Highway Code: what changes from today

There is something new for the highway code. Indeed, as of today, all of its questions have been renewed and are now intended to be “clearer” and “more intelligible”.

From Tuesday September 12, 2023, the examination of the highway code in France is undergoing a major transformation, with the complete renewal of all its questions. This update aims to make the questions “clearer” and “more intelligible” for candidates, as well as to introduce more realism through the use of photos taken by drones.

The new question bank for the general theoretical exam (ETG) now includes 1 037 questions and is operational in approved centers now. Aside from the questions, the highway code does not change.

What changes to the highway code?

The writing of the new questions was carried out in collaboration with road safety professionals, as well as an expert in language simplification. For the sake of clarity, complex terms have been eliminatedfor example, the mention of “ring” to designate a roundabout has been deleted.

Faced with the rise of alternative modes of transport such as cycling or scootering, new “empathetic” questions have been added, where candidates are asked to put themselves in the shoes of other road users. For example, one question asks if “a scooter user is vulnerable because: his balance is precarious (yes or no), his small size makes him difficult to detect (yes or no)”. This new perspective is indicated by a yellow icon in the upper right corner of the image, with the symbol “pedestrian”, “motorcycle”, or “child” to indicate the point of view.

In addition to clarifying questions, the visuals have also been improved to provide “more realism.” Instead of synthetic images, photos taken by drones are now used. A yellow rectangle has been added to the images to more clearly designate the vehicle concerned by the question.

Another new feature is the display of “several correct answers” as soon as two answers are expected, thus eliminating pitfalls for candidates.

The highway code in a few figures

Candidates now take the exam on a tablet or computer and must answer 40 questions taken from the database, illustrated by images or videos. These questions are divided into nine themes, such as “the driver”, “the road” and “the rules for using the vehicle in relation to respect for the environment”.

The process of renewing the question bank began almost two years ago, marking the first significant update since 2016. The exam conditions remain unchanged, with always 35 correct answers required out of the 40 questions asked of the candidate. The Traffic Laws remains valid for five years, until the practical exam is obtained.

In 2022, more than 1.8 million candidates took the ETG, with an overall success rate of 57%. According to figures from the interministerial delegation, 45% of candidates obtain their code in less than a year.

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