Brazil Weighs Driver’s-License Overhaul Making Autoescola Classes Optional

Overview

• The proposal would end mandatory coursework for the CNH, keep theoretical and practical exams, and allow self-study or lessons from autonomous instructors using their own or students’ cars marked by a removable white band.
• The government projects up to an 80% cut in the current roughly R$3,200 cost and says the change targets regularization of about 20 million people who drive without a license.
• Feneauto reports new enrollments have stalled nationwide, with one Pernambuco owner citing a 90% revenue drop and furloughs, and the federation warns of R$14 billion in annual losses and roughly 300,000 jobs at risk.
• Industry leaders are collecting signatures for a bill to halt the process and signal they will challenge any final rule in court, while figures inside the government urge caution, including minister Gleisi Hoffmann.
• Safety advocates cite Abramet data that about 90% of crashes involve human error and autoescolas warn about training quality and the absence of dual-control braking in non-school vehicles.