#YDF2017
Revising the Practical Driving Test
Lesley Young
Chief Driving Examiner, DVSA
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Helping you stay safe on Britain’s roads
Revised Driving Test
• Great Britain has a strong record in road safety. We have made great strides
over the decades in reducing the number of casualties on our roads, with the
proportion today being small compared with the number of registered
vehicles. But there is always room for further improvement.
• 120 young car drivers in Great Britain died in 2015, of these 80% occurred
on rural roads, 16% on urban roads and just 4% on motorways.
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Helping you stay safe on Britain’s roads
Reasons for change
• The current test is seen as a hurdle rather than any real benefit
• There is a disproportionate amount of time spent on manoeuvring:
there is a focus on skill, not on behaviours
• Young people say that the current test is not relevant and does
not prepare them for real life driving
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Helping you stay safe on Britain’s roads
Changes
• Use of sat-nav as part of Independent Driving (ID) and increasing the ID section to around
20 minutes duration (managing distractions)
• Forward parking into a bay and stopping on the right hand side of the road before reversing
in a straight line for a couple of car lengths
• Asking the pupil a show me safety question whilst on the move (managing distractions)
• No longer including the reverse around a corner and the turn in the road (TIR) exercise. The
new manoeuvres are more reflective of modern day driving whilst retaining the same skill
levels.
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Helping you stay safe on Britain’s roads
Current Driving Test
Route
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Helping you stay safe on Britain’s roads
Revised Driving Test Route
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Helping you stay safe on Britain’s roads
Revised Driving Test
Route
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Includes every speed limit from 30mph – 70mph
7 - 10 miles longer than an average route
3 miles of dual carriageway
4 miles of rural roads national speed limit
4 major roundabouts
Turns right at 2 major traffic light controlled junctions
7 right turns
5 left turns
Various pedestrian crossings
Revised Driving Test
• The research trial has been on-going since March 2015. The main testing phase ended in
January 2016 and the newly qualified drivers are now completing six months’ post-test
driving.
• 863 ADIs registered to take part
• In excess of 4000 fully registered candidates
• 32 test centres involved (rural & city locations)
• Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) are our research contractors
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Helping you stay safe on Britain’s roads
Candidate quotes
“The sat nav is the most important thing that I learned on the new test as I have been able to go on
journeys independently and drive without support. The manoeuvres have helped me to do every day
driving as I park every day and I usually pull up on the opposite side of the road”
“The trial prepares you much more for modern, everyday driving and situations that may occur”
“The trial test prepared me to drive safely on my own in more ways than the original driving test could
have done”
“The new test is more in line with everyday modern driving and has taught me valuable skills I use
pretty much every day when driving”
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Helping you stay safe on Britain’s roads
ADI quotes
“The trial test is far superior to current test. It forces ADIs to support learners in gaining a superior
'toolkit' to that gained when training towards the current test”
“I was uncertain and uncomfortable about the sense of the ‘pull up on the right, reverse and drive off
manoeuvre’. My experience is that it adds further to the driver toolkit and helps enhance observation,
awareness and judgement skills”
“The satellite navigation element of the revised test not only requires sat nav skills, but also the
capability to follow signs and directions. It provides a far more comprehensive assessment of the
driver's navigational skills and should be included in a new and revised test”
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Helping you stay safe on Britain’s roads
Examiner
quotes
“I (we) can honestly say that the test is far better than the current one. It flows better, you are able to
get further out from the test centre and use speeds and roads other than 30 mph and housing estates.
The forward parking and then reversing out of a bay is much more realistic that the current left reverse
manoeuvre”
“Overall I have enjoyed the trial and feel it would be a good step forward”
“The test itself flows extremely well, more like a ‘real life’ drive than a traditional driving test”
“As with other examiners comments, I feel that the trial test is much better. It is a more relaxed test for
the examiner giving us more time to assess the drive”
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Helping you stay safe on Britain’s roads
Stakeholder quotes
Steve Gooding (RAC Foundation)
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“I was greatly encouraged by the demonstration of the new test
which is far closer to a real-world driving environment. This is
excellent stuff.”
Nick Lloyd (RoSPA)
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“Many thanks for the invitation to see the trial test which I
thoroughly enjoyed and, more importantly, found to be extremely
beneficial. Seeing and experiencing the new test was invaluable. I
was particularly struck by how the 20 minute independent drive
using the sat nav made the test so much more realistic to today’s
driving conditions. The ‘show me’ exercise worked really well as did
the reverse out of a parking bay.”
Helping you stay safe on Britain’s roads
Consultation Results
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Between 14 July and 25 August 2016, DVSA ran a consultation exercise on proposed changes to
the practical driving test.
We received almost 4,000 responses, including from the main driver training and road safety
organisations. These were broadly supportive of the plans.
Independent driving - 88% in favour
Inclusion of satnavs - 71% in favour
Modify manoeuvres – 79% in favour
Ask vehicle safety question when driving – 78% in favour
Helping you stay safe on Britain’s roads
#YDF2017