Read at 3 different speeds

Swedish children in driving seat - 21st April 2023

This 15 year old girl, Evelina, isn't breaking any laws when she drives this BMW. A century-old rule in Sweden says children of 15 or older are allowed to get behind the wheel. A driving licence isn't required, but the top speed is fixed at just 30 kilometres an hour.

Evelina uses her BMW to drive to school and to get together with friends.

Evelina Christiansen: "Yeah, so, here in the back, I have a bass. So, when we have all these meetings with my friends I usually play this when I open this. So, it's high music. I think it's like driving a normal car because this is very much like, you see, the other cars and I think it's just, you learn quickly."

These A-traktors were originally used in the countryside, when there was a lack of spare money. They were built with any parts that were available. As the financial situation improved, young Swedes became interested in these homemade vehicles. And years on, the A-traktors' popularity is growing with teenagers, such as Ronja Löfgren.

Ronja Löfgren: "We've rebuilt the front bumper. Here it is, "Made by my dad" and we've put new wheel guards on, however we took the rear axle from my dad's old truck."

Mechanic, Oskar Flyman, runs a garage which constructs A-traktors from normal cars. Reducing the speed is just one part of the process.

Oskar Flyman: "This is an A-traktor. We have attached this, the warning triangle, we've attached the towing hook that you have to have. We've limited the amount of space in the back so you can't load more people or cargo and we have also put limits to the engine so that it only goes at 30 kilometres per hour."

Not everyone's a fan of the A-traktor, particularly as the number of accidents has risen greatly in recent years. Now the European Commission's demanded a new simple licence to be introduced. However, since over 50,000 A-traktors travel up and down Sweden's roadways, teenagers aren't about to give up their cars without a fight.