Due to the lockdown announced on Monday, driving schools are no longer allowed to give driving lessons. The damage for driving school owners in our country can amount to tens of millions of euros due to the stricter measures. That says the Federation Driving School Management (FAM).
The FAM is one of the major players in the driving school industry, along with the Bovag, LBKR and VRB. Despite the fact that the financial blow to driving schools is going to be quite severe, Rutten says he fully supports the measures. “We can continue to play and stick with plasters,” said Rutten, who is also a driving school owner in Venlo and is speaking on behalf of the FAM. “Yes, it will hurt, but we have to bite through the sour apple and then hopefully see light at the end of the tunnel again,” he says. However, according to him, the NOW schemes are only ‘a plaster on the wound’, because the individual entrepreneurs ultimately have to bear the financial costs themselves. Rutten himself says he has already suffered about € 150,000 in financial damage this year.
There is also bad news for students who just passed their driving test: the CBR is also closing its doors. The reservation websites have been closed since yesterday afternoon to avoid ‘hoarding’. According to the implementing body, this will involve approximately 190,000 exams, tests and driving tests that will have to be postponed for the next 5 weeks. After the lockdown, candidates can catch up with them at no extra cost. The medical examinations of the CBR will continue as usual.