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Driver assessment changes are to be applauded but do they go far enough?

Image of Alisdair Suttie
Author: | Updated: 15 Jul 2016 12:12

You have to feel sorry for the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. Just as they announce important changes to the driving test, a new Prime Minister arrives in office and lays out her new Cabinet, grabbing all the headlines. Still, the change to driver assessment is a welcome one and a much needed development to help reduce collision rates among those who have just taken to the road without L-plates.

learner driver passes test

There are four key areas that have been revised to make the driving test more relevant to real-world road conditions. They are:

  • Doubling the ‘independent driving’ element of the test to 20 minutes
  • Replacing reversing round a corner with backing into a parking bay
  • Asking the driver to follow sat-nav instructions rather than road signs
  • Asking one or two safety questions during the drive

All simple stuff on its own, but we must remember that learner drivers are under a great deal of pressure during the test just trying to make smooth, safe progress. It’s easy for more experienced drivers to dismiss these changes as too simple.

Should we go further?

This columnist re-sat his driving test as an experiment in 2008 and found it nerve-racking because I didn’t want to suffer the embarrassment of failing. Thankfully, I passed with flying colours and it inspired me to take further driver training from the Institute of Advanced Motorists and then RoSPA.

In both instances, the pressure of performing well and demonstrating a high competence at the wheel brought back vivid memories of sitting the driving test at the age of 17. It’s my view that all drivers should feel that nerve-tingling experience sufficiently regularly so they are reminded of what new road users are going through.

We want [learner drivers] to show they can cope with distractions and assess risk, without the intervention of their instructor or examiner. Lesley Young, DVSA Chief Driving Examiner

Poor driving habits, impatience and a susceptibility to frustration are all common traits in those who have been driving for a few years. With the basics of controlling the vehicle mastered, the human brain quickly looks for other diversions, which often results in driving at higher speeds to provide more stimulus and excitement.

Higher speeds mean more information to process and that keeps the mind busy. However, the consequences of this are all too clear in a road fatality rate that has bottomed out in the UK rather than continued to drop. It’s also a much missed fact that if you are paying full attention to your driving environment, you’re unlikely to speed simply because you’re feeding your brain with a plethora of data to make intelligent, safe decisions.

RED learner driver

This is why these small but significant changes to the driving test are very important. While following sat-nav instructions rather than road signs is not necessarily the best way to learn, it does reflect the real-world where many drivers have become slaves to the navigation in the car or on their smartphone. Though training new drivers how to use this technology is only one part of the driving process, it better prepares them for coping with the real world.

The other updates are exactly what we should be doing to help new drivers be more confident and competent. Doubling the amount of independent driving from 10 to 20 minutes is great, but there is a strong argument for making this section a half hour or even more to see how concentration levels are maintained. That is the crucial element – many can drive well for short periods to pass the driving test but when they are on their own how ably can they keep their mind on the job after an hour at the wheel?

The Chief Executive of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), Gareth Llewellyn, says: “Making sure the test better assesses a driver’s ability to drive safely and independently is part of our strategy to help every driver through a lifetime of safe driving.”

Lesley Young, the DVSA Chief Driving Examiner, adds: “Research has shown that new drivers find ‘independent driving’ training valuable, as they can relate it to driving once they’ve passed their test. Candidates will be given more responsibility for decision making during the test. We want them to show they can cope with distractions and assess risk, without the intervention of their instructor or examiner.”

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Time will tell

There is a comparison here with learning to fly a plane, albeit a small one, where trainee pilots have to complete a certain number of hours of flying solo before they earn their wings. We’re not suggesting learner drivers are let loose without an instructor, but the more time a pupil has making their own decisions the better it is when they do finally hit the road unaccompanied.

Of course, the only way we will know if these updates will improve road safety is if we see a noticeable reduction in the number of fatalities and serious injuries among young drivers. They are the most at-risk group in a car, but it will take seven years before we can judge the success of these changes. Therefore if they don’t come into effect until 2017 , we’ll be waiting until 2024.

Even so, there has been much praise and applause for the improvements to the driving test. From safety campaigners to driving instructors, they all know that education and experience are the keys to making better drivers.

What we must be careful to avoid, however, is only teaching new drivers how to pass a test. We really need new road users to be better than that. The changes from the DVSA provide a bright glimmer of hope that we are moving away from a situation where new drivers were only fit to pass a test and then started their true education on the road without L-plates.

I have long argued for more driver training and education, and now we are seeing some of this from the DVSA. I laud their actions, and at the same time encourage them to go further in the future.

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