There will be no modular theory exam. Further research by the CBR shows that is very expensive to develop and the pass rate will go down. Minister Schultz van Haegen reports this to the House of Representatives. In a modular exam, everyone passes a sort of “basic” exam once. After that, an additional theory exam can be taken for each license category, such as motorcycle.
To make this a reliable and valid exam, both the generic part and the specific parts must be of sufficient size, the minister writes. For modular, one generic section should be developed and one specific section for each license category. The generic section contains only knowledge questions, as all insight questions are vehicle dependent.
Driving license categories
The generic part will be very small because there are very few questions that cover all driving license categories. An exam with a small number of questions is not valid.
Therefore, to still ensure the validity of the exam, the exam should be larger. Added to this are the specific modules. These are also large because here the understanding will be tested on all components as mentioned in the 3rd Driving License Directive.
CBR
CBR expects that this will eventually make the exam more difficult and expensive for the candidate. There will also be development costs because the question bank needs to be revamped. Separate generic and specific questions should be created. The ICT environment also needs to be modified.
The study was conducted because of a motion by CDA MP De Rouwe. Herin requests that the government “in addition to the moped certificate, the theory exam for motorists should also be made a possible theoretical exam for moped riders from the age of 16, with the period of validity of this theory exam being set in such a way that it also becomes usable for the early attainment of the driving license.” So that’s not going to happen.
Alternative
CBR has explored another alternative: making it possible for a driver who has passed the theory exam for category B to take both practice AM and practice B with it.
Since the introduction of assisted driving, a candidate can currently take the B theory exam as young as 16. A successful theory exam remains valid for 18 months. A candidate who has passed B theory could then take the practical exam AM first during that period and the practical exam B from their 17th birthday. The advantage of this is that drivers who want to drive mopeds first and cars later only have to take theory exam B.
3rd Driving License Directive
However, this alternative violates the 3rd Driving License Directive because the theory exam must relate to the driving license category for which the candidate is taking that exam. Another disadvantage is that these candidates go to the AM practical exam without specific knowledge regarding the AM categories.
As a result, according to the CBR, the candidate is likely to need more lessons and, as a result, the exam ends up being more expensive for the candidate. Moreover, the target audience will be very limited.
Source: trafficpro.com