L17 training

In Austria , the L17 training is a way of obtaining a driving license for a car (more precisely: class B) at the age of 17. The official designation is "Early driving authorization for driving license class B". As with class B, a test driver's license is issued.

education

The training takes place in individual stages:

The first stage begins with the theory course with a duration of 32 units of theory (50 min each) and 12 practical units (50 min each) in the driving school .
Practice trips with an accompanying person of 3,000 km.
Accompanying every 1,000 km inspection drive in the driving school by the learner driver and accompanying person.
After completing 3,000 km, a perfection training in theory and practice in the driving school. The theoretical perfection training may last a maximum of 6 lessons and can also be completed at the beginning of the training as part of the first level.

You can start with the training (theory and practice in the driving school ) at the earliest at 15 ½ years. For the training, some requirements are placed on the motor vehicle and the accompanying person with whom the training drives are carried out:

Class B car or station wagon.
A sign with the inscriptions L17 (dimensions: 16 cm * 16 cm) and training trip must be attached to the front and rear of the vehicle .
The accompanying person must be a person close to the learner driver, e.g. B. Family member who carries out the training free of charge.
The accompanying person must have a class B driving license for at least seven years and have three years of driving experience on class B vehicles.
The accompanying person must not have committed a serious traffic violation in the past three years.

The driving test can then be taken from the 17th birthday at the earliest after completing the perfection training.

After a successful driving test, a driver safety training and a perfection drive must be completed within one year in terms of multi-phase training.

validity

The driving license is valid up to the age of 18, except in Austria, only in Great Britain , Northern Ireland and Denmark .
On July 1, 2013, L17 drivers were prohibited from driving a car in Germany , but this ban was "unintentional" and was therefore reversed on July 1, 2014. The early driving license for owners under the age of 18 is therefore valid in Germany.

Special case: L17 in connection with class A1

The following regulation has been in effect since January 2013:

The training for L17 and A can be completed together from the age of 15.5.
After completing the theoretical training for class A, the theoretical part of the driving test for class A can be taken immediately. However, there must be no more than 18 months between the successful theoretical part of the driving test and passing the practical driving test for class A1.
The practical driving test for class A1 may be taken on the 16th birthday at the earliest.

criticism

Criticism is repeatedly voiced that it is irresponsible if the driver's license holders are even younger and therefore young people are even less aware of the responsibility when driving a vehicle.

Proponents oppose that with this type of training, the drivers have a longer and therefore more driving experience before taking the test than with a pure driving school training.

A large-scale study by the Board of Trustees for Road Safety as part of the evaluation of this form of training one year after its introduction showed, among other things, the following:

During this period, 5,175 16-year-olds applied for an early driving license for class B. This number of learner drivers corresponds to around 6.5% of all those candidates who, on average, do a class B driving license training per year (around 80,000 candidates in Austria). 98% of the respondents said they were positive about this type of training despite initial skepticism. For the parents of the youngsters it is crucial that the children switch from the more unsafe moped to the safer car. In addition, most of those responsible for bringing up childcare see it as an advantage that with “L17” an apprenticeship was created in which the novice drivers can collect enough practice, even if it is associated with additional expenditure of time. There is also the positive effect that the accompanying persons refresh their knowledge or learn new things. The driving instructors also confirm that "L17" candidates are the most safely trained drivers, as two training systems are combined here (practice drive and full training). An increase in the number of graduates of this type of training can be expected in the future.

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ Website Fahrschulen.or.at: Trial driver's license up to the age of 20

↑ L17 training from 15.5 years of age ( memento of the original from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. accessed on January 30, 2012 @1@ 2

↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from September 6, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original dated December 11, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
↑ http://www.nachrichten.at/oberoesterreich/muehlviertel/L17-Fahrer-duerfen-ab-Mitte-2012-wieder-nach-Deutschland-fahren;art69,767600
↑ site ÖAMTC.at: Information on the recognition of L17 in Germany since July 1, 2012

[1] Website Fahrschulen.or.at: Trial driver's license up to the age of 20