Overview
- Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder published detailed proposals allowing fully digital theory instruction and cutting the class B question bank by about 30% to roughly 840.
- The package reduces mandatory special drives to three and permits simulator use, while the car test’s driving time would drop to 25 minutes with a 40‑minute total duration to ease bottlenecks.
- A five‑year Laienausbildung pilot would let learners log up to 1,000 km with qualified private companions after passing theory and six lessons, using marked vehicles and rules set by participating Länder.
- Driving schools would report prices quarterly in a standard format for publication by comparison portals, as Schnieder stresses there is no immediate new “price tag” and that safety remains the red line.
- Industry groups report steep enrolment declines since the reform push—surveys show average registrations down about 54%—while driving‑school associations and the TÜV warn against a “Fahrprüfung light” ahead of March talks.