Big waiting times are predicted if learners flock to do the old-style driving test before the new version is rolled out in 2017.
Industry bodies that represent over 20,000 driving instructors in the UK are warning that the new driving test could mean waiting times of over 20 weeks for a driving test. The reason? Pupils might be tempted to book the old driving test before the new version is introduced next year, triggering a potential logjam.
“We fear a huge surge in people wanting to take the old test and this would send waiting times sky high,” says Lynne Barrie, chair of the Approved Driving Instructors National Joint Council. “It seems to us we are doing this the wrong way round and it would be better to get waiting times down before the changes take place. It is no use improving the test if candidates have to wait 17 weeks to take it.”
Instead, instructors want the introduction of the new test to be put on hold until waiting times have dropped to below 7.4 weeks (the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency’s own target figure) to make the transition more manageable – already, many areas of the country are experiencing delays of 18-20 weeks and the new test could make the situation worse. Transport Minister Andrew Jones told the Daily Mirror though that “any plans for changes to the driving test will take account of the impact it is likely to have on waiting times”.
The new test features a host of new disciplines for learners to master including:
• Increasing the ‘independent driving’ part of the test from 10 to 20 minutes
• Asking candidates to follow directions from a sat nav during the ‘independent driving’ part
• Replacing the ‘reverse around a corner’ and ‘turn in the road’ manoeuvres with more real-life scenarios such as driving into and reversing out of a parking bay
• Asking one of the two vehicle safety questions (the ‘show me, tell me’ questions) while the candidate is driving such as asking them to operate the rear-heated windscreen.
Image © Lee Jordan