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Prove yourself on the road and reduce points in Flensburg with the driving aptitude seminar
You are advised to attend a driving aptitude seminar in accordance with § 4a StVG if you have accumulated 1-7 points on your Flensburg account. The driving aptitude seminar (also called FES seminar) is a valuable aid for you to recognize mistakes caused by inattentive or risky behavior in road traffic and to drive more foresightedly, attentively and always according to the legal rules in the future. This will help you to avoid penalties and points as a road user in the future. At a score of 1-5 points, your driving license office will also waive one point, giving you relief and the opportunity to continue driving with fewer or no points. In other cases, you may receive a reduced sentence from the court.
Participation in the driving aptitude seminar is voluntary. It may be repeated at the earliest after 5 years.
The driving aptitude seminar consists of a traffic education and a traffic psychology component. The partial measures are to be coordinated by mutual information of the respective seminar leaders.
The traffic educational sub-measure
“The traffic education sub-measure aims to impart knowledge about risk behavior, improve risk perception, encourage self-reflection and develop alternative behavior. It comprises two modules of 90 minutes each. The traffic education part of the course can be carried out by a driving instructor with the appropriate seminar license as an individual measure or in groups of up to six participants. Between the modules, the participants should carry out “self-observation exercises” as part of a homework assignment. Module 2 of the partial traffic education measure may be started at the earliest one week after completion of module 1.” (§4a StVG)
The traffic psychological sub-measure
“The traffic psychology sub-measure aims to show the participant the connections between the triggering and maintaining conditions of irregular traffic behavior. It is intended to encourage the participant to reflect and create a willingness to change. It comprises two sessions of 75 minutes each and is to be carried out as an individual measure. Session 2 of the partial traffic psychology measure may be started at the earliest three weeks after the end of session 1.” (§ 4a StVG)
The traffic psychological sub-measure of the driving aptitude seminar is about recognizing and working on connections between the violations with points in Flensburg and personal attitudes, professional and private motivations, and your everyday management. From this, in the first session, we will jointly derive and develop approaches to solutions for ensuring a rule-compliant, defensive, considerate and anticipatory driving style. During the following three weeks, you can practice implementing these suggested solutions, observe your behavior in critical situations, and make any necessary adjustments. In the second session, we will discuss your experiences and progress and set out strategies for your future road safety.
Certificate of attendance and point reduction
At the end of your participation, you will receive a qualified certificate of participation filled out jointly by the traffic educator and traffic psychologist, in which you will also sign. You should submit this to your driver’s license office within two weeks. From this moment on, the deduction of one point also applies, provided that you previously had a maximum of 5 points in the Register of Driver Fitness in Flensburg.
It should also be noted that the deduction of points does not erase an individual traffic violation. An offense remains valid for the driver’s assessment until it becomes time-barred (an offense with one point two and a half years and one with two points five years after it becomes legally binding).
Application cases of the driving aptitude seminar from practice
The driving aptitude seminar has been available since May 2014 as a means of recognizing and correcting mistakes made while driving and has since found numerous applications. It has replaced the previous point reduction seminars. Most drivers take advantage of the opportunity to reduce one point.
- Fleets of vehicle manufacturers already require their prospective test drivers and passenger carriers to reduce this point in order to employ them.
- For two points, parents in particular take advantage of the driving aptitude seminar to be able to accompany their child while driving from the age of 17. This is because you may only have one point in Flensburg before you can apply to the driver’s license office to be an escort. Driving instructors are also required to have a single point on the Register of Driver Fitness, so they too must reduce a second point.
- If the holder of a driving license reaches 4 or 5 points in the Register of Driver Fitness, the competent driving license authority must admonish him and inform him of the possibility of voluntarily attending a driving aptitude seminar. Driver’s license holders are entitled to the reduction of one point until the authority has issued its admonition. If it does so at a later date, when further points have been added, it must classify the driver with a maximum of 5 points and give him the opportunity to reduce one point.
- Those with between 6 and 7 points can still take part in a driving aptitude seminar, but they will no longer be given any points. In this case, the driving license authority must issue the person concerned with a warning and also inform them of the possibility of attending a driving aptitude seminar.
- Regardless of the administrative regulations relating to participation in an FES seminar, the seminars are also used in court with the help of a lawyer so that those affected receive a reduced sentence. This means that they do not receive a point for an offense so that they still have a chance to avoid having their driving license revoked. This is usually accompanied by the assertion of a case of hardship.
A points reduction with the driving aptitude seminar is the better choice than a driving disqualification after 8 points
At 8 points or more, participation in an FES seminar is no longer possible. This results in a six-month driving disqualification and a request for a medical-psychological examination (MPU), which must be passed in order to regain the driver’s license.
According to the Federal Motor Transport Authority, 3267 driving aptitude seminars took place nationwide in 2022. The latest statistics from the Federal Highway Research Institute for 2021 list a total of 90,863 medical-psychological examinations, 14,624 (18%) of which were due to 8 points in the Register of Driver Fitness. Without being able to draw a direct comparison (some of these are different driving histories), we find it permissible to conclude that more attendance at driving aptitude seminars would prevent some driving license revocations. This impression can also be supported by our MPU preparations for 8 points in the Register of Driver Fitness, according to which hardly any clients have previously attended an FES seminar. There is a lot of potential in the FES seminars to prevent a subsequent withdrawal of the driving license.
You can find out more about our professionally qualified MPU preparations here on our website.
You can obtain information about the status of your points in Flensburg from the Federal Motor Transport Authority.
Driving aptitude seminars in our traffic psychology practice
We offer you qualified driving psychology advice as part of the driving aptitude seminar at our practice in Munich-Pasing at fair conditions. You can find out about the costs of our partial measure here and then book an appointment for a seminar session.
We will be happy to recommend a cooperating driving school for the traffic education part of the FES seminar or a specialized lawyer for your representation in court.
