Overview
- Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder outlined proposals after a federal–state working group, calling the average €3,400 price for a car licence too high.
- Theory classes would be allowed entirely online, the question catalogue for class B would shrink by roughly 30 percent, and simulators would be formally permitted as an optional tool.
- Mandatory special drives for cars would drop from 12 to three—one each for rural roads, motorways and night driving—and the practical exam’s driving time would be cut to the EU minimum of 25 minutes to ease backlogs.
- A five-year pilot would let learners log 1,000 kilometres of supervised practice with qualified parents or other close adults after passing the theory test and completing six school lessons, before returning for remaining school-based training.
- Additional steps include scrapping some facility and equipment rules for schools, requiring online price transparency, and broadening examiner qualifications, while driving instructor groups voice safety concerns and experts note rising theory failures linked to attention issues.