In the spring, the Transport Agency was in trouble after a number of people had their driver's licenses revoked due to at least two elevated peth tests, a blood test used to measure a person's alcohol consumption over a number of weeks and which can indicate excessive alcohol consumption.
The reactions were strong – and the Transport Agency is now proposing a change.
More like the EU
According to the new proposal, other alcohol diagnoses than addiction will no longer be considered a reason for revoking a driver's license, which means that elevated peth values alone do not entail that the driver's license can be revoked.
We have worked for a long time to clarify the regulations and we have listened to the strong reactions that have been around the peth tests. We have made an international comparison and an in-depth scientific study and the result is that we have not found anything that links the milder diagnoses and driving, says Katarina Norén, unit manager at the Transport Agency, to TT.
As the rules are formulated today, driver's licenses can be revoked if a person has alcohol abuse or alcohol use that is harmful and not temporary – the Transport Agency proposes that these categories be removed and that the regulations instead reflect the EU's driver's license directive which only talks about addiction.
If you have the diagnosis of addiction, you have impaired cognitive functions, your reaction ability is, for example, worse. But we are not sure about the milder diagnoses. If we are to have stricter requirements than the EU, we must have better grounds.
Approved by Carlson
The proposed changes are approved by Minister for Infrastructure Andreas Carlson (KD).
"Only peth tests should no longer be the basis for someone losing their driver's license. I welcome that", he writes in a comment and continues:
"Researchers associated with the agency cannot see that the national special requirements contribute to traffic safety."
Peth tests will continue to be used by doctors to determine sobriety in driver's license holders who have an alcohol addiction diagnosis, according to the proposal. Doctors will also have a general obligation to report if they assess that a person is medically unfit to drive.
The Transport Agency's proposal will now be sent out for review and is expected to come into force on January 15, 2026.
