A driver’s education vehicle navigates a training area marked with traffic cones on a roadway.
Türkiye’s Education Ministry is gradually phasing out fixed-route driving exams in favor of a free-route system evaluating candidates in everyday traffic.
The nationwide transition will increase the practical test duration from 35 minutes to one hour, requiring candidates to navigate city streets and districts rather than memorized paths.
Mandatory training times will also rise from an average of 14 to 16 hours up to 24 hours to accommodate the expanded routes and ensure candidates gain sufficient experience behind the wheel.
Driving school official Salih Er from the Central Anatolian province of Eskişehir told daily Dünya the regulation is an important step to train more professional drivers and improve overall road safety.
“The driving exam route is changing completely. I frankly think this decision is revolutionary,” Er said. “With the newly introduced free route system, candidate drivers will start the exam in normal flowing traffic across cities and districts.”
Candidates will now practice and test on ring roads to reach maximum speed limits and navigate shopping mall parking lots to simulate real-life driving conditions. Instead of parking between two traffic cones, drivers must successfully park between real vehicles, Er said.
To obtain a driver’s license in Türkiye, candidates must first pass a theoretical exam covering first aid, traffic rules and vehicle mechanics before taking the practical test. The new regulation aims to reduce accidents caused by inexperienced drivers on complex urban roads, aligning the country’s licensing standards with international traffic safety norms.
