As of: April 5, 2024, 6:44 a.m
By: Victoria Strachwitz
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“For me, the failure rate is not that dramatic”: Driving instructor Sven Großmann from the Gerhard Kaiser driving school in Gräfelfing, here with student driver Leon Gremm at the wheel, nevertheless confirms that the numbers have increased. © Dagmar Rutt
The driving license test is not a gmaade Wiesn. Last year, almost every second person in Germany failed. In Würmtal, however, things look better.
Würmtal
– The driving license promises a feeling of freedom. The road there seems rocky. The TÜV Association recently published figures on driving license tests in the past year. The driving instructors in Würmtal are astonished: almost every second driver learner (49 percent) has failed the theoretical test (car class B) in Germany. In the practical driving license test, the failure rate was 42 percent.
“Bavaria are not in such a bad situation,” initially reassures Vincenzo Lucà, spokesman for the mobility department at TÜV-Süd. But things only look good if all driving license classes are taken into account. As for class B: In Bavaria, too, 50 percent fail the theory test and 41 percent fail the practical test. Things look better in other classes. “There is a completely different motivation behind it.” Anyone who decides to get a motorcycle license wants to use it to fill their free time. “The truck and bus driving license is about your professional existence.”
Numerous reasons
But in Würmtal the situation does not seem to be quite as dramatic when it comes to car driving licenses. Amazing: Many driving schools and driving instructors from the Würmtal still don't want to read their names in the newspaper. Thorsten Tölle from the Kraillinger driving school Lenkzeit says that in his driving school the failure rate for the practical test is around 20 and for the theoretical test it is around 30 percent. Sven Großmann from the Gerhard Kaiser driving school in Gräfelfing also says: “For me the rate is not that dramatic, but it has already increased.”
The driving instructors in Würmtal blame numerous reasons for the increase. First of all: “It’s not the test, it’s the person,” said a driving instructor from Pasing who did not want to be named. All teachers surveyed note that the attitude of examinees is different today than it used to be. “Many people take it lightly,” says Großmann. In other words, they didn't learn enough. “You have to take the time to get your driving license and you really have to do something about it,” explains Tölle. Some are of the opinion: “Anyone can drive a car, it can’t be that difficult.”
In addition, the driver instructors note that some of the students today are not as keen on getting their car driving license as they once were. If the students hear that they have to prepare for over 1,000 questions for the theoretical exam, “they don’t feel like it,” says Großmann. And: They have been sitting as passengers in their parents' car for years, looking at their cell phones while driving and not knowing how driving works. “The majority come with little to no knowledge,” says Tölle. Traffic training areas are hardly used. “They need more hours than before,” says a driving instructor who did not want to be named.
Registered for the exam too early
Pressure is also a problem. The students are told by their parents how expensive a driver's license is. How do the students react? “You are taking the exam too early,” says Großmann. Tölle also noted: “This generation is less resilient.” And the driving test is a unique test. “You're being watched all the time and you're alone.” It's also important to him to say: The driving students today aren't stupider, but they are different. So is the situation. The requirements have increased simply because traffic has increased. For example, the motorway is full today, even at lunchtime on weekdays, says Thorsten Tölle.
However, young novice drivers are not the core of the problem. Since Corona, there have been an increasing number of older driving license candidates, says Lucà. The 25 to 30-year-olds who realize late that they need a driver's license because they might want to borrow a car have been out of school for a long time. They find it difficult to learn. The driving license class B17, which can be acquired at the age of 17, has significantly better rates, he says. For comparison: In Bavaria in 2023, only 38 percent failed the theoretical exam and 24 percent failed the practical exam.
However, new drivers, whether old or young, are not the overall drivers of the failure rate. Driver's license rewriters tend to fail, explain the driving instructors in Würmtal. They have already gotten their driving license in another country and need a German driving license. Tölle says: “Even the holder of a German driving license would fail after ten years of driving experience without preparation.” Großmann says that many rewriters are of the opinion that they can already drive, so they don’t want to take many hours. “That increases the number of diarrhea cases.” Added to this is the language barrier. “It’s not that easy for them,” he says.
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The driving instructors in Würmtal agree: There are many factors that lead to so many not passing the test straight away. However, with good preparation by the driving school and hard work on the part of the students, the test can usually be passed straight away. It's not a great Oktoberfest.