Gone in 49 Minutes: Teen Driver Loses License in Less Than an Hour

The teen will have to undergo “expensive retraining” in order to regain his newly acquired (and suspended) driver’s license.

byRob Stumpf|
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Finally obtaining your driver's license is almost a right of passage for young adults. One German teenager decided that his celebration would include shuttling his passengers at nearly double the posted speed limit, according to the BBC, resulting in his newly acquired license being suspended only 49 minutes after it had been issued.

The 18-year-old boy was traveling through the town of Hemer, Germany when officers pointed their speed guns towards the offender. Statements from the department show that the car had reached 95 kilometers per hours (59 miles per hour) in the 50 km/h (30 mph), nearly double the posted speed limit.

Police also noted that the teenager had four friends with him in the car and suggested that the driver was perhaps trying to show off to the passengers. Instead, the authorities executed a stop on the vehicle and instead of giving a warning, revoked the teen's driving permissions for four weeks. In addition, a $226 fine (200 euros) was dealt and the teen's probational driving period was doubled from two to four years. Police say that the driver will also have to undergo "expensive retraining" before he is reissued his permit.

In Germany, the time-consuming commitment process to obtain a driver's license can cost upwards of $2,000 when factoring in different driving schools. A student driver needs to have at least 12 hands-on lessons under their belt, including basic in-town driving, experience on motorways and the autobahn, and even driving after dark. Proficient drivers usually complete the theoretical and practical portions of the driving school in as little as three months before taking the final exam.

"Some things last forever," wrote the Märkischer Kreis regional police in a statement on Twitter, "Some not even an hour."

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