Notwithstanding the fact that, in light of the current health situation, in Italy, not only the validity of the driver qualification cards expiring in the period between 1 February and 31 August 2020, but also those expiring from 1 September to 31 December 2020 has been extended by seven months, the issue still remains thorny.

Those who transport goods or people cannot in fact afford to let the driver qualification card, which needs to be renewed every 5 years following a 35 hour course, expire, otherwise they will not be permitted to do their job. Yet, as fiercely pointed out by trades unions and road transport trade associations, attending courses in person, given the increase in infections, is becoming a problem, with significant repercussions on individual drivers and transport companies.

Following pressing demands, the Directorate General of Motor Vehicles communicated via their Circular issued last 22 October that as of 2 November 2020, the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport has therefore granted the use of online training, albeit with specific limitations.

For the entire duration of the health emergency, attendance of periodic training courses is allowed, including e-learning, but only for a maximum of ten hours (compared to the total 35). Attendance of the e-learning course involves the use of any digital tool, as long as it is connected to the Internet, in order to allow access to the webinar platform used by the trainer, virtual classrooms and interactive discussions.

In order to verify the validity of online attendance, in the final ten minutes prior to the conclusion of each block of lessons, the teacher will submit an evaluation questionnaire to all students, both those in the classroom and those connected remotely. The answer sheets written by the remotely connected students will be proof of their effective participation in the lesson.