History of driving license
"Mannheim, August 1, 1888.
Driving out with the Patent Motorwagen re.
No 5: 222,
Mr. Benz, owner of the Rheinische Gasmotoren-Fabrik here, is granted permission for trial journeys with the patented motor vehicle he has produced until further notice. Motor vehicles on the streets and paths running through the districts of Mannheim, Sandhofen, Käferthal, Feudenheim, Ilvesheim, Schriesheim, Ladenburg, Neckarau, with the express indication that the entrepreneur is responsible for all damage caused to others through the use of the motor vehicle.
Gr. District Office
Signature (illegible)
Mr. Benz here. "
---
Gr. = Grand Ducal (District Office)
The history of the driving license is closely linked to the development of the motor vehicle and the associated mass mobility through motorization in road traffic . At the end of the 19th century there were only a few vehicles with which people moved in public spaces, but shortly before the turn of the century, many countries began to require motorized road users to test their driving ability (driver's license test).
In Germany, the first driving license was issued in 1888 for Carl Benz , the inventor of the automobile. A driving license valid for the whole of Germany was introduced on May 3rd, 1909 and remained largely valid until the publication of the EU Driving License Ordinance of January 1st, 1999.
Austria followed in 1889 with the first decree of the Lieutenancy of Lower Austria. Uniform regulations followed in 1905 and 1910, when the term “driving license” was introduced.
The first driving tests were held in Switzerland in 1890. The further development varied from canton to canton.
Driving license test in Germany
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The first car - like the horse-drawn carts before it - was allowed to be moved from 1886 to 1888 without a permit. Carl Benz received the first known driving license in 1888 in the form of a license valid only in Mannheim and the surrounding area to carry out test drives with a patented motor vehicle .
In the early days, when the number of road users and traffic rules was still clear, the lesson was like an introduction to mechanics . This is also how the manufacturer prepared the document.
First examination regulations
In 1903 ( two years earlier in Austria ), training with an examination was prescribed in Prussia . The inspectors were the engineers of the steam boiler revision association . Until then, her area of responsibility was to check the safety of stationary steam boilers, acetylene systems and elevators.
In other countries of the German Reich , too, there were forerunners of the driving license with names such as motor vehicle permit, driver's license, velocipede ticket etc. Due to internal independent administrations, some countries did not recognize the documents of neighboring countries. Border Crossing ”with the“ foreign ”document even confiscated cars and arrested drivers.
First driving school
The first private driving school was opened in Aschaffenburg in 1904 . The first driving test was carried out in the Hanover district, part of Prussia. Therefore the Association of Technical Inspection Associations (VdTÜV) celebrated the anniversary of the driving test on November 23, 2004 .
Reich Law on Motor Vehicle Traffic of May 3, 1909
The Reich Law on Motor Vehicle Traffic of May 3, 1909 , for the first time brought a uniform, legally binding regulation for the entire German Reich. In this first Reich Road Traffic Act (today StVO ) the traffic rules were defined and the maximum speed for all vehicles was limited to 15 km / h. This law was also the birth of the driver's license, which is still based on these regulations today; it replaced the previous flood of ID cards and stipulated the individual driving license classes as well as the necessary training duration and the test regulations for them.
In 1909 Amalie Hoeppner became the first woman in Germany to acquire a driver's license in Leipzig.
The International Agreement on Motor Vehicle Traffic was signed in Paris on October 11, 1909 . It was the first congress to deal with the international regulation of automobile traffic.
First classes of driving license
The four newly introduced driver license classes were:
- Class I for motorcycles ,
- Class II for vehicles over 2.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight,
- Classes IIIa and IIIb for vehicles up to 2.5 tons with ten or more taxable horsepower .
Apart from the modifications described below, these driving license classes lasted until 1999.
The minimum age for a driver's license was 18 years; A birth certificate and health certificate as well as a photo were prerequisites for applying for a driving license. However, in some cases the test was limited to the fact that the examinee drove back and forth in front of the driving examiner and had to answer a question, e.g. B. What to do in the dark, namely light the carbide lamps .
By ordinance of February 3, 1933, the class IV driving license, which entitles the driver to drive a four-wheel vehicle with a displacement of up to 400 cm³ and a weight of 350 kg, was introduced. Classes IIIa and IIIb have been merged into class III.
With the decree of the StVZO of November 13, 1937 - with a transition period until September 30, 1938 - the IV driving license was also granted for vehicles up to 250 cc and those up to a maximum speed of 20 km / h, e.g. B. tractors, valid. The minimum age for this driver's license was sixteen. It was later used to drive the 250cc Goggomobil and the 250cc BMW Isetta .
post war period
In West Germany, the gross vehicle weight rating in class three has been increased to 7.5 tons. This resulted in a boost in sales of 7.5-ton trucks. In 1954, a medical-psychological examination (MPU) was regulated by ordinance for the first time . Since 1958, women have been allowed to enroll in driving schools regardless of their husband or father's consent. Two years later, the driver's license was extended to include class 5 ("bicycles with auxiliary motor").
On April 1, 1986, the pink driver's license with the inscription “Model of the European Communities”, which had already been adopted in 1980, was introduced.
Driving license on trial
On November 1, 1986, a probationary driving license was introduced in the Federal Republic of Germany, which is automatically extended from two years to four years in the event of serious violations (since January 1, 1999). In this case, participation in an advanced seminar will also be ordered by the driving license authority. If the order is not followed, the driver's license will be withdrawn.
Driving License Directive - EU Law
On January 1, 1999, the Driving License Ordinance came into force, with the EU-wide uniform classification of driving license classes according to letters. No special driving license is required for horse-drawn vehicles unless they are transporting people on a commercial basis. At the same time, the new driver's license in "credit card format" was introduced.
Due to the change in the Driving License Ordinance (FeV) on January 19, 2013, some driving license classes and the period of validity of the driving license document were changed. Driver's licenses issued after this are limited to 15 years. All previously issued driver's licenses, including the gray and pink driver's licenses as well as the GDR driver's licenses, lose their validity on January 19, 2033. This limitation of the period of validity only affects the document, not the driving license itself. Classes AM, A1, A2, A, B, BE, L and T are still valid for an unlimited period. Driving licenses must therefore be renewed by 2033 at the latest, similar to identity cards, but a new driver's license is not required.
Development in Austria
With the appearance of the first gasoline-powered vehicles, the authorities were aware of the dangers involved. Therefore - analogous to an ordinance of the Imperial and Royal Ministry of Commerce of July 15, 1891 regarding the proof of the ability to operate steam engines, locomotives and steamboat engines - for traffic with a petrol vehicle in the Vienna police bayon, the driver was required to act in front of one of the Imperial and Royal Police headquarters Commission must subject a driver test. The commission consisted of two gentlemen from the Austrian Automobile Club and a car mechanic. During the examination, a theoretical part about driving theory and a practical part had to be completed orally. Driving, stopping, reversing and cornering were tested, as is still the case today. The candidate entered the test in his own vehicle. The first driving licenses were handwritten notification forms that had the character of a document and were individually designed by each authority.
The first regulation with motor vehicle law content in Austria was an ordinance of the Lieutenancy for Lower Austria from the year 1899. In addition to the first rules of conduct, this already contained clear driving law provisions which also made the vehicle owner responsible. He was allowed to leave his vehicle "only to those people who were fully qualified". This also involved liability on the part of the owner. Ordinances with identical content followed in 1901 in Upper Austria, in 1903 in Carinthia, Tyrol and Vorarlberg and in 1904 in Styria and Salzburg. In this Salzburg ordinance, a minimum age of 18 years for the vehicle owner and thus indirectly for the vehicle driver was standardized for the first time.
Ordinance of 1905
The increasing motorization made a uniform regulation of automobile traffic necessary across the borders of the federal states. Therefore, on September 27, 1905, the so-called Automobile Police Ordinance was issued. This applied to the operation of automobiles and motorcycles in the territory of the kingdoms and countries represented in the Imperial Council. The following key points were included:
- Independent driving of motor vehicles was only permitted for people over the age of 18.
- The permission to drive multi-lane vehicles was tied to an official permit (driving license). This was issued to people over the age of 18 after having passed a driver's examination. This driver examination was carried out by examination commissioners appointed by the respective political state office on a motor vehicle provided by the applicant himself. It extended to “the proof of the knowledge of the mechanical equipment that was necessary for the safe driving of a vehicle”. In addition, “the practical ability to drive such a vehicle” had to be demonstrated “by means of a test drive”. A certificate was issued for the examination passed with satisfactory results, on the basis of which a driving license could be applied for at the political district authority. These first driver's licenses were already provided with a photo and could also be withdrawn again if the reliability as a driver was viewed as impaired. The regulation also contained precise provisions on this:
- Provisions on the construction and equipment of vehicles
- Provisions on the testing and approval of vehicles
- Identification mark of the motor vehicle (the license plate)
- Safety regulations for traffic
It was not regulated how future drivers should acquire the required skills and knowledge for driving motor vehicles. Nevertheless, this first uniform legal regulation already contains all the essential cornerstones that are still valid today for safe road traffic.
The first driving test was taken in Vienna on August 14, 1906. It only applied to the vehicle in which you took the test.
Ordinance of 1910
On April 28, 1910, the first automobile ordinance of 1905 was replaced by an ordinance "concerning the issuing of safety regulations for the operation of motor vehicles (automobiles, motor trains and motorcycles)". It contained considerably more detailed regulations on the construction, equipment, testing and approval of vehicles and also regulations for driving the vehicles as well as expanded safety regulations for traffic in Germany and (for the first time) abroad.
In this ordinance, the term driver's license appears for the first time (official authorization to drive a multi-lane vehicle independently).
In addition, the possibility of denying someone this permit has been expanded. If there are facts that justify the assumption that the applicant is unsuitable for driving a motor vehicle (for example due to physical deficiencies, tendency to drunkenness, serious offenses against physical safety and the safety of property) , the permit was not granted - the introduction The basic requirement for the issuing of a driving license, which still exists today, was thus fulfilled.
If a driver's license holder committed a criminal act that was likely to impair his reliability as a driver of a motor vehicle, he was warned in writing by the authority responsible for his whereabouts. If this warning was repeatedly unsuccessful, the driver's license could be withdrawn. If the authorities determined that a driver's license holder was unsuitable for driving a vehicle, the driver's license could be withdrawn without warning.
The real reason for the rapid expansion of the regulations was the now noticeable increase in motorized traffic. Therefore, the Austrian provisions had to be adapted to the Intergovernmental Agreement on Motor Vehicle Traffic , concluded in Paris in 1909 .
Another story
Since it turned out to be impractical to carry such unwieldy documents as the driving licenses represented, a standardized, gray form was introduced for all authorities based on the document common in Germany from 1930. From 1938 to 1945 the usual gray-brown forms in Germany were used; these driving licenses could still be used after 1945. From 1945, for the duration of the occupation, a special, four-language “driver's license for motor vehicles” in German, English, French and Russian was issued for use by the occupying powers in addition to the driver’s license. Its color was gray. The German driving licenses had to be exchanged for Austrian driving licenses, which were essentially the same as before 1938, by December 31, 1947.
In 1947, with the Motor Vehicle Ordinance 1947, a new Austrian driver's license form in gray was introduced; the classification was changed to the groups a, b, c1, c2, d, d1, d2, e, f1 and f2. Such driving licenses are still valid and can - but do not have to be exchanged for a "modern" credit card driving license before the transition period has expired.
In 1955 the first motor vehicle law came into force. Since then there have been the pink driver's license forms and driver license classes A to F, which are still in use today, which were still called "groups" at the time. Official entries such as time limits, requirements and restrictions are noted in text. The second Motor Vehicle Act of 1968 brought no changes with regard to the driving license forms.
The provisions on driving licenses were removed from the Motor Vehicle Act in 1998 and transferred to a separate driving license law. Associated with this was the introduction of the pink driver's license form based on the European Union model. In order to achieve unrestricted clarity within the EU about the scope of authorization and any restrictions on driving authorization, the driving license classes are noted as pictograms and restrictions as numerical codes on this form . Since the designation "driving license" is printed on the front of the form in the languages of all member states of the EU, an amended form was used from May 1, 2004, which was supplemented by the names in the newly added states.
Since March 1, 2006 only the credit card driver's license is issued.
Development in Switzerland
The start of the ticket being issued in Switzerland is different, since the grant of the century cantonal was regulated. The first tests were carried out in 1890, but these were very simple and grievances were soon discovered. The high number of accidents made it clear that it was wrong to assume that the examinee would acquire the ability to drive correctly himself. The tests initially served as a permit to "drive yourself".
In 1902, the Swiss cantons committed to standardizing their laws in a concordat on automobile traffic, which was approved by the Federal Council on June 13, 1904 . Only the cantons of Uri , Graubünden and Thurgau did not join the Concordat.
In 1905 the first driving schools opened that offered "men's driving courses". According to oral tradition, an average driving test in 1912 took about ten minutes, ended successfully and was then celebrated in a restaurant.
In the 1940s and 1950s, the trend towards individual mobilization also emerged in Switzerland. Tickets were no longer seen as the sole right for the rich; Increasingly, these were acquired along with vehicles by the broad middle class .
In 1959 it was regulated by law that a driving test had to consist of a practical and a theoretical part. In the practical part, you had to pass a driving test that was held by a traffic expert. For the theoretical part, he checked the mandatory knowledge of the road traffic rules before, during and after the journey. Practice drives could be carried out, for this a person had to sit next to the guide who had the appropriate driving license. Three years later, such vehicles had to be marked with an "L-plate", which made it clear that the driver did not yet have a driver's license.
Since 1971, an application form had to be filled out completely and truthfully. As a further tightening, the co-driver had to be in possession of a Swiss or a foreign driver's license for three years. At the same time, participation in a course on emergency life-saving measures became mandatory. Five years later, the examination was divided into a theoretical and a practical part, with the theoretical part being taken first.
Basic practical training became compulsory for motorcyclists in 1991 and has to be completed before the theoretical and practical training. At the same time, the possibility of using foreign tickets in Switzerland was restricted. Until now, vehicles could be driven by means of permits purchased or otherwise obtained abroad without ever having moved a vehicle. For this purpose, the so-called control drive was introduced in 1994, which - without maneuvers or theoretical tests - serves to check the driving ability.
Web links
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- ↑ a b Thomas Rietig: 100 years of driving license ; stern.de, November 23, 2004; Retrieved May 26, 2009.
- ↑ See VdTÜV exhibition 100 years of driving license - driving licenses in Europe .
- ↑ a b Alexandra Felts: Woman at the wheel on the pages of the Süddeutsche Zeitung , accessed on April 26, 2016.
- ↑ RGBl. I 1933, p. 52: Introduction of the driving license IV
- ↑ RGBl. I 1937, p. 1215: Driving license IV also for light motorcycles ; Entry into force: January 1, 1938.
- ↑ a b Autobild: 100 years of driving test. In the beginning, it was the character that counted. In: Auto Bild. 44/2003 of November 7, 2003, accessed December 14, 2008.
- ↑ Katja Iken: The horror of the rag. on: Spiegel-Online / one day. February 27, 2008; Retrieved December 14, 2008.
- ↑ § 24a paragraph 1 sentence 1 FeV
- ↑ § 24a paragraph 2 sentence 1 FeV
- ↑ § 23
- ↑ Reichsgesetzblatt 1891/108
- ↑ RGBl. 1905/156
- ↑ RGBl. 1910/81
- ^ Owning a ticket in Switzerland since 1950 ( memento of July 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive ), PDF, pp. 8–11.