The category E in the driving license: basic information
How to open the category E? What is it needed for? What documents are required? Duration of training, the composition of the final exam. Answers to all questions related to the category E – in the proposed material.
Why do you need the category E of the driving license
The capacity and payload of cars are far from always sufficient for the needs of the owners or owners (it is not the same). Then trailers come to the rescue. Sometimes their capabilities sometimes reach and even exceed the cargo parameters of a tractor. The weight increased twice and more changes the inertial characteristics of the train, it becomes more difficult to move off and – the main thing – to brake.
Trailer driving differs radically from driving of a single car. For example, when driving in reverse to make a left turn, you must first turn to the right, “break” the train, and only then proceed to the left turn proper.
Driving is complicated by the need to control the position of the trailer. On a slippery road, it can start swinging from one side to the other. It will be difficult to cope with it without proper preparation.
There are many examples of the difference in behavior between a road train and a single vehicle. The conclusion from it – to drive with a trailer, you need to have additional training, and to open a special driver’s category E.
Subcategory E: which vehicles may be driven
Vehicles – cars, trucks and buses have different own weight and carrying capacity. They require different levels of driving skills. Drivers are allowed from different ages. High complexity and responsibility require a high level of civic maturity.
Since single vehicles are graded, their operation with a trailer must also be differentiated depending on the mass and other characteristics that affect the driveability of a road train. To be a category E driver means to have higher qualification, responsibility, social maturity. It is not for nothing that Article 26 of Law 196 (traffic safety) allows only those who have one year of driving experience in the appropriate category without a trailer to drive cars with trailers.
The youngest automobile class. That doesn’t mean it isn’t capable of turning into a road train. Trailers are popular with vacationers, fishermen-hunters, small businesses, and those who simply like to carry more than the trunk of not only a sedan but a station wagon can hold.
If the trailer with a full load can weigh less than 750 kg, and together with a fully laden vehicle is not heavier than 3.5 tons, the license of category E is not necessary. The existing letter B, which allows you to drive a vehicle weighing up to 3,500 kg, is sufficient.
If any of these limits – 750 kg or 3.5 tons – is exceeded, the driver needs to go straight to the driving school to study and get the license of category E. All said about the weight limits, you can check by looking at 1 point 7 of Article 196 of the law.
Attention! You will be allowed to pass the exam if you have 12 months of experience without a trailer.
Trucks are the most common vehicles used with trailers. By the way, semi-trailers (flatbeds, vans, carts), one side of which rests on the hitch – the saddle – of the tractor, are not designated as a separate type. They are also considered trailers and are subject to general rules.
There is a restriction in this section of category E of driver’s license: maximum permissible weight of a trailer must exceed 750 kg. If it doesn’t reach this limit – not a shopping cart, but just a small trailer for a car – you can do without E category by analogy with cars. Just C or BC.
Note! You can drive a C-category truck from the age of 18. It means that to drive a truck with a trailer is allowed only from 19 years old.
It is the most responsible category – passenger transport with a trailer. Usually, they are city articulated buses, for 100 or more people. A box-trailer can also serve in this role. If it is driven by an ordinary truck, the driver still needs to have a category D with the addition of E – BE and DE.
Category D is not an exception to the general order – with it, too, you can tow trailers with a maximum permissible mass of up to 750 kg without opening an additional category E driver’s license. It is not mentioned in the law, but it must mean a cargo trailer, not a passenger one.
Keep in mind! You can drive buses with a trailer (articulated) or trucks with a passenger trailer-coon from the age of 22.
This is a reduced variation of the CE. It is also allowed to drive with trailer more than 750 kg, but it is lighter than unloaded truck-tractor. At the same time, the tow-truck must belong to the category C1, i.e. weigh more than 3.5 tons, but less than 7.5 tons.
The total weight limit of a road train may not exceed 12 tons.
Just as in the case of the “parent” group CE, a trailer with a maximum total weight of up to 750 kg can be driven without a Category E license. The lower age limit, including one year of driving without a trailer, is 19 years.
In brief it is the same as C1E, but the tractor is a bus, and the driver is at least 22 years old (21 years old for D or D1 plus one year of experience for the right to drive with a trailer). Everything else – the trailer with cargo – is heavier than 750 kg, the total mass of a road train – maximum 12 tons, a trailer up to 750 kg can be driven without a Category E driving license – the same as in C1E.
How to get E category – requirements to the applicant
Many drivers may need to carry loads larger in weight or volume than their vehicle can hold. This requires a trailer. If it exceeds certain parameters (maximum weight more than 750kg), an additional E-category is needed to drive it.
Requirements for drivers
The requirements for applicants for Category E are detailed in Article 26, 196 of Russian Law:
- Presence of an original driving category – B, C, C1, D, D1
- 12 months of experience driving a car or bus that is supposed to be driven with a trailer.
To get a license with a mark E, you must retrain in a licensed driving school and pass the final qualifying exam.
Conditions of reception
According to the government decree ยน 1604, which regulates the health of transport drivers, the requirements for the E category are identical to those for the tractor.
Among the most common reasons for refusal are:
- For category BE
- vision is worse than 0.6 and 0.2 in the best and worst eyes, respectively
- missing both hands or both are deformed
- Vestibular disorder
- Vision is worse than 0.8 and 0.4 in the best and worst eye, respectively
- One eye is completely blind
- No hand or arm
- No leg or foot
- No 2 phalanges of fingers on right hand
- No 3 phalanges on left hand
- Leg is shorter than 75 cm or shortened more than 6 cm
- Less than 6 ft in height
- Hearing a conversation closer than 3 meters or whispering closer than 1 meter.
The health requirements for truck and bus drivers with trailers are stricter than for drivers of cars. This is due to the greater complexity and responsibility of the driving process.
Necessary Documents
In order to pass the exam for the category E, it is necessary to present a set of documents containing:
- Application to the head of the authorized body of the traffic police – usually REO
- A passport or other equivalent ID
- Certificate of training in the prescribed amount
- Driver’s license with an open category B, C, C1, D, D1, depending on the new marking requested
- Medical certificate confirming health of the driver and absence of established prohibitions to drive the required category
- 2 3*4 photos, if they are not taken on site
- Receipts of payment of state fees. If payment is made through Gosusluzhba, you do not need to bring a printout of the receipt. The information goes into the recipient’s computer system.
Study process
The study process follows the model curriculum approved by Decree #1408 of the Ministry of Education and Science. It includes in-depth familiarization with the material part of the coupling structures, peculiarities of maintenance and repair. Most of the time is devoted to practicing and consolidation of practical skills of driving with a trailer. Specificity of training is explained by the fact that cadets have basic knowledge of traffic regulations and ability to drive a vehicle.
Studies ends with the delivery of qualifying tests. How much to study for the category E depends on the organization of the process in the training organization.
The cost of training for the right to the category E is approximately 15000-30000 rubles.
Taking an exam for the E-category
Passing the exam consists only of the practical part. It consists of exercises on the driving range and driving on the road.
The first part – the driving range – includes:
- The ability to park backwards and sideways to the loading dock
- Skills in hitching and unhitching a tractor-trailer.
If you successfully pass the exam, your existing driver’s license is surrendered. It is replaced by a new one with the marks corresponding to the qualifications.
The “E” category – what it means, how to get one, penalties for not having one
The different categories of the driver’s license separate the driver’s ability to drive different vehicles. It also takes into account the minimum age and driving experience. Legislation has recently been amended to expand the list of available license lists. The license with the prefix “E” became updated. Thus, the majority of motorists are perplexed: how to pass the examination for a new license, what is necessary for training, how much it costs, what kind of fines may threaten in the absence of this or that license, etc. But the most widespread question: what cars are allowed to drive after passing the examination for “E” category.
What is “E” category
In itself, the “E” category implies driving not just a certain type of cars, but exactly vehicles with a trailer. The driver needs to have certain skills to drive oversized vehicles, so passing the E category requires taking additional driving courses.
But what types of trailers does this category imply? You can figure it out with the help of a concrete example. For example, you are going to the country house or fishing, and at the same time you attached a small trailer to your car for a boat or crops. It is very likely that you will be stopped by an inspector and try to write a fine, but it is a serious violation of the law! According to the laws, traffic police officer can write you a fine if the weight of the trailer is more than 750 kg.
The E license is provided as an addition to the usual existing categories. Let’s consider them in more detail:
- License BE – addition to the license B, allow to drive passenger cars with a trailer, the weight of which is more than 750 kg. If the weight of the trailer is less, the new category is not required, and the inspector has no right to fix violations;
- CE license – issued as a supplement to the C license, it allows you to drive heavy trucks with a trailer weighing more than 750 kg. If the weight of the machine is more than 3.5 tons;
- DE license – issued in addition to the D license, allows you to drive a bus with a trailer, where the number of passenger seats exceeds 8.
And there is a subcategory driver’s license, marked as C1E or D1E. This was made not so long ago, so not all motorists understand exactly what they mean. C1E means the ability to drive trucks with a trailer weighing more than 750kg. Considering that the weight of the trailer itself cannot be more than the weight of an empty truck. D1E implies the ability to drive passenger cars, where not more than 16 seats, with a heavy trailer.
How to get a license of CE or C1E category
Obviously, in order to open an additional E for an existing driver’s license of different category, you need to meet certain requirements. The same goes for the C1E. This is justified by the fact that driving bulky trailers, even in a passenger car, requires quite a bit of experience driving automotive equipment.
Necessary documents and requirements to the driver
To begin with, the driver must meet certain requirements. The first is age. To get a license BE, CE and C1E you have to be over 18 years old. To get the DE and D1E license you have to be 21 years old, because the ability to drive buses requires a minimum of 3 years of driving experience.
The next requirement for the driver is experience in driving a car of the required class. Such experience must not be less than a year. First you get B, C or D license, and then, after one year, you can take a course for E category.
If you meet the first two requirements, you must enroll in a driving school. According to the new legislation, a driving school must meet certain parameters, so be sure to specify that you can open BE, C1E, etc. here.
And the last one is the medical commission. Opening the license C1E also requires passing, in addition to the standard list of doctors, narcologist and psychotherapist. Get their results in specialized clinics. After passing all the specialists and taking all the tests, as usual, the therapist writes the conclusion.
And, of course, you must provide a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation and a receipt for payment of tax (approximately 800 rubles).
Cost
The price of taking courses at driving schools in Russia varies. Now it ranges from 15 to 25 thousand rubles. In most cases, the training includes lessons in the theory of driving cars and practical lessons on driving a car with a trailer. How many hours and direct lessons per month is decided on an individual basis. Also some driving schools additionally prepare the package of documents and registrations for submission to the State Traffic Police. It usually includes:
- registration of the listener in the traffic police;
- Certificate of Course Completion;
- Preparation of a complete set of certificates to the traffic police;
- Passing tests on the school’s cars.
Timing .
If you attend classes 1-2 times a week, the training term is usually 1-1.5 months. Most driving schools allocate 16 hours for theory training of category E, and 24 hours for practical training.
Passing exams in the traffic police and exercises on the driving range
It is noteworthy that in order to open E (CE, C1E, DE, etc.), you do not need to pass the theory. It is enough only to pass two stages of testing the practical skills of driving a vehicle with a trailer:
- First – testing of skills of driving a vehicle with a trailer on the driving range of the traffic police. During the test drive the driver will have to demonstrate the simple skills of driving a car with a trailer, skills of parking to the overpass, as well as the ability to move in reverse;
- The second stage is a test of the driver’s ability to drive a vehicle with a trailer in the conditions of real city traffic.
If under any circumstances you were not able to pass your driving test at the traffic police at the first attempt, you will be able to retake the exam for driving a car with a trailer in 7 days.
Replacing a license with a category E
According to the current legislation, the “Special Marks” field for drivers who received their E license before the end of 2000, will contain the information that the E license is available for all existing categories. In other words, if you have existing B, C and D, the “Special Marks” field will add E to B, C and D – CE, BE and DE will be open when you take the test.
If you opened E in 2001 or later, however, you will only be able to replace your license with the category that was opened. In other words, if you have a DE open, you’ll have to take the exam separately to get CE and VE.
Penalty for driving without a category
According to the law, the penalties for driving without a category are equal to the penalties for driving without a driver’s license at all. And that is:
- A fine of 5 to 15 thousand rubles;
- Evacuation of a vehicle to the impound lot;
- Withdrawal of a driving license.
The exceptions are the cases, when the driver is only trained for the opening E, and there is a qualified instructor with the open license to drive vehicles.
Opening E requires a considerable amount of driving and driving experience, as well as perfect knowledge of the traffic rules.
