In Albania, the law is clear: to obtain a driving license, you must be 18 years old. Anyone under this age is considered a minor by law. While the rules of the Highway Code seem to be written in black and white, the reality on the ground is much grayer. Voices of young people today in their early twenties indicate that they started driving vehicles at the age of 16, 15, 14 or even earlier, in complete violation of the law.
And yet, this behavior seems to have reached the proportions of a phenomenon.
According to official data from the State Police, during the first nine months of 2025, violations of road traffic rules provided for by articles 290 and 291 of the Criminal Code accounted for 21.5% of all cases of minors prosecuted. A year earlier, this figure was only 3.2%, while in 2023 it was around 14.1%.
In the same response to Check it outThe police added that during 2023, 2025 minors were accompanied to the police, in 2024 there were 1888, while in the first half of 2025, 1134 such minors were accompanied.
A significant portion of them have been under investigation precisely for driving illegally, without a license, under the influence of alcohol, or with a concrete risk to others.
Confessions
Today in their early twenties, but once teenagers in various cities in Albania, young people (without wanting to be identified by name) say that driving before the age of 18 was almost routine.
"I started driving at the age of 16," says a young man from Korça.
"At that age, they would see you driving a car and it immediately seemed like you were better and cooler than the others. A friend of mine had his dad's car and we learned to drive together. This practice mainly happened in villages where the police presence is almost zero."
A girl from Tirana says she was only 15-16 years old when she learned to drive, and not out of curiosity, but from her family.
"I didn't have a strong reason, I just liked it and they pushed me. Of course I knew it was illegal, so we were careful. I have friends who have been caught and have solved it with acquaintances and money. I also know parents who are proud that their child 'knows how to drive' before the age of 18."
A boy from Erseka remembers that when he was 14-15 years old, no one stopped him. "In small towns, everyone knows you and the police 'turn a blind eye'. I was even a 'cop boy', no one bothered me."
The same story for a girl from Korça: "My dad and uncles taught me. I didn't think much about whether it was illegal."
From Lushnja, a boy says that his father taught him how to drive on the beach, when he was still 11 years old, while another from Tirana remembers that he has been driving since he was 17: "Thank God the police didn't catch me," he says, laughing today.
What does it say?at the driving school
The head of the "Selimi" driving school in Tirana describes the phenomenon as a combination of adolescence and ego:
"They brag, especially the boys, that they 'know how to give it'. But when they come here, we see that they don't even know the basic things. They don't know how to hold the steering wheel, how to position their arms, or how to position themselves on the road. In reality, they are not ready to drive a motor vehicle. But adolescence takes its toll."
The offenses that young people consider "bravery" are precisely typified in the Criminal Code.
Article 291 provides for imprisonment from 10 days to 3 years for driving a vehicle in an irregular manner, which includes driving without a license, under the influence of alcohol or narcotic substances. Even when the court replaces the punishment with a fine, criminal liability remains.
Article 290 is even more severe: if a violation of traffic rules causes injury or death, the penalties range from a fine to 20 years in prison, depending on the consequence.
However, many young people start driving long before they are eligible to obtain a driver's license.
GDRTS
The General Directorate of Road Transport Services is clear: the minimum age to obtain a vehicle license is 18 years old, requiring a theoretical course, an exam, and a practical test. Without meeting these conditions, driving a vehicle is illegal, regardless of whether it occurs “in the village”, “on the beach”, or “for a few minutes”.
PROSECUTOR
The data of the General Prosecutor's Office sent to Faktoje show that Article 291 is the main article for which minors are prosecuted and investigated. In 2023 alone, 324 proceedings were registered, in 2024 382, while in the first half of 2025 another 230 proceedings. These figures show that in the last three years, about 1 thousand minors have been prosecuted for illegal driving.
"A false sense of maturity"
Social worker and educator Eris Dhamo links young people's relationship with the wheel to adolescence, risk-seeking, and peer pressure.
She explains that driving without a license is often a way to gain status, to appear capable, brave, and independent.
“Young people who drive without a license experience a temporary sense of power and freedom, thinking they are showing maturity. But this is a false sense, because it is based on breaking the rule, not on real responsibility,” says Dhamo. She sees this behavior as a much deeper problem than a legal violation.
According to her, a large part of this phenomenon is cultural.
"In many Albanian families, parents see driving before the age of 18 as a 'skill', even as an indicator of maturity. There are parents who take pride in saying 'my son knows how to drive since he was 14', although this is prohibited by law. Our mentality continues to equate maturity with courage, not with respecting norms."
She adds that the culture of impunity, especially in small areas, has contributed to the normalization of this behavior: “When minor violations are not taken seriously, a collective belief is created that ‘there is no problem’. In many rural areas, driving without a license is not perceived as a crime, but as ‘normal.’”
Phenomena
One of the four most common crimes committed by minors in the last three years is one that the law categorically prohibits: driving. Police and Prosecution figures clearly show that this is a growing phenomenon.
But, as social worker Dhamo warns, the roots are not in the law, but in culture: "The problem is not only the law that is not respected, but the mentality that makes the law seem irrelevant. Therefore, punishment is not enough. Education is needed, in the family, in school and in the community." /faktoje.al/
