Did she pass or fail? How did the American Euromaxx reporter Meggin Leigh do on the notoriously difficult German driver's license test?
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00:00Hello. Uh-oh. Wait, I go first. Sorry.
00:03Learning to drive in Germany can be quite challenging.
00:07Whoa.
00:09Can we go home now?
00:10Ta-da!
00:12100%?
00:13100?
00:1480.
00:1580?
00:16I received my German driver's license in the year 2000
00:20and I never looked back.
00:21The question is, can I still pass the driving test?
00:26So I'm going to head out with instructor Marcel Monsler
00:28from the Schwarz driving school in the western German city of Wiesbaden.
00:33And this is our car, a specially outfitted Mercedes B-Class.
00:37Lessons and the driving test take place in an officially certified car.
00:42Here we have a normal brake pedal for when I need to brake you.
00:47And here's the accelerator pedal.
00:49And when you press it, the accelerator pedal releases.
00:53Press it, and if I want to irritate you, I do it like this.
00:56Oh, when you want to keep me from going fast.
00:59That's bad. Okay.
01:01This is a stick shift.
01:02What if I don't know how to drive a stick?
01:06In this case, a number 78 would be entered on the driver's license.
01:0978 is for automatic transmission,
01:11and then you're only allowed to drive automatic vehicles.
01:15Luckily, that is not an issue for me, so our driving lesson can begin.
01:20What's the most challenging thing, driving in Germany, for new drivers here?
01:25The right-hand drive regulation.
01:28That's usually the biggest challenge.
01:31Is this right before left here?
01:33Yes.
01:33Oh, that's what you're testing me.
01:35So you're supposed to stop, look, and there's nothing indicating.
01:42Meaning, those coming from the right have the right of way.
01:46The minimum driving age in Germany is 18, with a few exceptions.
01:50New drivers must complete a first aid course,
01:5312 hours of special driver's training,
01:55and 14 90-minute sessions of classroom instruction,
01:58plus the written exam to get a license.
02:01Wiesbaden.
02:01Wiesbaden is beautiful.
02:03Yes, man, driving 30 is even more beautiful.
02:07It's so boring driving slowly.
02:11So we should turn around up here.
02:14I can do that here, is that allowed?
02:16Yes.
02:18Anyone coming?
02:20Okay.
02:2450% well done.
02:26What?
02:27No blinker.
02:28Oh.
02:29You didn't look out of the windshield once when driving in reverse.
02:32Yes, I did.
02:33You didn't see me.
02:35During the test, we always have to look out of the windshield like this.
02:38Then you didn't use your blinker,
02:40the examiner would already note that as a problem,
02:42and then you'd be on thin ice from there.
02:45But nobody was coming.
02:46All right, where am I going now?
02:47Parking?
02:48Parallel?
02:51Here we go.
02:59Oops.
02:59Oops.
03:02I need a tighter spot.
03:04That's the problem, it's too big.
03:08It's good if you don't end up on the curb.
03:11All right, I'm tired of this exercise.
03:13Let's move on to the next thing.
03:16Volker Finst has the Eifer,
03:17owns and runs Schwarz driving school.
03:19He's been in the business for over 35 years and says,
03:22costs for getting a driver's license have gone up
03:25because today's youth aren't paying attention in the car.
03:28The average price for a German license is around 3,000 euros.
03:32A good student can spend as little as 3,000 euros,
03:35but we have students who can't do it even with 5,000 euros.
03:39So this is the book of rules for when you're learning how to drive in Germany.
03:45These two still get me.
03:48I think this one means you have the right-of-way at the next street,
03:53but not on all the streets.
03:55And this one means you have the right-of-way from right...
04:01See, I still don't know what it means.
04:04We now hit the Autobahn.
04:07This is also required driving in order to pass the test.
04:16All right, so here we are on the Autobahn with no speed limit.
04:20What is the most important thing you tell your students
04:24about driving on the Autobahn?
04:26That you don't drive too slowly when entering the Autobahn.
04:29Another major difference in the US to Germany,
04:33when we take the test in the US, we drive our own cars.
04:38And actually, at the time that I did my driver's license, I failed.
04:44I failed it three times because my mom's car didn't pass inspections.
04:53Please can't do anything because there's no speed limit.
04:59When I turned in my Ohio license for a German one,
05:02I only had to take the written and driving test, and I passed on the first try.
05:06But a refresher course like today's is always welcome.
05:11So, how did I do?
05:14I'd say we'd do a few more driving lessons, and then the test should work out.
05:20I thought I was a good driver, but according to German standards,
05:24there's lots of room for improvement.