German Drivers License? by Dave W (Nancy's Husband) So You Think You Really Want a German Driver's License! Before you commit your time and money you might want to listen to my saga! I really did not want to get a German driver's license (den Führerschein). The public transportation is so good in Europe that you really don't need one. But peer pressure, German and American, being a driver for nearly 40 years and, I must admit, some curiosity drove me to it! (Sorry for the play on words!) I really should have listened to my instincts! But let's follow the time and money trails, shall we, and then you decide! 30.10.99 Vision test @ Ruhnke Optik: DM 11,60 05.11.99 Erste-Hilfe (First aid): DM 75,00 The Red Cross in the USA certifies me but that is irrelevant! Naturally, the course was virtually identical. An accident victim would certainly not notice any differences! And the instructor liked my Red Cross study guide so much that I had to leave it with her for two weeks so she could copy all 231 pages. Used English study guides for the written tests: DM 70,00 (DM 250,00 new). No English study guides for the motorcycle! Only Turkish, Russian or German! Make some answer sheets and go through all the tests to see what you know that is common. Then look up the answers and do it again until you get them right. Some answers will not make sense until you do all of them. Just memorize the stupid trailer pulling answers because no one can explain them to you. Although your driving school (die Fahrschule) may have a special lesson price just for that. My kindergarten Deutsch and I first went to a local driving school that assured me in their kindergarten English that they could take care of everything. I wanted a car (Auto) license and a motorcycle (Motorrad) license as well. Be sure to get a license for a standard transmission if you can do it. Otherwise if you try to rent a car and they do not have automatics then you do not get a car! After waiting for two months for a paper from the state of Ohio that said I had been driving for more than two years I went to sign up for the lessons and tests. Oh, didn't you know that if you renew your license and the license is less than two years old you are considered a novice and you get to start at the bottom and take the full course of instruction. By the way, your insurance (die Versicherung) will go to the maximum rate of 150%, too! 25.01.00 Registration fees at the Verkehrsamt: DM 83,50 22.03.00 Auto drivers test fees: DM 25,00 OK! I have the papers, I have completed the written tests and now the Fahrschule tells me they cannot do the motorcycle. Start looking again! This time I used someone that was recommended by some other Americans. I had to travel one or two days a week for 45 minutes each way on the S-Bahn. Then two or three sessions of lessons at DM 57,00 pro 45 Minuten! This went on from 31 March 00 until the other "day of infamy" on 03 May 00. 31.03.00 Registration fees at the Fahrschule: DM 100,00 During these first lessons I did learn some minor points about the German traffic laws. When I pointed out to the instructor that all the other drivers were making these mistakes and not me, his answer was, "We just don't have enough Polizei!" 15.04.00 Lesson fees at the Fahrschule: DM 182,00 (Another DM 174,00 for the motorcycle! But I did not have to pay this one.) Die Prüfung! A young lady (mid 20's) and myself are scheduled. She will drive first. I have ridden with her before and she is by no means ready for a test! She is not smooth and very nervous. The first intersection is an extremely busy one that would tax an experienced Hamburg taxi driver. She is given directions by the examiner in the right rear seat. The instructor (right front seat) and he are conversing. The instructor had told me that he would do this to 'distract' the examiner. She is confused, asks for clarification, gets simultaneous but different commands from the instructor and the examiner and quite naturally does the wrong thing. No crashes or even horns though. She is immediately commanded to pull into the first bus stop and it is now my turn to drive. The hair is all ready up on the back of my neck. The sun is shining, the sky is blue, but this is going to be a bad day! I drive for 20 minutes through all sorts of residential and city venues. We then went to a double blind corner that I did at less than 30 km/hr. Again no crashes or even horns! Two blocks later I am informed that I did not lift my foot from the accelerator and put it on the brake pedal at a street from the right that I never even saw! SORRY, you are finished! Another minor infraction was that I did not accelerate immediately from 30 km/hr to 50 km/hr after a dual pedestrian crossing (der zweite Zebrastreifen) even though I was approaching a blind curve. This was not a test! It was only a trick to ensure failure! The young, lady was also baffled by my failure. She told the instructor that I drove perfectly! Of course, she failed too, so what does she know? There is no system of appeal; the examiner's word is final! You simply have to take some more lessons and take the test again. And pay the fees again! Every Ausländer I have spoken to has taken it three times. Most Germans take it twice. A German colleague of mine, who failed the German license three times, got an Ohio license and because he is German he only paid DM 75,00. Well, not this good old boy! I have raced motorcycles and go-karts, flown airplanes and helicopters, am a combat veteran and have never had a serious accident. Am I taking this personally? Damn straight I am! SORRY, Nicht einen Pfennig mehr! (Not one more penny!) In all fairness to the German bureaucracy, my letter to the State of Ohio questioning the lack of reciprocity went unacknowledged and unanswered! No more letters or money to moronic bureaucrats, I'll just take the bus and S-Bahn! If you do decide to proceed in spite of my tale of woe, then get the drivers license information from the American Consulate or the AWAC. You can also look here for some additional help: The steps necessary to get your German drivers license: Driving in Germany: This is excellent information!!! Be prepared to print 38 pages! Signs are in English and in color! A must for all German drivers license masochists! ADAC has an excellent full color handout on the German signs! It is in German! Viel Glück! (Good luck, you will need it!) Respectfully yours, David C. W., just another incompetent American driver. |
|
Maintained by AWCH Webgineer Copyright © 2001-2004 American Women's Club Hamburg, e.V. All rights reserved. |