Theory topics
14 topics.
Your foundation.
The theory course covers 14 compulsory areas. You can attend any topic as often as you like — only topics 13 and 14 have to be attended at least once.
Required by law
Under § 4 FahrschAusbO, topics 13 and 14 have to be attended at least once before the theory test. Every other topic you can repeat as often as you want. Ask us if you are unsure how to plan it.
- 01
Body and mind have to be ready. Fitness, attention and a sense of responsibility as the basis of every safe drive — before you even start the engine.
- Eyesight, reactions, concentration
- Spotting tiredness and stress
- Responsibility as a driver
- 02
Distraction, stress, emotion — the driver is the biggest risk on the road. Here you learn to spot your own bad habits and to judge situations coolly.
- Controlling distraction (phone, passengers)
- Managing emotion and pressure
- Breaking typical error patterns
- 03
Laws, duties, consequences. What is allowed on the road, what is not — and what happens when you break the rules.
- Licence, documents, obligations
- Fines, points, driving bans
- Why rules create safety
- 04
How our road network is put together — and where the particular dangers sit. Level crossings are among the most critical points in everyday driving.
- Road types and their typical hazards
- Level crossings: rules, sightlines, behaviour
- Reading the road ahead
- 05
Who has priority — and why? The basic rules of the road, for clear decisions at junctions and in situations you cannot fully see.
- Priority to the right, signs, traffic lights
- Reading junctions and side roads
- Defensive, but decisive
- 06
The language of the road, written in signs. Priority signs, prohibitions, requirements, markings — read quickly and correctly.
- Warning, regulatory, informative
- Lane guidance and stopping areas
- Installations in the road space
- 07
Not everyone is equally protected. Pedestrians, children, cyclists — each group has its own vulnerabilities. Consideration is a duty, not a courtesy.
- Recognising vulnerable groups
- Blind spots and where to look
- Consideration and communication
- 08
Speed decides how safe you are. Reaction time, braking distance, impact force — an appropriate speed is not a suggestion.
- Judging total stopping distance realistically
- Adapting your speed
- Why “too fast” starts invisibly
- 09
See it, judge it, act. Turning, overtaking, changing lanes — carrying out manoeuvres safely and with the road ahead in mind.
- Mirrors, shoulder check, scanning around you
- Manoeuvres and the usual test mistakes
- Plan early rather than rescue late
- 10
Stopping, parking, positioning — with clear rules. What counts as obstruction? The everyday misunderstandings about leaving a car somewhere.
- Stopping and parking bans and their traps
- Parking safely
- Opening a door without risk
- 11
An accident, a breakdown, an emergency vehicle, bad weather — stay calm, decide correctly, put nobody else at risk.
- Securing a scene, helping, reporting it
- Emergency vehicles: making room
- Weather and visibility: bringing the risk down
- 12
Driving knowledge ages. The technology moves on and the rules change. Refreshing what you know is not weakness, it is responsibility.
- Learning after the test
- Understanding driver-assistance systems
- Building safe habits
- 13
Technical requirements & carrying loads
CompulsoryWhat is under the bonnet — and why is that your responsibility? From tyre pressure to securing a load: the technical basics.
- Vehicle technology and checks
- The physics: mass, braking, stability
- Carrying passengers and goods
- 14
Driving solo vehicles & combinations
CompulsoryA car, a motorcycle, a trailer — no two behave the same. What is particular about each type: driving it, manoeuvring it, towing with it.
- Trailers: limits, manoeuvring, cornering
- Braking and how a vehicle handles
- Driving with the environment in mind
What a Doppelstunde is
Teaching is counted in units of 45 minutes and delivered in double lessons. One class is therefore 90 minutes long and covers exactly one topic. The 14 topics come to 28 units, or roughly 21 hours in the classroom.
Core material and additional material
Topics 1 to 12 are the Grundstoff, the core material. It is the same for every licence class: priority, road signs, speed, environmental awareness, what to do at the scene of an accident. Anyone who already holds a motorcycle or moped licence has sat through it — which is why an extension needs only six double lessons of core material.
Topics 13 and 14 are the Zusatzstoff, the material specific to Class B. They cover what makes a car different from every other vehicle: the technology, loading, trailers, driving with passengers. You have to have attended both at least once before you can be entered for the theory test. That is the most common stumbling block — turn up faithfully but never on an evening with topic 13 or 14, and you are perfectly prepared and still not allowed to sit it.
When the classes run
Classes are held on fixed dates: Mon, Wed, Thu 18:30–20:00 · Sat 9:30–11:00 and 11:00–12:30. The topics run in a continuous circle — after topic 14 comes topic 1 again — so you can join at any class and nothing is missed for good. Repeating costs nothing extra: a topic that has not stuck, you simply sit a second time.