Driving licence loses attraction for young Swiss
The number of people who applied for a Swiss driving licence dropped by 2% last year, with applications from 18- to 24-year-olds down 3%.
Some 5.8 million people owned a driving licence for cars in 2017, the Federal Roads OfficeExternal link said on Tuesday. This 1% increase was due not only to new drivers but also to foreign licences being exchanged for Swiss ones and natural population growth, it explained.
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Of these 5.8 million licenced drivers, 46% were women and 54% men. Currently 92% of men over the age of 18 possess a driving licence; the corresponding figure for women is 76%. However, there is variation within age groups:
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Currently learner drivers can apply for a provisional licence a month before turning 18 (a proposal to change this to a person’s 17th birthday is being discussed). A first-aid course and a theory test (in some cantons this can be done in English) must also be passed. After passing the drivingExternal link test, new drivers receive a three-year probationary driving licence, during which they have to take two compulsory drivers’ education courses.
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