Number of driving licenses falls

Computerized cycling test to save children’s lives

The computer age is not only finding its way into exams, but also into learning.

(Bild: Jöchl Martin)

To ensure that as many children as possible take their cycling test, they can now do so by computer. The reason for this is not only the dramatic increase in cycling accidents involving children, but also the fact that the first possible traffic test is increasingly the only one.

The number of children involved in accidents on Austria's roads is constantly rising. In the first quarter of 2024 alone, there was a 39% increase in bicycle accidents involving children. Statistically speaking, children are only responsible for seven out of ten accidents, but every accident avoided counts: Reason enough to enable as many children as possible to take their bike test - which is now also possible online.

Two years more independence as an incentive for children
The cycling test will continue to be taken in the fourth year of primary school. Children who successfully pass the test are allowed to ride their bikes on the road on their own two years earlier than others. Registration is carried out by the teachers. A number of institutions are jointly responsible for the fact that the computer age is now being introduced: The offer is provided by the Red Cross Youth with the Austrian Road Safety Board (KfV), AUVA, ÖAMTC and the police and is supported by the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research.

The Red Cross Youth offers the learning materials in cooperation with the Austrian Road Safety Board (KfV), the AUVA, the ÖAMTC and the police.

(Bild: Jöchl Martin)

For many, our offer is the first and only opportunity to learn the meaning of traffic signs, to find their way safely in traffic and to avoid accidents.

Sonja Kuba, Leiterin des Österreichischen Jugendrotkreuzes

"Generation without a driver's license" causes concern
Almost more important than being able to take the test on a computer, however, is the availability of the learning content online, including as a child-friendly app on a cell phone. The playful nature of this form of presentation is also intended to reach more children. At the same time, it adapts better to the individual learning pace and can also use videos and narrated stories as audio files to convey content in a more varied form than before. After all, it is about far more than "just" the safety of children on bicycles.

The number of driving license tests being passed is falling continuously, especially in cities. This means that a generation is threatening to grow up that for the most part has never had to learn traffic rules. ÖAMTC lawyer Eva Unger hopes that with "low-threshold and nationwide access, all children can learn the important traffic rules that are also of great importance for their later lives". At the same time, she emphasizes that learning the rules cannot replace practical cycling in traffic, which often has to be repeated in a protected area and practiced together with the children."