Transport Minister Postpones Plan to Scrap In-House Driving Test

Transport Minister Miri Regev has backed away, for now, from a promise to abolish the internal driving test, a move that was due to take effect on June 18. Only after a Walla report indicated the controversial change was likely to be delayed did the Transportation Ministry confirm late Monday that the internal test will continue, at least temporarily.

The internal test is the stage before the official state driving exam. It is administered by the driving school’s professional manager to decide whether a student is ready to take the road test. Students and parents object to it because it costs about 150 to 250 shekels and, in their view, can be used to delay access to the state test and raise the cost of lessons. Driving instructors argue the test is useful because it is given by an outside professional and provides feedback on weaknesses. They also say it is a small part of the total cost of learning to drive, which ranges from 5,000 to 10,000 shekels, and can prevent students from being sent too early to the more expensive official exam.

The ministry announced in April that Regev had ordered the test abolished after an internal review concluded it was unnecessary, but it has refused to publish that review. The ministry had already removed the option to schedule an internal test in its booking system, Brosh, and an official circular said the change was supposed to begin tomorrow, June 18.

Opponents, including Ayelet Levin, a driving instructor, professional manager, and head of the campaign against the cancellation, called the move a dangerous political spin. She said, "This is not relief for students, but a dangerous political spin that abandons road safety and empties the profession of all meaning." Instructors, represented by attorney Ilan Bombach, demanded that the ministry stop the plan, but were not answered. In its latest statement, the ministry said the delay follows numerous significant comments from the public consultation and that a new date will be set only after reviewing all remarks, stressing that any regulatory change must be professional, balanced, responsible, and preserve road safety while improving service and lowering the cost of living.