Spring 2000
Hungary for Driver Training
Submitted for Reprint by George Hensel who received it from: his friend, Zoltan Balogh, Editor in chief of Autovezeto, Hungary’s driving school magazine.
Hungary was one step ahead of early motoring life in Europe. The country was one of the very first to organize driver instruction. Two World Wars and the 1956 Revolution certainly did not help the profession’s progress, which mirrored the economical and political upheavals of the time. 1968 marked a turning point with The Educational Reform.
In that year driver training courses became compulsory, with a fixed number of both theory and practical lessons. All the subject areas were tested with both a rigorous practical exam and a multiple-choice theory test. Ten years after the reform Hungary hosted the 1978 IVV conference in Budapest. The latest regulation was issued in 1993, a document which sets out standard regulations for instruction in driving schools.
Hungary is now aiming to adapt its driving instruction practice to European standards. Currently, anyone has the authority to teach someone to drive. It is only the end examination that is the state’s task.
To achieve Category B (a passenger vehicle, and a lorry no heavier than three and a half tons) you have to successfully complete a compulsory set number of hours. There is a minimum of 38 hours theory training. This includes traffic rules and regulations, driving theory, a technical knowledge of the car as well as basic first aid. The end test is in the form of multiple-choice. A minimum of 25 hours is allocated for practical training. This includes vehicle handling, safe starting and stopping, reversing, U-turns, Y-turns, driving in the city, driving at night, driving in the mountain regions and driving on the highway. The practical test is conducted on a practice area (for ten minutes) and in a built-up area (for the remaining 40 minutes). They may take the test in handling the vehicle after only four hours, but must total the full 25 hours if they want to be allowed to drive with other traffic!
The instruction of driving instructors is currently being updated. In the new system new instructors will have to take a course of 80-100 hours which will be followed by an exam of commission. The subjects tested will include practical instruction and its methodology, technical knowledge and its methodology, traffic rules, regulations and their instruction and psychology.
In Hungary there are approximately three million vehicles on the roads. In 1997 a record 12 million foreign vehicles entered the country, with goods vehicles accounting for one million of this sum. While the steady increase in traffic has undoubtedly put pressure on the road systems, the general traffic culture and infrastructure is improving to align itself with that of other European countries. In 1997 25 thousand people were injured and 1,376 killed in road accidents. However, there was a drop in the severity of accidents.
This situation for driving instructors is still far from ideal. Due to economic restrictions and increasing fuel prices, little money is invested in educational development and overall standard of instruction. At present there are 870 private driving schools operating in Hungary and 5,500 driving instructors on the professional register. The Traffic Authorities believe that the developing educational and examination programmes have certainly improved with regulation. However, a livelihood from driving tuition alone still seems unobtainable for many instructors, driving schools, the Driving Schools Association and the Instructors Association. The basic practical instruction hardly pays, which affects the overall quality of instruction. Meanwhile, the average Hungarian feels that the cost of lessons and tests is too high! In the past two years, the situation has only improved a little - but enough for many instructors to look to the future with confidence.