Driving test changes – will they help you?
by Fiona Taylor
New driving test rules
Will the new style tests help your future drivers be better prepared for their time on the road? The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has confirmed that the there will be some driving test changes in England, Scotland and Wales. The changes will come in from Monday 4 December 2017.
The driving test changes are designed to make sure new drivers have the skills they’ll need to help them through a lifetime of safe driving. The changes will only apply to car driving tests to begin with.
1. Independent driving part of the test will increase to 20 minutes
The independent driving part of the new test will last about 20 minutes, so half of the total test time. Currently the independent driving is just 10 minutes of driving without the examiner giving turn by turn instructions.
2. Following directions from a sat nav
In the independent driving section, 4 out of 5 candidates will be asked to follow directions from a sat nav.
The equipment will be provided by the examiner, who will also set up the route. This means that you won’t need to worry about inputting the route, so you can practice with any sat nav available to you.
During this section, you will be able to ask the examiner for clarification of where you are going is you are unsure. It won’t matter if you go the wrong way, unless you make a fault while driving.
3. Reversing manoeuvres will be changed
No longer will learner drivers be tested on reversing round a corner. They will also not be asked to ‘turn the car around in the road using forward and revers gears’ (3 point turn to us oldies) They will however still need to learn these manoevures.
Instead they will be asked to complete one of a possible 3 reversing manoeuvres:
- parallel park at the side of the road
- park in a bay – either driving in and reversing out, or reversing in and driving out (the examiner will say which has to be completed)
- pull up on the right-hand side of the road, reverse for 2 car lengths and rejoin the traffic
4. Answering a vehicle safety question while you’re driving
In the new style driving test the examiner will ask 2 vehicle safety questions.
Candidates will be asked the:
- ‘tell me’ question (where you explain how you’d carry out a safety task) at the start of your test, before you start driving
- ‘show me’ question (where you show how you’d carry out a safety task) while you’re driving – for example, showing how to wash the windscreen using the car controls and wipers
How will these driving test changes affect your driver recruitment?
Do you think that these changes will have a positive impact on the drivers that you employ in the future? Would your current drivers benefit from taking their test again? Let us know what you think the in the comments.
Fiona Taylor
Fiona Taylor is the Sales Manager at award winning Satmo Vehicle Tracking. If you feel you need help with your fleet, want to gain back control, save some money and time then please get in touch.
