Under Secretary of State Eck launches computer-based theory test
Under Secretary of State Eck launches computer-based theory test
On Friday 23 October, the new Under Secretary of State Gerhard Eck gave the starting signal for the computer-based driving theory test in Bavaria in TÜV SÜD's Unterhaching branch. On this occasion, Eck underlined the positive effect that the new test will have for road safety in Bavaria. Following an extensive pilot phase, TÜV SÜD will now gradually change over to computer-based theory tests. From 1 January 2010 at the latest, computers will have replaced pen and paper across Bavaria. In view of the project's development so far, however, Wolfgang Eichler, member of the management team of TÜV SÜD Auto Service GmbH, expects the computer-based theory test to be established throughout Bavaria much earlier than the 1 January deadline.
A look over the shoulder of the first (successful) test candidates: Under Secretary of State Gerhard Eck (right) and Wolfgang Eichler (TÜV SÜD) on Friday, 23 October at the press conference for the introduction of the computer-based theory test at TÜV SÜD's Unterhaching branch. | "If we want to achieve the objectives of our road-safety campaign, good instruction and training plus effective tests are essential. One important stepping-stone in reaching these objectives is the computer-based theory test which we are already launching here in Bavaria", explained Gerhard Eck at TÜV SÜD's Unterhaching branch on Friday. Before the driving licence experts in Unterhaching were able to take off at full throttle, 35,000 electronic theory tests had to be completed during the pilot phase at various locations throughout Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg. |
One advantage of electronic testing is that questions are displayed in random order, making copying from a neighbour or peering over the shoulder of the person in front a thing of the past as the order of questions will now vary for every applicant. Heinrich Dick, Branch Manager Unterhaching: "In computer-based tests, cheating is no longer possible."
Other advantages are that nervous test candidates can no longer overlook questions, as the computer will inform them that answers are missing before they hand in their tests. The test results plus an evaluation will be available immediately on test completion. Wolfgang Eichler, member of the management team of TÜV SÜD Auto Service, notes, "The new procedure also has a very positive effect on test preparation: rote learning of test sheets has become a thing of the past. In addition, the evaluation permits applicants who failed the test to address the gaps in their knowledge in a targeted manner. This ensures better long-term learning."
These benefits also apply for non-German speakers, as the test is offered in eleven European languages. Up to 20 % of applicants sit the test in a foreign language.
The benefits of the computer-based theory test will also have positive effects on its pass rates. In the current situation, TÜV SÜD's officially authorized experts held a total of over 660,000 theory driving tests in 2008. Approximately 188,000 candidates failed their tests, equalling a pass rate of 71.6 per cent. The figures for Bavaria show over 335,000 tests and a pass rate of 72 per cent. "By establishing the computer-based theory test, we want to improve both the test's quality and its pass rate. This measure represents a big leap forward in driving tests and a major contribution to improved road safety, even before computer-based testing is officially launched", concludes Eichler.
The computer-based theory test will be introduced gradually at the TÜV SÜD service centres in Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg until the end of the year. Applicants have already been sitting the computer-based test since June in the Augsburg branch, where the new method was tested extensively during the pilot phase, and in Kempten and Neu-Ulm, where the test PCs have been in use since 12 October. Together with Unterhaching, the computer-based theory test will now also be introduced in Garching and Munich, followed by
26 October: Regensburg, Weiden and Ingolstadt
27 October: Fuerstenfeldbruck
2 November: Rosenheim and Traunreut
23 November: Amberg and Bayreuth
30 November: Nuremberg and Ansbach
7 December Schweinfurt and Wuerzburg
11 December Aschaffenburg
N.B.: Further photos can be downloaded in camera-ready resolution from
http://www.tuev-sued.de/company/press/image_library (category: "Current Press Photos").
Further information is available at http://www.tuev-sued.de/company/press
Contact: Frank Volk
