Mr. Kurt Bartels, EFA delegate of BVF german association shows us some interesting news.
In some European countries with the B licence you can drive 125cc motorcycles on the national territory, without taking a specific exam. In Italy you just need a B licence, in Spain you can do it after 3 years of experience, while in Portugal you must be at least 25 years old. This system has increased the number of accidents involving motorcycles. Can you describe when the B196 licence was introduced and how does it work? Is there a high demand for the B196 license in Germany?
National Code 196 has been in place for class B drivers’ licences in Germany since the beginning of 2020. The following requirements are necessary:
• Minimum age 25 years;
• Class B possession at least 5 years;
• Training in a driving school: at least 4x 90 minutes of motorcycle-specific theory lessons / at least 5×90 minutes of practical training with practical exercises (braking, avoiding, slalom …), driving in real traffic including freeway and country road;
• If the training is successful, there is a certificate from the driving school;
• B 196 is expected to be scientifically evaluated in 2022.
The customers request is high. After consulting at the driving school, many completed the class A training instead of B 196.
Many European driving schools are suffering from the stop period due to confinement to contain the spread of Covid-19. Germany is one of these countries. But the problem was prior to confinement. Germany suffers from a lack of examiners. How do you think to manage this problem in the next future?
Because of Covid-19 all driving schools in Germany were closed on March 16th. The driving schools were allowed to reopen from mid-April to early May (different from state to state). Most driving schools in Germany are family businesses. All companies were able to apply for emergency aid of at least 9,000 euros. As a result, these driving schools survived the lockdown well. The driving schools in Germany have had even more learner drivers since Covid-19 and are very busy. We had too few examiners before Covid-19. This situation has now gotten worse. The examiners in Germany are currently only technicians, usually engineers. It is currently being discussed to admit other professions under certain conditions (for example, educators or former driving instructors with additional training).