The article gives an overview of how the profession of driving instructor has developed in Germany and how important it is today. While professional driving school training initially focused on technical requirements and on teaching rules and regulations, increasing mass motorization necessitated a process of rethinking when it comes to teaching driving and providing drivers with further training. A defensive, environmentally-friendly and self-critical style of driving gradually became far more significant than the ability to control a vehicle from a purely technical driving point of view and knowledge of important traffic regulations. This meant that the scope of work of a driving instructor shifted from what was originally an instruction activity to a profession with diverse, demanding pedagogical skills. The article firstly outlines "milestones" in the profession of driving instructor - establishing the profession from a legal point of view in 1969, introducing obligatory training for candidate driving instructors in the mid 70s and the professional training reform in 1999. In conclusion a current research project of the Federal Highway Research Institute is described. This project deals with the effect of the professional training reform of 1999 in respect of the pedagogical-didactic skills of driving instructors in future. The main item of the reform - implementation of a 4 ½-month period of practical training after a 5-month full-time period of theoretic training at a training center for driving instructors - is the main focus of the analysis.