Gadgetory

ah yes when Americans go to Germany they're in awe of the Autobahn when Germans come to America they're in awe too and although we haven't killed each other with our lousy driving i'm brian coolie with the top 5 reasons there's such a difference the top 5 differences between us and german driver's licenses number 5 there's a first-aid course see we're not talking about the US we're being prepared means knowing how to punch the numbers 9-1-1 you need to pass a real first aid course in germany eight hours of it that's like getting an MD in Somalia part of the course also teaches you how to secure the accident scene in America we just call OnStar and start crying number 4 you learn theory us driver training isn't training so much as muscle memory German training gets into the essence of driving there are at least 14 and possibly 20 or more hours of this theory training to get ready for a theoretical exam and that consists of 30 multiple-choice questions but unlike here in the US there can be multiple correct answers for each one you need to nail them number three you really learn driving you'll need a minimum of 12 90 minute on the road training sessions four of which have to be on the Autobahn and at speed and about three of those have to be at night by the way if you take your training in an automatic transmission you'll only be licensed to drive that driving a manual with that same license is considered driving without a license if your instructor detects that you suck you could be in for up to twenty or even thirty of those training sessions in the US that would qualify you to fly for Southwest number two it takes time and money three to six months is what you need to a lot to get your first driver's license in Germany and that's not time just waiting to turn a certain age it's real work unlike the US you don't learn to drive by having your parents take you out to a parking lot for a couple of hours you go to a far Shula and it can easily cost you something in the region of two thousand euros this is real school the number one reason a german license means a little more than one in the US is that a test is a test three wrong answers on the German test and you failed that's nearly twice as stringent as here in California fail three times and you have to go back to that school viewer as Kay wrote in and told me when my parents lived in Germany they said if you failed the driver written exam three times they sent you for a psych evaluation to see what's wrong with you and questions like what is the maximum speed you're allowed to drive a truck with a permissible total mass of three tons on a road with one marked lane for each direction outside built-up areas will make you seriously consider getting a bus pass instead you also have to open the hood during your driver's test and identify for the instructor the major visible components where you would check the oil how would you top up the coolant in America you could weld most people's hoods shut then wait a year or two and see if they've noticed high-tech cars and modern driving that's all we do at CNET on cars.com i'm brian coulis thanks for watching you