Germany: Cabinet approves driving licence reform amid safety concerns

The German Federal Cabinet has approved a draft law to overhaul the country’s driver training system, with the stated aim of making the driving licence significantly cheaper. The reform, presented by Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder (CDU), would allow theory classes to be taken online and via apps, expand the use of driving simulators in place of some in-car practice, reduce the number of mandatory special drives (such as night and motorway driving), and shorten the theory test. The draft now goes to the Bundestag, with an intended start date of early 2027.

The reform has drawn a careful response from the German Road Safety Council (DVR), a founding member of ETSC.

In its statement, the DVR welcomed the modernisation but warned against allowing exam preparation to displace road safety as the central purpose of driver training. The current draft revises the Driving Learner Training Regulation to list preparation for the licence test as the first objective, ahead of safe and responsible road participation. DVR President Manfred Wirsch said this risked reshaping the entire logic of driver training: “What stands in first place sets the guiding principle. The task of driver training is to enable people to take part safely in road traffic. The exam serves to prove that capability. It must not become the overarching goal.”

DVR supports the inclusion of simulators and app-based learning but rejects the proposal that all theory content could be learned purely via app without classroom interaction. Hazard perception, self-reflection, stress management and a sense of responsibility, the DVR argues, cannot be developed by app questions alone. It is calling for a nationally binding curriculum framework with systematic quality controls.

In its input to the recent revision of the EU Driving Licence Directive, ETSC called for the development of minimum standards to ensure quality and effectiveness within online driver training, including checking learning outcomes. However the idea to integrate common standards at EU level, was not taken up.

DVR has welcomed a new provision that would allow learners to gain additional driving practice before the practical test, provided driving instructors decide on the basis of an assessment when the learner is ready for this phase.