Digitization: Government wants to put driver and vehicle licenses on cell phones

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The smartphone could soon be enough to check vehicles. On Wednesday, the German government launched a draft for a new project for a 5th law to amend the Road Traffic Act and other road traffic regulations. The aim is to create the legal basis for digitization projects. This primarily concerns the introduction of a digital driver's license and vehicle registration certificate.

The necessary details are to be clarified based on the amendment. Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (non-party) expressed his confidence that “in the future, the card driver's license or the paper vehicle registration certificate can stay at home”. The documents would then be digitally verifiable via cell phone.

ID Wallet failed

A similar initiative promoted by the Federal Chancellery with the ID Wallet program failed in 2021. The service provider commissioned by the German government, Digital Enabling, withdrew the app from the Google and Apple stores following massive criticism from security experts and users. With ID Wallet, however, the focus was different: it was intended to enable citizens to digitally identify themselves to third parties, for example by means of a driving license.

The EU must first create the conditions for the digital driver's license. The EU Parliament has adopted the 4th Driving License Directive for this purpose.

However, the dossier will have to be taken up again after the European elections. According to the current status, the check card driving license is to be retained if an authorized person is unable or unwilling to acquire the app-based version.

Digital parking space control

With the draft, the government also wants to facilitate the monitoring of stationary traffic using digital means shortly before the general election on February 23. According to the Ministry of Transport, their use should “increase the effectiveness of parking space controls” and give local authorities “modern scope for effective parking space management”. For example, parking tickets behind the windshield could be replaced by the digital indication of the license plate number, as is already known from the previous “cell phone parking” via app.

In addition, vehicle data in the registers of the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) is to be made “digitally usable in a modern and more addressee-friendly way”. To this end, the KBA has developed an online information service based on the chassis number. In the future, this will enable any authorized person to retrieve precise information about vehicle recalls and so-called certificates of conformity.

Ban on points trading

Another aim of the reform is to increase road safety by expressly prohibiting the sale of points for traffic violations. Fines of up to 30,000 euros are envisaged for commercial offenses. It is unlikely that the Bundestag will pass the draft before the election, as there is not enough time for consultation and organizing majorities after the traffic lights have gone out. The initiative should therefore only be considered a recommendation to the new federal government.

Last year, the CDU/CSU parliamentary group pushed for the introduction of digital driving licenses. At the time, the government referred to the ongoing negotiations on the directive at EU level. At the same time, it said that the technical implementation would probably be carried out by the KBA, “which will probably make use of a technical service provider for parts of this”.

(mki)