 card, staggered access to electric mobility will be facilitated for young people over 16 years of age, since the majority of heavy quadricycles for sale are electric. According to estimates by Aedive and Pons Seguridad Vial based on data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), this new permit will give the possibility of a first access to electric mobility to about 1 million young people each year. Currently the quadricycle segment is experiencing high growth in sales, 12% up to April 2022 compared to 2021 in relation to heavy quadricycles, and 18.7% more in the case of light quadricycles.
What is the B1 card?
The B1 card already works in countries such as Portugal, France, Italy and the United Kingdom. It is a category included in Directive 2006/126/CE to which European countries can voluntarily adhere and which allows driving heavy quadricycles (homologated as L7e) from the age of 16. These quadricycles are characterized by having an empty mass less than or equal to 400 kilos (or 550 kilos if they are vehicles intended for the transport of goods). This weight does not take into account the mass of the batteries when the quadricycle is electric. In addition, the maximum power of these L7e quadricycles has to be less than or equal to 15 kW (20 hp).
The B1 license will be located between the AM and the B. The AM allows people over 15 years of age to drive mopeds of up to 50 cc and light quadricycles.
The B1 license will be located between the AM and the B. The AM allows those over 15 years of age to drive mopeds of up to 50 cc and light quadricycles (homologated as L6e) up to a maximum speed of 45 km/h; while the B license is the one needed to drive cars from 18 years of age.
With the B1 it will be possible to drive a quad up to a maximum speed of 90 km/h, well above the 45 km/h allowed by the AM card, but it would be lower than what a motorcycle of up to 125 cc can reach. driving with the A1 license from the age of 16.
In addition to facilitating the access of the youngest to electric mobility and contributing to reducing polluting emissions, the heavy quadricycle shares safety elements with category M vehicles (conventional vehicle for the transport of people): it has protective structures in the event of a rollover, a fundamental element for safety that light quadricycles do not have. 
A motorcycle of up to 125 cc can be driven with the A1 license from the age of 16.
Theoretical and practical test for B1
Currently, to obtain the A license, which is the one with which you can drive an L7e quadricycle, you have to pass a theoretical exam and two practical tests (on a circuit and on public roads). In the case of the B1 permit, the European directive does not distinguish between the theoretical training of B and B1, that is, it would be the same exam, but it does allow each country to choose the content of said exam. On the other hand, it does not refer to the practical test. From Pons Seguridad Vial and Aedive they consider that “for the practical exam it is necessary to carry out differentiated tests”.
For the general director of Aedive, Arturo Pérez de Lucía, the B1 driving license would offer important advantages for electric mobility in Spain “in terms of awareness, by reaching a young public that tomorrow will be part of the traffic and will have been able to overcome the current barriers of ignorance regarding the electric vehicle, making it a public aware of efficient and safe driving. Likewise, it will allow the development of business models based on shared electric mobility that offer safer and more comfortable vehicles to a young public that currently can only access the A1 motorcycle license”.
