A 17-year-old can now drive alone in the car: This ensures safety if an accident occurs.
DR-Inland in Denmark
Tuesday, July 01, 2025 • 6:00 PM UTC - in Denmark
From today, 17-year-olds can drive alone in cars: How to ensure you're covered if an accident occurs
Newly licensed drivers can face significant insurance problems if they don't adhere to the rules.
From today, 17-year-olds with a driver's license can sit behind the wheel and drive alone during daytime hours. (Photo: © Mads Claus Rasmussen, Ritzau Scanpix) 21 minutes ago
However, it can become expensive if the 17-year-old is involved in an accident in the car and has not properly registered the vehicle.
>
> In the worst-case scenario, one risks not being covered by insurance if
> one causes damage.
> Thomas Brenøe, director of Forsikring og Pension
If the young driver drives frequently in the car on a daily basis, it is therefore important to remember to register the individual as a regular user of the car in the Motor Authority's system.
Otherwise, there is a risk that the insurance will not cover if an accident occurs.
This is what Claus Holm, who is under-director at the Motor Authority, explains:
- If a 17-year-old sits behind the wheel daily or several times a week to drive to leisure activities, to educational institutions or to a training site, the 17-year-old should be registered as a user of the vehicle, he says.
- It is both important to comply with the rules that apply on the Motor Authority's territory, and also in relation to insurance.
Read also: From today, 17-year-olds can drive cars alone – and it can give more freedom to young people outside the cities ( https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/nu-maa-17-aarige-koere-bil-alene-og-det-kan-give-mere-frihed-unge-uden-byerne )
The same message comes from the industry organization Forsikring og Pension:
- If one is a regular user of a car and has not registered oneself in the Motor Authority's systems, or has not contacted one's insurance company and informed them of it, one risks in the worst-case scenario, not being covered by insurance if one causes damage, says Thomas Brenøe, director of Forsikring og Pension.
He explains that if the young driver is not registered correctly, the insurance company can have a claim, known as "regres," against the individual.
This means that the insurance company can require the young person to pay a portion of the damage themselves or possibly the entire damage themselves.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Registering in person may be inconvenient: 'It can certainly be annoying'
----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> We had hoped that the solution would have been in place a little longer.
> Thomas Brenøe, director of Forsikring og Pension
If one needs to register oneself as a user of a car, it is not something that can easily be handled with a few clicks on the phone from home on the couch.
There is currently no self-service digital solution available at the Motor Authority.
The 17-year-old must meet with a license plate operator in person, who can be found in service centers, at car dealerships, and so on.
-------------------------------------------
Register the 17-year-old as a user of a car
-------------------------------------------
If the 17-year-old drives the car several times a week, they should be registered as a user of the car.
*
This can be done at one of the 2100 license plate operators in the country (e.g., service centers or car dealerships).
*
One can find the nearest license plate operator on the Motor Authority's website https://motorst.dk/
*
One should bring one's guardian (typically a parent).
*
One should bring the vehicle registration document, insurance information, photo identification, and a consent form from the guardian.
Source: Motor Authority
- It can certainly be annoying, acknowledges under-director in Motor Authority Claus Holm.
He explains that the Motor Authority is working to improve the digital solution that already exists for people over 18 years old.
>
> It is frustrating that one in the eleventh hour is having to adapt the systems to the rules that one has known for a while were coming.
> Thomas Brenøe, director of Forsikring og Pension
At Forsikring og Pension, they are frustrated that the Motor Authority is not yet ready with the digital solution, and that it was only announced a few days ago how it would work in practice:
- It is frustrating that one in the eleventh hour is having to adapt the systems to the rules that one has known for a while were coming, says director Thomas Brenøe.
He acknowledges, however, that it is better than nothing.
- But we had hoped that the solution would have been in place a little longer, so that all actors could have had time to prepare for what it was that they should do, says Thomas Brenøe.
According to the Motor Authority, one does not necessarily need to register the 17-year-old as a user of the car if the young person only borrows the car one or two times a month.
Under-director Claus Holm emphasizes that it is important to contact one's insurance company to clarify the rules for the exact situation one is in.
The same advice comes from Forsikring og Pension, who also inform that both the price of insurance and the self-risk, if an accident occurs, can become more expensive if it is a 17-year-old driver who is driving the car.
Facebook ( https://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=undefined )
Warning: This article was translated by a Large Language Model, in case of doubt, you can always visit the original source.