PRESENTERS: Birgit Salamon & Martin Winkelbauer, KFV (Austria) - CIECA Member
The 3rd EU Driving Licence Directive leaves much more room for Member States regarding category AM in comparison with other licence categories. Most importantly, a practical test is not mandatory for acquiring an AM licence. As a consequence of the possibilities the Directive leaves, the rules in Europe concerning testing, training and minimum age vary considerably. In many countries, education and test are much less challenging, and in some countries, there is no practical test at all. Arguments used are “low speed” or “only urban traffic”, but studies show that these arguments are not valid. In Austria, for example, more than half of the mopeds are illegally tuned, achieving a maximum speed of 80 km/h and more. Urban traffic causes less deaths among PTW riders, but injuries are more frequent (particularly among the youngest – 15-year-old-riders). Despite all that, there is no practical test for licence AM in Austria. The trainer assesses the practical competence of moped riders, but this takes place before the education in road traffic and strictly focusses on GDE-level-1 skills.
A series of activities were carried out recently in Austria to explore possibilities for improvement of AM candidates’ competences. The webinar will feature the main findings of these activities, including an overview of the legal situation in European countries, and focus on the most recent study. In this study, KFV investigated if the current requirements for education and testing in Austria ensure that license holders are competent to cope with the conditions of today’s traffic. Volunteer AM license holders were assessed by qualified driving examiners on the basis of the A1 test protocol for both track and on-road driver exam. 58% failed, compared to 2.5% of A1 candidates failing the A1 test on average. The results showed huge deficiencies among AM licence holders.
The presenters will focus on presenting and discussing these results, and will give an overview on AM education and test conditions in Europe, i.e. the result of a survey among international road safety experts. After the presentation, there will be room for a discussion on the experience with practical testing of AM candidates in CIECA member countries. The presenters would like to hear the experience from other countries without a test, as well as the participants’ opinion on the role and design of an AM test.
FURTHER DETAILS OF INTEREST FOR PARTICIPANTS:
- Time: 21 October 2021, 11 am - 12:00 pm CET
- Fee: This members-only event is free-of-charge
- Location: online
- Working language: English
- Registration: The deadline for registrations is 18 October 2021