The driving test for England, Scotland and Wales changed on Monday 4th December 2017, driving tests are different in Northern Ireland so these changes do not count. The new changes include following directions from a sat nav and different reverse manoeuvres. There are 4 changes to the new tests, we have listed them below to make the new changes easier for you to understand and remember before you sit your driving test.
1. Changes to Independent Driving
The independent driving section of the test has increased in length from 10 minutes to 20 minutes which means you will be driving independently for nearly half of your test. You will have to drive without turn-by-turn directions from your examiner.
2. Following Sat Nav Directions
During the independent driving section of the test, you may now be asked to follow sat nav directions. 1 in 5 driving tests will not use a sat nav for directions and instead, you will be asked to follow road signs. The sat nav will be provided by the examiner and it will be a TomTom Start 52 sat nav. You will not need to input a route as the examiner will do this for you. It does not matter if you go the wrong way as long as you do not make any faults while doing it.
3. Change in Reverse Manoeuvres
You will no longer be asked to perform the ‘reverse around a corner’ or the ‘turn-in-the-road’ manoeuvres. Instead, you will be asked to perform one of these three manoeuvres:
- Parallel park at the side of the road.
- Park in a bay, your examiner will either ask you to drive in and reverse out or reverse in and drive out.
- Pull up on the right side of the road, reverse for about 2 car lengths and rejoin traffic.
4. Answering Vehicle Safety Questions
You will be asked 2 vehicle safety questions by the examiner, one before you start driving and one whilst you’re driving. These vehicle safety questions are called ‘Show me, Tell me’ questions. You will be asked the ‘Tell me’ question which will need you to explain how you would carry out a safety task, will be asked at the beginning before you start driving. The ‘Show Me’ question which will need you to show the examiner how you perform the safety task will be asked during the test when you’re driving, an example of this question would be your examiner asking how to wash the windscreen using your windscreen wipers and car controls.
Hopefully with the help of this information you will be able to prepare for the new test more efficiently and feel fully prepared for your driving test.
