Driving test centres tighten measures against exam fraud
Driving test centres in Flanders are introducing additional safeguards to tackle fraud and abuse during theory and practical exams. According to reports in Het Nieuwsblad, Gazet van Antwerpen and De Standaard, candidates will increasingly be required to register via the digital identification app Itsme, and the pool of theory questions has been significantly expanded.
Around half of Flemish test centres already operate fully through Itsme, the Belgian app that allows users to identify themselves securely online. The aim is to prevent identity fraud during the booking process.
"This way, we can be sure that the person who reserves a time slot for an exam is also the person who actually shows up for the exam," says Steven Raes, driving licence manager at Goca Vlaanderen, the umbrella organisation for driving test and inspection centres.
Expanded question bank
The theory exam has also been overhauled to make cheating more difficult. The number of available questions has more than doubled in recent years.
"While a few years ago we were working with around 600 to 700 questions, that number has now grown to 1,700. We also no longer use series. For each exam, a number of questions are randomly selected, and we also alternate the possible answers each time," says Raes.
By increasing the size of the question bank and randomising both the questions and answer options, test centres hope to make it far harder for candidates to memorise fixed sequences.
Political pressure for action
Flemish mobility minister Annick De Ridder (N-VA) has been urging test centres to adopt stricter measures for some time. She believes the new steps "will substantially reduce abuse."
Last summer, Flemish driving test centres reported an average of 16 fraud attempts per day. These ranged from identity theft to manipulation of theory exam questions.
Sofie Mertens (CD&V) welcomed the measures but argued that further action is needed.
"If we truly want to reduce fraud, we must continue to invest in a sufficiently large and dynamic question bank," she says. With 1,700 questions today, there's progress, but in a digital context, it should be perfectly possible to significantly expand that question bank. With 10,000 questions, you can show that you're taking the fight against fraud seriously.
For CD&V, she added, the issue is about fairness and responsibility. Equal opportunities, clear rules and consistent enforcement are essential. A driving licence, she said, is not a mere formality but a responsibility in traffic, and one that plays an important role in access to work, social life and participation in society.
#FlandersNewsService | © PHOTO HAROLD VERSTEEG / HOLLANDSE HOOGTE / ANP
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