A pen-and-paper driver’s license test will soon be a thing of the past for most airmen in Germany. The Air Force in Europe by this summer plans to make the U.S. Army in Europe driver’s test for Germany available online for all airmen across the Air Force with orders to Germany, a move officials hope will reduce failure rates and ease the stress of moving to a new country. Air Force officials said people need 16 hours to prepare for the test on average. (Photos by Jennifer H. Svan/Stars and Stripes)
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — Question: At an unmarked traffic circle in Germany, do you yield to the wagon entering from the right?
Answer: It depends on what’s pulling that wagon. If it’s an animal, it gets to go first; a human-drawn wagon, on the other hand, must yield.
This is no joke, just one of the many rules of the road for driving in Germany.
Learning those sometimes befuddling rules is one of the first orders of business for servicemembers moving to Germany, often even before the jet lag wears off or bags are unpacked. They have to pass a U.S. Army in Europe driver’s license test to legally drive — a not so easy task considering the failure rate among first-time takers hovers between 35 and 40 percent, according to Air Force and Army officials.
That failure rate places undue stress on airmen and their families while also taxing sponsors who have to take time off from work to shuttle unlicensed drivers around.
To fix the problem, the Air Force is moving the process online so "people are ready to drive once they get boots on the ground," said Chief Master Sgt. James Muncy, 435th Vehicle Readiness Squadron vehicle operations flight chief at Ramstein.
The goal is to make the online test available by July for all airmen with orders to Germany. Passing the test will be a requirement to out-process before heading to Germany, Muncy said, adding that not passing could delay one’s move.
Dependents eligible to drive will still have to take the driver’s test after arriving in Germany, officials said.
But moving the process up for airmen should give them more time to study, Muncy said. Airmen can take the test as soon as receiving orders, which by regulation is a minimum 60 days within a permanent-change-of station date, Muncy said.
The same retest rules that apply in Germany are in effect: Applicants who fail the test twice within a two-week period will be ineligible for testing two weeks after they fail the second test. Fail a third time, and the waiting period to retest moves up to 60 days. But Muncy said only a very small percentage of airmen fail a second time.
Most airmen, Muncy said, aren’t being pushed to study prior to arrival. An informal survey by Muncy’s squadron found that most who failed said they wished they had studied more, he said.
A proctor will administer the Web-based test at base education offices. Test results will be provided within seconds of completion. Of the 50 to 60 airmen who began taking the first online test in December, all passed the first time, Muncy said.
Soldiers with orders to Germany looking to get a jump start on driving will have to sit tight.
While U.S. Army Europe, which is in charge of the licensing program, worked with U.S. Air Forces in Europe to develop the online test and procedures, the command "wanted to retain testing in this theater," said USAREUR spokeswoman Hilde Patton in an e-mail to Stars and Stripes. "It is the same test we give here."
The Air Force in Germany tried online testing back in 2005 at five stateside bases on a trial basis. But the effort faded "because of the war and things of that nature," Muncy said.
The idea, however, got a second look last summer, when during June and July the failure rate for airmen taking the driver’s test for the first time shot to about 62 percent, said Tech. Sgt. Walter Mack, 435th Vehicle Readiness Squadron vehicle operations training manager.
It caught the attention of Cols. Don Bacon and Kelly Burns, the 435th Air Base Wing and 435th Logistics Readiness Group commanders, respectively. With assistance from USAFE, the 435th Vehicle Readiness Squadron so far has implemented the online test at 27 bases across the Air Force, including most overseas bases in the Pacific.
How to take the test
Airmen and civilians with a Common Access Card will be able to use the Air Force Portal at their base education office to take an online version of the U.S. Army Europe driving test for Germany before moving here. The test will be available at Air Force bases worldwide by July.
Since the Air Force administers the driving test to Marines and sailors in Germany, members of those services with orders to Germany will also be able to test online at the nearest Air Force base.
Airmen and others who pass the online test must still watch a driver’s training video upon arrival in Germany before getting their temporary license.
A pen-and-paper driver’s license test will soon be a thing of the past for most airmen in Germany. The Air Force in Europe by this summer plans to make the U.S. Army in Europe driver’s test for Germany available online for all airmen across the Air Force with orders to Germany, a move officials hope will reduce failure rates and ease the stress of moving to a new country. Air Force officials said people need 16 hours to prepare for the test on average. (Photos by Jennifer H. Svan/Stars and Stripes)
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