By the beginning of 2025, a year had passed since the Czech Republic started permitting people to drive a car from the age of 17, provided they were supervised by a mentor. According to data from the Ministry of Transport in 2024, more than 24,000 young people took advantage of this opportunity, accounting for around 20% of all new drivers during that period. Meanwhile, around 40,000 people registered as mentors that year.

Now, let's take a closer look at the L17 programme through the eyes of professionals.

The L17 programme allows young people to enrol in a driving school and start learning to drive at 15.5 years old. In practice, however, it is sufficient to wait a year. Once they have completed driving school and reached the age of 17, future drivers can take the driving test. Once they have passed the final exam, young drivers can drive a car in the presence of a mentor.

Who can become a mentor for a 17-year-old driver?

The mentor must have held a category B driving licence for more than 10 years and have held it continuously for the last 5 years.

This means that the mentor has not been banned from driving for the last 5 years or had their driving licence revoked for any other reason. This also applies, for example, to the loss of a driving licence due to the accumulation of 12 penalty points. This also applies to holders of foreign driving licences, but they are subject to a restriction limited to the territory of the Czech Republic.

In addition, the mentor must not have a suspended driving licence and must not have any penalty points in the driver register.

Driving in L17 mode is recorded on the driver's registration card; a 17-year-old driver in L17 mode may have a maximum of 4 mentors.

During the journey, the mentor must sit in the seat next to the driver, monitor the traffic situation and, if necessary, give advice to the young driver.

According to numerous surveys and feedback from driving schools, the L17 programme helps to increase the sense of safety and confidence of young drivers behind the wheel, primarily due to the presence of a mentor in the car, and also gives them the opportunity to start driving before they reach the age of majority.

Many people have probably noticed the blue signs with the inscription L17, which have been visible on the windows of some cars for over a year now.

The L17 sign means that the car is being driven by a 17-year-old driver under the supervision of a mentor. However, this sign is not mandatory.

According to instructors at the Horazny Driving School in Prague, young drivers training under the L17 programme show more respect for driving, listen better to advice and approach the task with greater determination and diligence.

In addition, young drivers feel more confident when they have a mentor by their side whom they can rely on at the beginning of their driving career and who will advise them on the right decision in situations they have not encountered before, for example during training.

It is also very important to note that every mentor must understand that they are an experienced driver and, as a result, may have acquired some bad habits. When travelling with a 17-year-old driver, you must try not to pass on any bad habits to them.

If you really want to be a good mentor for your L17 novice driver, visit the ‘Days for L17 Mentors’ organised regularly by the Association of Driving Schools of the Czech Republic.

For more information, visit: www.autoskolal17.cz/kurzy

Mentors have access to a special L17 app and a training manual from the Association of Driving Schools of the Czech Republic, which are designed to help young drivers correctly apply and develop the knowledge and skills they have learned at driving school. The legal requirements in the L17 system are designed so that mentors are qualified drivers, ideally parents or relatives of the beginner driver.

According to the Association of Driving Schools of the Czech Republic, the main idea behind the L17 system is to enable mentors (mainly parents) to pass on their driving experience to their children and thus help reduce the number of accidents among young, novice drivers.

The above-mentioned website contains a section entitled ‘Questions and Answers’ which addresses many relevant issues.

Among them are, for example, ‘In what language can I study under the L17 programme?’ and ‘Can I drive abroad with a mentor?’

For advice on some issues, including ‘Can I learn and take the exam in Russian at a driving school?’, we contacted the Horázný Driving School in Prague.

We will publish the answers from the professionals in the near future.

If you have any questions about the L17 programme, please contact The Horazny Driving School in Prague at www.drivingschool.cz or www.avtoshkola.cz.

We would like to thank The Horazny Driving School in Prague for their assistance in preparing this article.

Anna Novotná

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