Driving tests: cancelled or stopped tests and bad weather

Sometimes the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) has to cancel or stop driving and riding tests because of things like bad weather or vehicle problems. Find out what happens if your test is cancelled or stopped, and what you need to do when there's bad weather.

More information at DirectGov: Driving tests: cancelled or stopped tests and bad weather

Driving Tests From 6th April 2010 - Do You Want Your Instructor To Sit In On Your Test?

From 6th April 2010, the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) will be "encouraging" driving test candidates to take an observer along in the back of the car while their test takes place.

This idea is nothing new. At present you are allowed to take someone with you on your driving test if you wish. Anyone over 16 years old is allowed to accompany a driving test candidate, but they cannot take any part in the test - they have to sit still, are not allowed to speak, or distract either you or the examiner in any way.

The difference is that at present it is your responsibility to tell the examiner that you would like someone to accompany you before the test commences, whereas from 6th April 2010, the examiner will be asking you if you'd like someone with you.

The DSA have stated:

"By having the observer present on the test, they'll be in the position to identify future development needs for a subsequent test or additional skills to build on after passing the test."

(source:DirectGov - Driving Tests - bring your instructor along)

To help you decide whether you want someone else sitting in the back of the car during your driving test, let's look at the advantages and disadvantages of taking an observer along!
 
Advantages

• The observer can see any mistakes you make whilst on test and identify aspects of your driving that many need remedial action whether you pass or fail
• Having a familiar person in the car with you may help you to relax

Disadvantages

• You may find it off-putting and feel more nervous by having someone other than the examiner watching you
• Most driving school cars are "on the small side" and having someone sitting in the back may feel cramped
• Visibility may be obscured
• Extra people in the car means that it may handle slightly differently than you are used to
• Many driving instructors are accustomed to sitting in the back of the car during tests and are used to sitting completely still and silent, but if you've learnt to drive with a friend or relative, they may not find this easy - which may lead to criticism from the examiner
• Driving examiners are routinely monitored by their bosses at regular intervals to make sure that they are doing their jobs properly. When this happens an observer from the DSA will sit in the back to watch what the examiner is doing. If you want your observer along too, there could be four people in the car!

It's your decision - it's best to talk it through with your instructor before your driving test and decide what you want to do!

Government drops plans to make it compulsory for driving instructors to sit in on all driving tests

The Driving Standards Agency have done a U-turn on their plans to make it compulsory for learner drivers to have their driving instructor or accompanying driver present in the car when they take their driving test.

The plans which were first proposed in the 2008 "Learning To Drive" Consultation Paper were intended to be introduced from October 2010.

Transport Secretary, Lord Andrew Adonis said that the change of plan was "to avoid unnecessary regulation".

Instead, test candidates will be "encouraged" to have their accompanying driver present throughout the test.

Lord Adonis said;
"We want all learner drivers, from the start of the process, to consider the benefits of having an observer with them on their test.

'Having someone sitting in will enhance their learning experience and, in turn, improve road safety. An observer who has witnessed the test can give far better advice to the learner on how they performed and what areas of their driving they need to work on - whether they pass or fail.

'But after reviewing plans we have decided that encouraging candidates to take an observer is much more appropriate than introducing regulations to make it compulsory."

For more details please see;

Daily Mail:  Government drops plans to force driving instructors to sit in on their pupils L-tests

Online Driving Test Booking System Not Available 30 July to 4 August

From the Driving Standards Agency website;

30 July to 4 August
For essential IT maintenance work to take place we need to close down DSA's driving test booking systems. From 5.15pm Thursday 30 July to 8.00am Tuesday 4 August, online services to book or amend practical tests will be unavailable. Theory Test services will be available as normal. Please be aware that the Contact Centre will only be able to offer a limited service during the closedown period. Please call 0300 200 11 22 for general enquiries only. DSA apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Source: https://pt.dsa.gov.uk/tests/tests_E/pt/data_processing.asp

Cheap Driving Lessons - Part 1

With people worried about the credit crunch and the recession, it's perfectly natural and sensible to economise on what you spend. I do exactly the same myself.

When you go to a shop you usually know what you're getting. You know exactly what Coca Cola is and what to expect from the product inside the can or bottle. You can shop around and compare prices on a like for like basis. The can of Coke you buy from a big supermarket is going to be the same as the one you buy from the local corner shop or the petrol station as it's the same product - the only thing that is different is the price.

However, driving lessons aren't the same.

A driving lesson from one instructor will be totally different from one given by another instructor. Unlike cans of Coke, there's a variable "human" element involved.

Personality, teaching style, adaptability, professionalism, committment to customer service, reliability, punctuality...all of these are factors that wll be different in every single driving instructor, even though they are all ultimately teaching the same subject.

Over the past few months, I keep coming across people on the internet who want to learn to drive, but state that they want a driving instructor who is "good, cheap and will get me through my test in as few lessons as possible".

Unlike popular fizzy drinks, when it comes to driving instructors, the words "good" and "cheap" rarely go together.

Before I explain why I think that cheap driving lessons can be a very false economy, I'm going to put the reason why everyone should learn to drive PROPERLY into perspective...

Driving is a skill for life. A car is a dangerous weapon. When driving, you are in charge of several hundredweight of hard, unyielding metal with a powerful engine capable of travelling at an extremely fast speed.

A car can literally be lethal if not used properly...it can injure and kill, not only you, but other people too. Road accident statistics make horrifying reading;

• Every day in the UK, 23 young people, under the age of 25, are killed or seriously injured in vehicles. Most of these collisions are caused by bad driving. Not the vehicle, the road, or the conditions
• 1 in 5 drivers crash within their first year of driving
• It is estimated that as many as one in five of all serious road accidents involve drivers under the age of 21
• Around 3,000 young drivers are killed or seriously injured on Britain's roads each year
• Young drivers are more likely to be involved in high speed crashes, single vehicle crashes involving losing control, crashes in the dark and crashes when overtaking and negotiating bends

Given that driving is so potentially dangerous, it never ceases to amaze me that so many people are determined to skimp on professional training and rush into doing something that could well cost them their lives if they make a mistake...

"Getting through your driving test in as few lessons as possible" does NOT mean that you will be safe on the roads. You need to think beyond "getting through your driving test" and think about what "driving" actually means.

Before you put the keys into the ignition of your own car and head off down life's highway, you need experience of different road and traffic situations and to know how to anticipate and plan to avoid or deal with dangerous or confusing situations. You also need to be considerate and responsible towards other road users yourself...in other words, you must be properly and adequately trained to handle your car safely. Just knowing enough to "get through your driving test quickly" isn't going to help you, if you meet a situation you don't know how to handle.

Learning to drive properly isn't cheap..but neither are the cost of funerals...think about it...

Back to the cost of driving lessons. Why are some instructors more expensive than others? I've heard people suggest that a driving instructor who charges more than £20 per hour is "ripping people off" and they know "someone who does 5 lessons for £49".

I won't make this blog entry too long, so I'll stop at this point. In Part 2 of this series of "Cheap Driving Lessons" blog posts, I'll be explaining EXACTLY why "someone who does 5 lessons for £49" can end up costing you MUCH MORE MONEY than a driving instructor charging £20 or more per hour...

Where's The "Easiest" Place To Take My Driving Test?

You know what piddles me off with the driving test?

It's a standard test conducted in non-standard places.

I had a girl ring me up last week who'd failed her test a few times in London. She was looking for places she could get to on the train to come out of London and take her test...she wanted to know whether taking her test in Slough would be easier for her to pass...

The answer should be "No"...but it isn't.

The Driving Standards Agency don't release these figures very often but from the last published figures they gave out (April 2003 to March 2004), the national pass rate is 42.8% (that's a figure based on the total number of tests taken at every test centre in the UK)...BUT, when you look at the figures for individual test centres, it's massively variable e.g;

Slough 46%
Salen (Isle of Mull) 55.6%
Glasgow (Shettleston) 32.2%
Inveraray 80.0 %
Aberfedy 64.8%
Leeds 27.9%
Norwood South 29.5%
Pwllheli 60.8%
Reading 39.4%
Wood Green Lords 25.6%
Hayes 40.1%

(source: http://www.2pass.co.uk/passrates.htm)

Does that mean that learner drivers in Inveraray and Aberfedy are miles better than those in Wood Green or Glasgow?

If you look at the stats, yes...but of course it's the fact that traffic conditions in Inveraray and Aberfedy are markedly different than the roads of Wood Green or Glasgow...

The system allows a person who passes their test in a rural area where the most taxing situation they meet is Farmer McGiles blocking the road with his sheep to then be fully licenced to head off to Glasgow or London or anywhere else, even though they've probably never driven round a one-way system or complex roundabout etc...

Barmy...

I told the young lady that...she's probably on her way to Inveraray as I type this...

DSA Overcharge 270,000 Driving Test Candidates Since November 2005

In a press release issued on 18 June 2008, the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) have stated that due to "an error in regulations" dating back to November 2005, approximately 270,000 driving test candidates who booked their driving tests to take place on a SATURDAY were overcharged.

The DSA state that they will be writing to all those affected to apologise and to offer a refund, but that anyone wanting further information in the meantime can ring them on 0191 201 4098 and talk to an advisor.

The press release reads as follows;

"DSA Press release - SATURDAY DRIVING TESTS
SATURDAY DRIVING TESTS

The Driving Standards Agency is writing to learner driver candidates who have booked practical tests on a Saturday since November 2005, to offer a refund for overpayment of fees caused by accidental overcharging and to apologise for the error.

We are taking this action because of an error in regulations made on 1 November 2005 which had the unintended consequence of removing the differential between normal weekday hours and Saturday charges for taking a test.

The refund offered is the premium paid for a Saturday test, currently £10.50 for a car test.An amending regulation has now been laid in Parliament to reinstate in law the intended differential in fees. The Agency is obliged to recover administrative costs through fees, including the extra costs of Saturday operation, for example in overtime. Tests booked from 7 July onwards will be charged at the intended Saturday rate of £67.00.

The Driving Standards Agency apologises for the error and is contacting all those affected, but customers can speak direct to the Agency’s advisers by calling (0191) 201 4098 if they want information in the meantime. DSA believes around 270,000 candidates will be affected."

Source: DSA Press Release - Saturday Driving Tests

Increase in Practical Test "Vehicle Safety Questions" (Show-Me-Tell-Me) from 01 July 2008

From 01 July 2008, six additional "Show-Me-Tell-Me" questions will be introduced to the Practical Driving Test.
The 13 current questions remain and test candidates will still only be asked 2 out of the 19 questions.















The additional questions are as follows;


"Show me how you would clean the windscreen using the windscreen washer and wipers

Show me how you would set the demister controls to clear all the windows effectively, this should include both front and rear screens

Show me how you would switch on the rear fog light(s) and explain when you would use it/them. (No need to exit vehicle)

Tell me how you make sure your head restraint is correctly adjusted so it provides the best protection in the event of a crash

Show me how you switch your headlight from dipped to main beam and explain how you would know the main beam is on whilst inside the car

Tell me how you would know if there was a problem with your anti lock braking system"


Full details of the existing and additional Vehicle Safety Questions can be found at the Driving Standards Agency website as follows;

Vehicle Safety Questions

Driving Test Fees Increasing AGAIN

The DSA Business Plan 2008/2009 has outlined proposals to increase the Practical driving test fee for cars to £64.00 (daytimes)/£76.00 (evenings & weekends) in 2009.

See my previous blog entries for my thoughts on the massive price hikes in the cost of driving tests since 2007 already...

I cannot comment further at this stage...for once in my life, words completely fail me :(

Increase in cost of UK provisional driving licence and theory and practical driving test fees

On 01 April 2008 in what appears to be a rather unfunny April Fool's Day joke, the cost of a provisional driving licence and the fees for both the Theory and Practical tests increased.


The cost of a provisional driving licence is now £50.00. This time last year it was £38.00. It went up to £45.00 in May 2007. An increase of 31.5% in a year.


The Theory Test fee is now £30.00. This time last year it was £21.50. It increased to £28.50 in September 2007. An increase of 39.5% in a year.


The Practical Test fee for cars is now £56.50 (daytimes) / £67.00 (evenings & weekends). Prior to 01 April it was £48.50 (daytimes) / £58.00 (evenings & weekends). An increase of 16.5%/15.5% in a year.


Massive increases...well above the rate of inflation (around 2.5%), but the customer has no alternative but to pay if they want to drive legally.


Value for money?


Has the service improved?


How are increases of this size justified?


Beats me...