On December 4th 2017, the DVLA officially updated and changed the practical driving test in order to implement new technology. After all, it is important to ensure that all learners are challenged during their driving test as otherwise it wouldn’t be much of an assessment. Here at V12 Sports and Classics, we recognise that these changes in the system can make passing your driving test much harder, especially if you have been taking lessons for a while. Read on to find out how the practical driving test has changed…
Independent Driving
In the past, examiners would ask the driver to drive independently for 10 minutes either by following signs or a verbal set of directions. It was used in order to ensure that the driver would be able to safety operate a vehicle should they pass. With this said, the DVLA has recognised the role of technology within society and caught on to the fact that 4 out of 5 drivers now use sat navs. As a result, only 1 in 5 tests will have to follow directions the old fashioned way. In addition to this, the independent driving part now lasts 20 minutes, which is roughly half of the test.
Manoeuvres
The DVLA claims that the old manoeuvres used in the driving test were outdated so they have replaced two out of three with updated versions in order to add a degree of difficulty. In the past, examiners would tell a driver to pull over and complete either a parallel park, reverse around the corner or turn in the road manoeuvre however the latter two have now been replaced with parking in a bay (either reversing in and driving out or driving in and reversing out) and pulling up on the right hand side of the road, reversing backwards for to car lengths and then re-joining the traffic.
It has been just over 9 months since the driving practical test was updated which means that learners have had a decent amount of time to get used to the changes. In fact, whilst we recognise that many of the newly qualified drivers that are interested in our second hand cars range will be familiar with the alterations, others may not. That is why have put together a brief summary! To find out more information, get in contact with a member of the V12 Sports and Classics team today!