Wife is non-EU and has applied to have her driver's license switched to a Swiss one. Naturally, this means she has to go through a Kontrollfahrt/driving test at the local DMV (Strassenverkehrsamt). Has anyone been through it and are there any tips you can give? What is important what is not?

SHe has already done numerous hours of driving lessons (refresher) since she has not been driving for like 5 years. She will also go to the driving test with the driving instructor and do it with the driving school car she is used to drive.

Appreciate any tips in advance.

I also did exactly the same as your wife!

The exam was really easy and the atmosphere was completely friendly....there is no reason to be in trouble.

After two weeks she will get the new driver's license card!

My wife went in for the practical test with a 6 month pregnancy. The inspector was really, really, nervous, and was very happy once he could end the test (and told her she drove really well for such a pregnant lady)!
Don't think you could manage that at such short notice

On a serious note, I think the inspectors dont take it a seriously as a new application, but of course the really serious offences (dont cross lines, signal, maintain the correct speed..) need to be absent.

I drove till the end during my 2 previous pregnancies, and didn't notice I had become a public danger?!

I did the kontrollfahrt this morning in Zurich with no problems

The guy was friendly (spoke only German though - no English), he explained what we were doing and then we went for a drive around the city for 25 minutes.

At one point at the traffic lights he wanted me to turn left but because it was rush hour I would have blocked the road completely and been sat on a tram line so I told him "I would normally wait and not go through the green light because otherwise it just causes trouble" and he agreed and said to turn right instead.

They just want to see that you are safe. Watch for pedestrians, trams, buses and bikes and you should be OK.

snicker

I'll have you know that all my fahrts are kontrolled.

So here is a funny one: wife got the appointment for the driving test on June 13 at 13:00. Swiss humour I guess

This was my route, starting from Strassenverkehrsamt going down towards Manneseplatz and following the route counter-clockwise. The expert sitting with me was a nice guy, didn't talk much, but made jokes on 2 occasions. All in all it was an ok experience and I passed in the end. Good luck to everyone taking Kontrollfahrt in the future

I had a test recently in Wettingen, AG. Before the test I took 8 lessons. If you are experienced driver abroad, I would still recommend taking up to 6-8 lessons. More than that is not really useful. It is important to know the area, so also just drive around in your or rented car. Practice driving "the Swiss way" (check the forum).
The route of my Kontrollfahrt is attached.

Attached Images

kontrollfahrt_weg_web.jpg (275.4 KB, 529 views)

Hi, I have my kontrollfahrt coming up very soon. I had some driving lessons but still kind of stressed- not due to driving but due to the language☺️. Can you please let me know about the german words I might need other than rechts, links, geradeaus, Xxx ausfahrt, wenden and autobahn😬😬😬. I wish english speaking experts existed😢. Do I need to memorise german words for traffic signs?? Thank you

Drive around the strassenverkehrsamt and learn the signals. I think I only passed my test because I ride my bike a lot and already memorized the streets and knew where to turn.

The examiner said very few times right or left, most of times it was "now drive to X town, turn on Y strasse, look for the highway to Z". The signal posts most of times are polluted with secondary information (church, school, gemeinde, butcher shop ) . You cannot rely on reading signals because it's impossible to read all of them even when you drive at 30 km/hr among pedestrians and cyclists. It was more an orientation than a driving test.


Also, be super attentive to the signal that says you cannot drive further or obligatory turn. I was instructed to go on a straight street in which you must turn to the right at a certain corner. If I have failed that turn, it was automatic fail.

Relax, you have it covered with the basic words and its not that difficult to understand what they are asking you to do. They give simple instructions. You can always ask them to "Können Sie bitte wiederholen?"


If you get one of the young examiners, you might get some unofficial English instruction help.

Gott verdelli is a good term to know.

Hi Everyone

Thank you for all the input and tips. It is a great help. I am also in the situation to have to do the "Kontolefahrt".

Could anyone please recogment a good driving school that is fair with pricing?

I did look online and searched this forum. The prices vary from 59 to 90 per 50 mins.

How many lessons does one need?

Thank you in advance.

Depends how you drive!

Between 0 and as many as you need.

If you are confident, experienced driver and know the rules you need a single mock Testfahrt at most.

I did the kontrollfahrt today and passed, I want to share my experience maybe it is helpful to visitors of this forum, like other posts were helpful for me.

I have been driving since around 2004. Not very experienced with highways, we don't have much of those where I come from. I'd say I'm a good driver, but also too used to driving, as in I drive with only one hand on the steering wheel etc.

I live in Zurich. I signed up for the test in Hinwil based on the advice of someone on this forum (less traffic, no trams).

I took 6 lessons in total, one on the test day, and drove with the instructor's car.

The kontrollfahrt took 37 minutes. It was extensive. Started with highway, then exited into a town called Ruti (2 lane change in a short span), drove quite a lot there in roads at 30,50, 20km/h speeds and with varying traffic conditions. Then form there to Bauma, on a 60 and 80km/h road, with multiple tricky right-of-way intersections. Then in the town again various roads, parallel parked, continued towards a hospital. Then from there back to Hinwil, and on the road did an emergency stop (full break from 50km/h), then in Hinwil to the Strassenverkehrsamt.

I think it was very useful to have taken 6 lessons in the area. If you're an experienced driver, you're likely a relaxed driver like me, but you need to remember to hold the steering wheel with two hands and do all these useless performances for the examiner. The lessons remind you of that. They also familiarize you with the area. There are lots of options for the examiner to take you for. And apparently I had the toughest examiner in Hinwil, he also spoke absolutely no English and I speak no German at all. It felt like the kontrollfahrt kept going until I would finally make an obvious mistake. What I found most tricky is the right-of-way (rechtsvortritt) because the intersections are often not obvious and the markings on the road can be difficult to discern, I also found it a bit tricky to remember whether I'm on a 60 or 80km/h road, 30 or 50, and so it was useful to know the area a bit. An aside: In Switzerland cars can park on either side of the road facing either directions, which can be confusing if you come from a country where this is not the case (driving here last week I often thought I was on a one-way street because cars were parked facing my direction of travel on both sides of the road). Also, parking spots here are very small, so make sure to practice parking so that you don't park over the line.

I'm not sure if Hinwil was better than Zurich. But I imagine if I got the same examiner in Zurich it would have been more challenging given the trams and busy streets.

Also, I found that taking a class ends up being not much more expensive than renting a mobility and driving on your own.

Reading the book "Driving Today" is useful. I read the old version uploaded on this forum somewhere.





TL;DR Kontrollfahrt can be just as long and extensive as a regular test, it depends on your examiner. It is useful to take some classes in the area of the test. Get to know Swiss driving laws. Find a driving instructors well before your test date, instructors are often fully booked.