The German Federal Council for Road Safety (DVR) is sharply criticizing elements of a proposed plan by Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder (CDU) aimed at making driver’s license acquisition more affordable. The plan, unveiled Thursday, faces condemnation for potentially compromising road safety through relaxed training requirements.
Schnieder’s proposal includes a reduction of approximately one-third of the theoretical questions in the examination catalogue, alongside cuts to the number of mandatory special driving maneuvers and a shortening of the duration of practical driving tests. The intention, according to the ministry, is to alleviate the financial burden placed on young people seeking their licenses, a cost that has become increasingly prohibitive.
DVR President Manfred Wirsch has labelled these measures “the wrong approach” arguing that lowering standards risks producing less competent drivers. He maintains that young drivers require “comprehensive and practically-oriented preparation” for safe participation in road traffic. While acknowledging the need for periodic reviews of the examination catalogue’s complexity, Wirsch insists the focus should be on improving training quality, not curtailing assessments.
“Those who are better trained are statistically more likely to pass their exams on the first attempt” Wirsch explained to the Funke-Mediengruppe newspapers. “This not only reduces costs for students but importantly, enhances overall road safety”. His remarks underscore a growing debate surrounding the fundamental trade-off between accessibility and competency within the German driver education system.
Critics are questioning whether the proposed cuts represent a genuine solution to affordability or a short-sighted measure that could have detrimental consequences on road safety metrics and ultimately place a greater burden – in terms of accidents and potential injuries – on society as a whole. The debate highlights a political tension between responding to public pressure for lower costs and upholding the high standards of driver competence expected in Germany.
