The Bundestag is talking about modernizing driving school training. Driving licenses should become more affordable. But the Federal Council is still in charge.
A lot is set to change in driving school training. Photo: Klaus-Dietmar Gabbert/dpa
Berlin. More digital, simpler, faster - and more affordable. These are the goals of a driving license reform. The Bundestag will vote on changes to the law this Thursday, as the first part of a reform package. The Federal Council also still has to agree - as well as the second part of the package. This is a regulation.
What are the key points of the reform?
In their coalition agreement, the CDU, CSU and SPD agreed to reform driving training - in order to make obtaining a driving license more affordable. The reform provides for more digitalization, less bureaucracy and more transparency. Road safety should remain the top priority, according to the Federal Ministry of Transport.
The main things that need to be changed are the Road Traffic Act and the Driving Instructor Act. In a further step, a regulation by the Federal Ministry of Transport to modernize driving school training is planned - this must be approved by the Federal Council. The regulation provides for changes to special trips as well as theoretical and practical tests. “The potential for cost reductions for 800,000 learner drivers every year depends largely on how the states further develop the regulation in the Bundesrat,” said CDU member of the Bundestag Henning Rehbaum.
The new regulations are essentially scheduled to come into force on July 1, 2027. This is intended to give driving schools a transition period to prepare for the new rules. When the plans were presented, it was said that the regulations should come into force at the beginning of 2027.
These are the key points of the reform package:
Digital lessons instead of compulsory attendance: In the future, driving students should be able to choose whether they want to complete their knowledge via an app at home, hybrid in a driving school or, as before, in person. This is intended to reduce costs for classrooms in driving schools and save time for driving students.
Less bureaucracy: Many documentation and record-keeping requirements for driving schools should be eliminated.
Theoretical examination: The regulation stipulates that the list of questions will be significantly reduced.
Fewer special trips: A total of twelve special trips of 45 minutes each are required for the car driving license - cross-country, motorway and night driving. In the future there will no longer be any rigid requirements regarding the number. How many hours are required should depend on the skills of the learner driver and the assessment of the driving instructor.
Practical driving test: For car class B, the driving time is currently 30 minutes and the test duration is 55 minutes - parking and parking, for example, are not part of the driving time. The travel time should now be reduced to the EU minimum in order to carry out more tests per day and thus shorten waiting times, according to the Ministry of Transport. In the future, the minimum driving time for cars should be 25 minutes and the test duration should be 40 minutes.
More price transparency: Driving school prices and passing rates are to be published online in a database in the future in order to enable parents and driving students to better compare quality. Consumer and comparison portals can then use this data.
What is “lay training”?
The basic idea: During driving training, learner drivers should gain more driving experience as a supplement to the practical training in driving school - and thus be better prepared for the test. Requirements apply for “driving practice under supervision”. The driving students must have passed the theory test and completed six driving lessons at the driving school.
In comparison to the federal government's draft law, the rules for lay training have been tightened in the Transport Committee: the central safety requirements - such as passing the theory test - are now in the law. The accompanying person should not only be prepared theoretically as planned, but also practically in the driving school.
Among other things, the “lay trainers” must have had a car driving license for at least seven years, may not have more than one point in Flensburg and must be in a “particular close relationship” with the learner driver. So these could be parents, for example. An “opt-in” regulation is planned for the federal states: the regulations for lay training do not automatically come into force nationwide, but must be introduced individually in the 16 federal states through a separate regulation.
What does the reform mean for costs?
According to the Federal Ministry of Transport, the average price for a class B car driving license is currently around 3,400 euros. The aim of the reform is to make the path to getting a driver's license easier and more affordable, as the then Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder (CDU) said when presenting the plans a year ago: "Mobility must not be a privilege." The cost reductions should be achieved through digitalization and the reduction of bureaucratic requirements, as the draft law states.
Schnieder, who has since been fired by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, did not mention how much cheaper the driver's license should be - his successor Steffen Bilger (CDU) did. Learner drivers could save several hundred euros, in the best case even up to 1,000 euros, Bilger told “Welt”. At the same time, the minister pointed out “large regional differences” and the fact that some learner drivers needed more driving lessons than others.
An ADAC spokeswoman said that, in the best case scenario, the costs of obtaining a driving license could be reduced by up to a third. The planned introduction of virtual theory lessons could make training more cost-effective and flexible. The planned accompanying phase could help to partially supplement expensive driving lessons in driving school with additional driving experience under supervision. “It is important to us that cost reductions do not come at the expense of the quality of training and road safety.”
Kurt Bartels, Vice Chairman of the Federal Association of Driving Instructors Associations, said: "I cannot understand Mr. Bilger's calculation that driving licenses should be 1,000 euros cheaper." Bilger did not say specifically how exactly this should work. The Moving International Road Safety Association also believes that savings of up to 1,000 euros in the current form of the reform are unrealistic.
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Federal CouncilCDUPatrick SchniederADACGermany
The main cost drivers for driving licenses are the number of driving hours required, failed theoretical and practical tests, personnel and training costs as well as vehicle and operating costs, according to a statement by driving instructor Gerhard Tiessen for a hearing in the Bundestag. The key to an affordable driving license lies in training that is as efficient as possible.
Why is there criticism of the reform?
The reform is met with rejection by driving instructors on many points. A paper from the Federal Association of Driving Instructors Associations states that the introduction of “training of laypeople by laypersons” is strictly rejected. The possibility of purely online teaching is also viewed critically. Digital learning offerings cannot replace the pedagogical functions of face-to-face teaching.
From Moving's perspective, reducing unnecessary documentation requirements and the targeted use of simulators are sensible approaches. "However, we are critical of the complete elimination of mandatory face-to-face teaching and the planned amateur training after just six driving lessons. They pose risks for the quality of training and road safety."
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