Netherlands Proposes Mandatory Driving Lessons with Night Driving and 130 km/h Highway Training

The Dutch government has unveiled ambitious proposals to overhaul driver education by making structured driving lessons legally mandatory for the first time, marking a fundamental shift in how the Netherlands prepares new drivers for the road.

Under current Dutch law, driving lessons are strongly recommended but not legally required before taking the practical driving exam. This unique policy position has long distinguished the Netherlands from most other European countries. However, new rules for driving instructors would eliminate this flexibility, requiring all learner drivers to complete a structured training program before being eligible for examination.

What the Proposed Rules Would Require

The draft regulations introduce several specific mandatory training elements designed to better prepare novice drivers for real-world conditions:

Night Driving Experience: All learner drivers would be required to complete lessons in darkness or low-light conditions, addressing a critical gap in current training where many new drivers receive their license without ever having driven at night under professional supervision.

High-Speed Highway Training: Perhaps most notably, the proposals mandate experience driving at 130 km/h on highways. This requirement recognizes that many Dutch motorways permit this maximum speed, yet new drivers often lack confidence and competence at these velocities.

Structured Lesson Plans: Rather than ad-hoc instruction, driving schools would need to follow standardized curriculum frameworks that ensure comprehensive coverage of essential driving skills and scenarios.

Major Changes for Driving Instructors

The proposed reforms extend well beyond learner requirements, fundamentally reshaping professional standards for driving instructors themselves.

Instructors would be required to complete IBKI-recognized (Stichting Instelling Beroepskwalificatie Keuringsinstanties) training programs, ensuring standardized professional development across the industry. More significantly, instructors would face mandatory recertification every five years, with those failing to pass periodic tests risking loss of their teaching credentials.

These provisions reflect growing recognition that instructor quality directly impacts road safety outcomes. According to SWOV research on driver training, the effectiveness of driver education depends heavily on instructor competence and teaching methodology.

Timeline and Legislative Status

While the proposals represent significant policy direction, they remain pending parliamentary approval with no confirmed effective date. Stakeholders including driving schools, instructor organizations, and road safety advocates continue to provide input during the consultation phase.

The timing aligns with broader European trends toward harmonizing driver training standards. Recent EU driving licence rules have introduced updated requirements across member states, creating momentum for reform in countries like the Netherlands that have maintained more flexible approaches.

Implications for Driving Schools

If enacted, these regulations would require substantial adaptation across the Dutch driving school industry:

Curriculum Restructuring: Schools will need to develop or adopt standardized lesson sequences that incorporate all mandatory elements, including scheduling considerations for night driving sessions.

Pricing Adjustments: The addition of required training components, particularly specialized sessions like high-speed highway instruction, will likely necessitate price increases to cover extended lesson time and instructor preparation.

Quality Standards: The reforms create opportunities for schools that prioritize professional development and comprehensive training to differentiate themselves in a market that would shift from price competition toward quality competition.

Training Program Updates: Driving schools must invest in updating their training materials, lesson plans, and instructor development programs to meet new IBKI standards and periodic recertification requirements.

Operational Logistics: Night driving requirements will demand scheduling flexibility and potentially additional vehicles if schools need to accommodate evening lesson demand.

Safety Rationale Behind the Reforms

The proposals aim directly at improving novice driver safety and reducing accident rates among newly licensed drivers. Research consistently shows that structured, comprehensive training reduces crash risk, particularly in challenging conditions that many current learners never experience during their education.

By mandating exposure to high-speed highways and night driving, regulators hope to eliminate dangerous knowledge gaps that contribute to disproportionate accident rates among new drivers. The periodic instructor recertification requirement addresses concerns that teaching quality may decline over time without ongoing professional development.

Looking Ahead

As parliamentary debate continues, driving schools should monitor developments closely and begin preliminary planning for potential implementation. While the effective date remains uncertain, the policy direction signals clear government commitment to elevating driver education standards.

For learner drivers, these changes would mean more comprehensive preparation and likely higher costs, but potentially greater confidence and safety as newly licensed motorists navigating Dutch roads.

The proposed reforms represent perhaps the most significant transformation of Dutch driver education policy in decades, with implications reaching across the entire driving school industry and affecting how future generations of Dutch drivers learn to operate vehicles safely and competently.