Changes To The Uk Driving Test Format

Driving test candidates will now have to drive without instructions from an examiner

for the first part of their test, thanks to changes by the Driving Standards Agency (DSA). Instead of publishing set routes online, candidates will be expected to drive independently a route shown to them in advance. It has been made clear, however, that reminders can still be given and drivers will not be automatically failed from diverging from the route.

Road Safety Minister Mike Penning praised the changes, which aim to prepare learners for more realistic scenarios once they have passed their test. Penning said that learning independent driving skills from the beginning of the driving process "will help make new drivers safer".

The chief examiner of the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), Peter Rodgers, supports the change. "All new drivers have to learn that multi-tasking - controlling the car, looking out for hazards and planning ahead while navigating it - is an integral part of day-to-day driving".

The change has been criticised as harsh. Candidates can fail with only a handful of minor driving faults, and the length of the test has been extended. There is also speculation that there will be a considerable fall in those passing the driving test, with a senior driving instructor's agreement. However, the test was not developed to make it more difficult but instead to produce a safer generation of young drivers. In fact, instructors were already teaching independent driving prior to the change, and the manoeuvres including in the test will fall from two to one.

A wide held belief is that the DSA are focusing on improving the test while the most worrying road safety risk is new drivers. The Association of British Insurers poll of 2,500 people demonstrates that three-quarters thought learner drivers should not be allowed to take their test in their first year. They called for changes in the test which they hoped would reduce the high death and serious injury rate among young drivers.

by: Paul Myers.

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