Re: Any BHPians in Germany? Wow, a TeamBHP league in Germany!!!
Alas, guys - I am staying in Stuttgart for close to 2 years now and leaving back to India for good by August end. I have Loved & Lived cars to a great extent here and all experiences are by rentals - Sixt being my only renting company.
I do hold a German DL (Taken in Dec 2010) and here is a step-by-step guide for a German DL:
1. Translate your Indian DL through ADAC (The Approved German Car - Club) - Must be around 40€
2. Take a First Aid (Erstehilfe) training + Eye test - Both are normally offered as a package for 30€ to 40€
3. A NOC (dont remember the German term for this) from your registered Rathaus - around 12€
4. With 1, 2 and 3 in place, register your application in your regional Landratsamt (similar to the Indian RTO office) along with 3 / 4 Biometric photographs as required.
5. Join a driving school (Fahrschule).
a. When you are "converting" your Indian DL into a German DL, the "Mandatory" theory classes are waived off for you.
b. Buy the "Model Question" booklet - which is available in English. Thoroughly prepare this, it covers most topics required for the written test.
c. The Driving School will parallelly contact the Landratsamt directly and link your papers submitted to them and inform that you have registered with them for the theory & practicals.
6. Once you are 100% confident in taking the written exam in English (All objective type questions & pass mark required is 90%), book a date for the exam at your Driving School.
7. The actual Written test will happen at the nearest TÜV center. Follow instructions given by your driving school. Take the test (online). You will get your result immediately when you finish your test. Center Suüpervisor will print the certificate for you, donot forget to collect it before you leave.
8. In my opinion, now is the right time to start with practical classes with the Driving school.
9. It is always your teacher who decides when you "Can" take the Practical test. Until he is impressed with your driving, you ought to continue with practical classes with him / her.
10. After the Teacher feels you are "Good", both of you could agree on a date for the practical exam.
11. On the Practical test date, your teacher will accompany you in the front and the TÜV Examining Engineer will sit at the back diagonally opposite to you. Your teacher is allowed to translate the examiner's instructions to you in English (no other comments / remarks to be passed).
12. Strictly follow the examiner's instructions. They normally cover your driving skill areas like: city driving, car handling, following road-rules, how do you drive in the Autobahn, how well you handle "Emergency Braking", your "Parking" skills (forward, reverse & in between 2 cars), etc. In some cases, they might even question you about basic car mechanisms (not at a deep-drill level).
13. The Practical exam may range from 45 mins to 1.5 hours. Most importantly, park well when you finish the test, the examiner is still noticing you. Park well - includes your following of signals when you halt the car, hand-brake application, switching off the electricals & finally removal of the keys.
14. If you have passed, the examiner straight away wishes you good-luck and hands over an "Approval" sheet for the DL. Please note that this is not the actual "DL" and you cannot drive with it.
15. Carry this TÜV Approval sheet to the Landratsamt (RTO). The moment you present the Approval, you will get your DL from them. This is when you would realise that your DL is already printed and kept ready shortly after your application.
The total process may take somewhere around 1100€ to 1200€ if you clear Written & Practical tests in your first attempt. More the number of attempts, higher the cost. A max of 3 continuous attempts are allowed for failed candidates (at intervals of 2 weeks between each attempt).
Hope you guys got most of the information you may need for getting a DL at Germany. You can ask me if you need any further clarifications, I would be happy to help you out! Good Luck guys, happy driving at the German Autobahns. Good Luck!!! |