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Nearly a third of Germans fail their driving test
Published: 22 Jan 13 11:18 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/society/20130122-47483.html
A European motoring club says greed has led to the situation where around a third of those who take the German driving test fail and must take extra lessons before trying again.
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A failure rate of around 30 percent is not a sign of a well-qualified training system, the ACE said, presenting its figures ahead of its annual meeting in Goslar, Lower Saxony. Around 1,900 traffic experts are expected at the three-day meeting where the driving test and driving training will be a central theme.
ACE spokesman Rainer Hillgärtner, said the numbers gave rise to the suspicion of a connection between the high failure rate and the bad financial situation which many driving schools were in - due to demographic developments which means there are fewer young people needing to learn to drive.
"They speculate on a high failure rate in order to be able to book in and charge for additional driving lessons," he said.
There are also significant regional differences in the failure rate, according to the study, which was based on government figures.
The lowest failure rate was in Hesse, where just 22.14 percent of new drivers had to take a second or third test. Next came Lower Saxony with 24.87 percent, and Schleswig-Holstein with 25.13 percent.
The worst was Saxony-Anhalt where nearly 38 percent of those taking their tests failed. But Thuringia and Saxony were not far behind, with 36 percent of would-be drivers failing their first test.
Many foreigners living in Germany can simply swap their domestic license for a German one after residency has been established, but in some cases they will have to go through the entire procedure of preparing for, and taking a German test.
DPA/The Local/hc
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Your comments about this article:
After I had been here for a year , I went to the amt and wanted to exchange my USA for a German, she asked me where do you come from, I said USA, ya,ya she replied but which State, I told her she looked in her book and said you must take a driving course and a first aid course, I asked why,, she said my State had no contract with Germany. I went back home checked all out on the net and found that the State next to mine did have a contract with Germany. On my next visit back I drove there and told them I had moved into a rental and wanted to exchange my licence, was not a problem, When I returned to Germany I went back to the amt, showed them my new licence and 6 weeks and some money later received my German licence but had to take it to a place where they laminate it , they wanted my USA, I protested that it was like their ID card but to no avail.
On my next trip back went to licence bureau and got my original back.
Raandy - what www site did you use to see if your state has an agreement with FRG? I am not finding it?
I (and presumably Staticjumper above) am ecstatic to know I can just swap our Illinois licenses for German.
But Americans are the better one hand driver :)
My state did not have an agreement with my German state, so I had to take the written test, the practical test and the first aid course. It was a pain in the @$$, but I am actually glad I had to do it all because I am the only one of my international friends who seems to know the rules of the road here!! I've even had to teach some rules to my German friends!! (Nothing quite like having a discussion about a road rule and telling a German they have it wrong and watching them nearly combust... later when they've had time to research it, they always have the good grace to admit they were incorrect and marvel at how an American could possibly know the rules...) I can't tell you how many times I've screamed "Right-hand-right-of-way" while riding in a friend's car...
So where are nothing associated in educational objective in driving schools. Everything is only and only for: money, money, money and money. The more examinees fail the more money you can ask. That's all.