Dutch driving instructors can trade lessons for sex

Michael Harthorne | Newser Staff

(NEWSER) – Christmas came early for amorous driving instructors after the Netherlands ruled it was perfectly legal — if "undesirable"— for them to exchange driving lessons for sex, the Telegraph reports. The question was brought before parliament by an official who was concerned that if a driving student offered sex as payment, that amounted to prostitution. And while prostitution is legal in the Netherlands, in this case it wouldn't be properly taxed. Solution? Two ministers found it isn't prostitution as long as the instructor is the one making the offer. "It is important that the initiative lies with the driving instructor and focuses on offering a driving lesson, with the payment provided in sexual acts," they wrote in a letter to parliament.

But there are some rules when it comes to what is being called "ride for a ride," the Telegraph reports. First, both driving instructor and driving student most be over 18. And the Independent adds the sex must be done in a way that is both safe for the participants and the public. Dutch News notes the ruling "will be a shot in the arm for the small legion of (mostly male) computer technicians, handymen, and driving instructors who offer their services online in exchange for personal services." Police in the Netherlands have looked into the prevalence of these kinds of exchanges but haven't released their findings, the Independent reports. (In Los Angeles, drivers spotted in prostitution zones might get letters sent to their home.)

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