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Expats in Denmark get green light for driver licence swap

Beginning on April 1st, citizens of the United States, Canada and Australia can simply exchange valid driver’s licences issued in their home countries for a Danish one.

Expats in Denmark get green light for driver licence swap
It will now be much easier for Americans and others to legally drive in Denmark. Photo:Thomas Rousing/Flickr
The new system is the culmination of years of lobbying on behalf of expat groups and finally ends well over two years of legal wrangling since the Ministry of Transportation agreed to give internationals an easier road to driving legally in Denmark. 
 
“Finally! The rules in this area have been a years-long headache for many expats and the international companies that hire them. Therefore it is gratifying that the minister has displayed vigour and changed the rules so that the many highly-qualified expats don’t have to fight with difficult bureaucratic obstacles just to be allowed to drive a car in Denmark,” Stephen Brugger, the executive director of the AmCham Denmark, said in a statement. 
 
 
For years, citizens of the US, Canada and Australia who have moved to Denmark have experienced problems getting a Danish licence, because they belong to the so-called ‘Group 2 countries’ where driver training is not deemed comparable to that of Danish drivers. 
 
As a result, many foreigners have been forced to pay for driving lessons and a Danish driving test despite having driven safely every day for years. 
 
AmCham and the US Embassy have long been lobbying for the change and successfully convinced Hans Christian Schmidt, Denmark’s transport minister, to finally put the new rules in place. 
 
“The difficult rules on exchanging foreign driver’s licences has been a key issue for us for many years. But it was first after a meeting with Transport Minister Hans Christian Schmidt in November that something finally happened – more than two years after the then minister, Morten Bødskov, promised to solve the problem,” Brugger said, calling the coming rule change “a big victory for AmCham”. 
 
Rather than having to take time-consuming and costly tests, citizens of the aforementioned countries will now just be required to sign a declaration stating that they have not had their licence revoked within the last five years and that they have been driving regularly over the past two years. 
 
Brugger said the change is not only good news for foreigners in Denmark, but also for the Danish labour market. 
 
“This will make a giant difference for the foreign experts and leaders who come to Denmark to fulfil specific functions,” he said. 
 
The new rules will allow people from Group 1 and Group 2 countries to use their foreign licences for their first year in Denmark but long-time expats who have avoided the bureaucratic licence exchange may not be fully out of the woods. 
 
“[The new rules] do not explicitly deal with the situation where a person has been resident in Denmark for more than one year without exchanging their licence. In theory, it should be possible to exchange the licence even after one year – however, this implies that the person has not had a valid licence for a period of time, which creates a dilemma in relation to the declaration mentioned above,” AmCham wrote on its website
 
The driver’s licence exchanges will be handled by local Citizens Service Centres (Borgerservice). 
 
The full text of the new rules can be read here (in Danish).

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DRIVING

How should you prepare your car for autumn (and winter) in Denmark?

It’s common for motorists in Denmark to switch between summer and winter tyres once autumn sets in, but do conditions in the country call for anything else?

How should you prepare your car for autumn (and winter) in Denmark?

You might not have noticed based on the weather, but calendars are proof that autumn has arrived in Denmark.

With that in mind, it’s inevitable that conditions on the roads will be taking a wetter and colder turn sooner or later. What steps are usually taken by motorists in Denmark at this time of year to set their vehicles up for the coming months?

Winter tyres 

Winter tyres are not a legal requirement in Denmark but they are generally recommended, including by FDM, the membership organisation for motorists.

Tyres which qualify as winter tyres are marked “M + S”, which stands for “Mud and Snow” and have a mountain and snowflake symbol.

While the law does not require you to use winter tyres, you do have to have matching tyre types. So it is illegal to, for example, keep normal tyres on the front of your car and just change the rear tyres in the winter.

It is common to switch over to winter tyres in the ‘autumn holiday’ or efterårsferie around the second half of October. Many car owners keep a second set of wheels with winter tyres in their basements or garages, or at “tyre hotels” in workshops who can also change the wheels for you and store the summer tyres in place of the winter set.

READ ALSO: Driving in Denmark: When should you change to winter tyres?

Check your battery

Car batteries work harder when it is cold, particularly when the temperatures drop below zero. If you have an older car or an older battery, it might therefore be a good idea to ask a mechanic to check it.

When it’s cold, you’re likely to be using functions like the internal fans and heaters which will put additional drain on the battery.

Make sure your windscreen is clear

It’s important to get your windscreen clear before you head out, even on shorter journeys. This goes for both ice and condensation and a windscreen that is not properly cleared and therefore limits your vision can get you a “clip” or points on your driving licence, as well as being a safety hazard.

Make sure you have a good quality ice scraper in the car, and get the motor and windscreen heaters running in good time before you set off.

“Wing mirrors, headlights and number plates must also be free of ice and snow” said Rasmus Boserup, head of communications with energy company OK, in a press release. OK operates petrol stations across Denmark.

READ ALSO: How strict are the punishments for driving offences in Denmark?

Change your wiper blades

Drivers often use their windscreen wipers to help scrape the remaining frost from windshields. This can wear down the wiper blades, resulting in squeaking and inefficient performance in rainy weather conditions.

Ideally, you should avoid this and stick to a scraper and the heating system to clear ice. It’s nevertheless a good idea to treat your vehicle to a new set of wiper blades if you notice a deterioration.

Put a high-viz jacket or vest and hazard triangle in your car

If you break down and pull over to the side of the motorway or road, you’ll need a relective hazard triangle (advarselstrekant in Danish), which must be placed behind the car to warn approaching drivers about your stricken vehicle. These are required by law if you’ve broken down (although it’s technically not a legal requirement to have one in the car) – so it’s worth having one in the boot/trunk.

In addition to this, a high-visibility jacket, vest or other clothing is a very good idea if you have to pull over, and even more so when it’s dark or in the winter when visibility is generally poorer than in summer.

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