Driving test and theory test data: cars

Driving Test and Theory Test Data: Cars

Dead Slow Statistics Campaign – Toolkit (Motorists)

Frequently Asked Questions

 

Since the publication of DVSA’s latest plan to tackle ongoing test waiting time issues in December 2024, the National Associations Strategic Partnership (NASP) has asked the agency to clarify on a number of elements in the plan, and answer some of the many questions we have had from our members on this topic. Below are DVSA’s responses.

 

Please let your ADI association know of any further questions you may have and we will seek a response or send us an email using the contact form on the NASP website www.n-a-s-p.co.uk/contact

 

Q1. Do the new measures proposed in DVSA’s 7 point plan related to the booking system, mean trainers can no longer swop tests over in the same manner as before? For example, previously some ADIs have taken candidate’s data and booked tests for up to 10 pupils and then choosen to swop over these tests between their pupils, having ‘reserved’ some spaces in this manner. Will these new proposals are designed to stop this practice?

 

Answer:

The call for evidence on the driving test booking service is a chance for all users to give their views on the current system and how it could be improved and made fairer. The findings will be used to shape a consultation on proposed changes to the booking system to make it fairer for all to use. So, any changes to the way that system works, such as how tests are swapped, will be based on the outcome of the consultation.

You can respond to the call for evidence here: https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/experience-of-booking-and-managing-car-driving-tests/experience-of-booking-and-managing-car-driving-tests

 

Q2. Can ADIs still swop tests over by calling Customer Services and swapping pupils over, so (for example) someone not ready for test can change over with a candidate who is ready and wants a more immediate test date? Recently many ADIs and pupils have been relying on this flexibility.

 

Answer:

No changes have been made to the current booking service system as a result of the release of the 7-point plan. We are encouraging people and businesses who use the system to complete the call for evidence. The results of this will help to shape a future consultation on changes to the booking system to make it fairer for all.

 

Q3. Have the 450 Examiners spoken of in terms of target recruitment already been recruited (or have already applied and are in process), as no Examiner jobs are currently advertised on gov.uk?

 

Answer:

The 450 examiners are being recruited from the two recruitment campaigns that ran in July and September 2024.

 

Q4. The survey on bookings is getting a lot of comments. Some suggest it is a waste of time as those abusing the system the most won’t fill it in anyway (or may lie on it) so trainers are querying the point of filling it in?

 

Answer:

The call for evidence on the driving test booking service is a chance for all users to give their views on the current system and how it could be improved and made fairer. All responses will be looked at as part of the analysis and any changes to the way that system works, such as how tests are swapped, will be based on the outcome of the call for evidence.

We would encourage all of your members to complete the call for evidence.

 

Q5. We have been asked by members if DVSA are wanting to encourage whistle blowing on those abusing the booking system, and to clarify the process for that

 

Answer:

If any ADIs have concerns about the booking system being misused, they should speak to their LDTM who will be able to advise or raise a query with DVSA. They will be asked to provide evidence to back up the claims.

 

Q6. Are we correct in saying PDIs cannot use OBS, but when they pass Part 3 they are told about it and how to use it?

 

Answer:

Potential driving instructors can use the online business service, but they must be attached to another business to use it until they qualify as they are not allowed to run their own business until they have passed their ADI part 3.

 

Q7. When will the measure of a 10-day notice period of cancellation be introduced?

 

Answer:

DVSA is working to bring in this change from Spring 2025. The exact date has not yet been confirmed, and we will let learner drivers and driving instructors know when the date is confirmed.

 

Q8. How much notice will instructors receive about the introduction?

 

Answer:

We will give instructors and driving test candidates as much notice as possible ahead of any change being introduced.

 

Q9. Will existing test bookings be exempt from the 10-day notice?

 

Answer:

Any tests that take place after the date the changes comes into effect will be subject to the changes. We will write to all affected candidates with tests booked to explain how the changes effects them as part of the communications plan.

 

Q10. Will all candidates be notified with ample time to move their date without penalty?

 

Answer:

Yes. We will include messages to affected candidates as part of the communications plan to explain how the changes will affect them and send them in plenty of time ahead of the changes coming in to affect.

 

Q11. When will the longer waiting period after a ‘bad’ test fail be introduced?

 

Answer:

The date for the consultation on further increasing the amount of time people must wait to book another test in certain situations is still to be finalised. We will announce the date of the consultation when we can.

 

Q12. How will DVSA deal with suspected misuse of the OBS?

 

Answer:

DVSA monitors the use of the online business service and investigates any action that goes against the terms and conditions and will take appropriate action. If any are identified as breaking the rules for using the system, DVSA will:

· issue them with a warning notice

· suspend their account so they are temporarily unable to access the system to book driving test

· close their account so they are no longer able to access the system to book driving tests

 

Q13. How will these changes affect Part 2 & 3 bookings on the OBS?

 

Answer:

There will be no changes to Part 2 and 3 bookings made on OBS.

 

Q14. Will there be an increase in test fees to pay for these changes?

 

Answer:

DVSA keeps the fees it charges for all of its statutory services, including driving tests, under continuous review. Any proposals to change any fees would be subject to HM Treasury approval and public consultation.

 

Q15. Will all the results of DVSA surveys/consultations be published?

 

Answer:

Yes. DVSA plans to publish the results of the call for evidence and consultations that have been included in the 7-point plan.

As driving instructors we should be aiming past the driving test. We want our pupils to pass as a consequence of driving safely, rather than facing the consequences of only being trained for a driving test. The question is how can this be done. 

 

Our pupils should be unlucky if they fail rather than lucky to pass. The more skilful our pupil is, the greater the chance of them passing their driving test. But what about after they pass. We normally will never see them again, or certainly not for driver development. 

 

The reality is that our pupils will normally only spend money on what is measured, which for the pupil is the driving test. Here it is prudent to remember that a driving test only samples parts of the syllabus, which means we should cover as much of it as possible.

 

Both ourselves and the examiners should be making assessments of our pupils driving. As instructors we should be making formative assessments whereas an examiner will be making summative assessments. So what are the differences.

 

Examiner (Summative) assessments:

 

 

Summative (Examiner) assessments are of a pupil’s learning against a set standard or benchmark. In our case the driving test.

 

The examiner will take them out and make an assessment of their driving by weighting or grading the faults according to the severity:

 

• No fault
• Not worthy
• Driver fault
• Serious
• Dangerous

 

For greater detail of how this is done see the Dave Allen article in this edition.

 

Instructor (Formative) assessments:

 

 

If the summative assessment above is an assessment by a driving examiner of learning and to see how well they have learnt. 

 

A formative (Instructor) assessment is one for learning and will direct the learning.

 

So knowing how an examiner marks a driving test and how those faults are weighted is your knowledge of their summative assessment. This is not helping you much with your formative assessment of your pupil.

 

You need to know why they have made the fault and what is the best way for that particular pupil to fix it. In other words, how effectively you can coach a learner (and perform on a standards check) is based on your formative assessment of your pupil at that time and place.

 

Note here that I have said a standards check. Some might say that a standards check is not real instruction. They might then go on to say that the ability to pass a driving test is not real driving and they really learn after they have passed.

 

We might say that we have three ways of getting a pupil to do something:

 

• Rote
• Reason
• Revelation

 

By Rote

 

Tell them what to do or possibly show them. The pupil will likely do it with a view to passing their test. Rote learning is imposed with the pupils consent. Its object of passing a driving test is not serving our pupils a life skill and may often as not be cast aside as they really start to drive on their own.

 

By Reason

 

A pupil who understands when to check their mirrors and what effect their signals might have on others is more likely to be a safer driver after passing than one who just does the routine of MSM.

 

By Revelation

 

Better still a pupil who has reached the conclusion from your searching questions that a well formed MSM with everything nicely timed is more likely to keep it up after passing rather than just letting it go. 

 

The simple thing here is that the more the pupil is actively engaged in the answer the more likely they are to own the solution. More work for you but hugely satisfying when we get it right.

 

This is why the DVSA wants a client centred lesson. If I tell you to do something and I give you the reasons for doing it, you might very well do so until the circumstances that brought you to me change. This change for most of our pupils is passing their driving test.

 

At risk of being rather controversial, my personal opinion is that we as an industry are failing our pupils. An overall pass rate of about 50% for the driving test and an accident rate in the first year of about 20% is a damning indictment of our industry. 

 

I know lots of you will be doing much better than these figures suggest. But for every decent instructor like yourself there is another dragging those figures down to 50% and 1 in 5. Remember if you are reading this article my comment above is about the industry in general not someone like yourself.

 

Fault based driving instruction is faulty. Leave the summative fault based assessments of driving tests to the professional examiner. Make your assessment a formative one. Have a look at the 17 competencies and see how they relate to formative assessments.

© Liam Greaney

driving-pro.com

 

A driving test can only cover a portion of the syllabus. The limits on this are both time and geography. 

 

It would be wonderful to know that new drivers have been tested on the whole of the syllabus. But that is just not possible. In terms of time you are going to be within a 20 minute radius of the test centre. And for the most part a bit less than that. Allow for the pulling over and stopping a few times. Some time for manoeuvres and our radius gets less. 

 

Geography will also limit what can be tested. Years ago if you did not like roundabouts you could book a test on the Isle of Wight which only used to have one roundabout on the whole island. Please note that this has changed. 

 

Anyone who looks at driving test data will have noted that the pass rate for some of the Scottish islands is very good. The flip side of that is the pass rate for large inner city test centres is very poor. So it is logical to assume that the busier inner city test centres make the candidate have more interactions and therefore opportunities to fail. 

 

I am reliably informed that while the Scottish Islands may have less interaction with other road users. The ability to deal with sheep is very useful. Not something that us inner city instructors have any experience with whatsoever. 

 

Bearing in mind that passing the driving test allows your pupil to drive on any public road a vehicle of 3.5 tonne is the test enough. A sheep loving pupil from the islands may well find a busy inner city roundabout quite intimidating. By the same token our inner city jack the lad may find a flock of sheep rather bewildering.  

 

So how can we cope with this. Looking at the big picture, data from test passes should have 2 characteristics, reliability and validity.

 

The first is concerned with the consistency of the data and the second with its relevance. We are going to look at this first one in some detail and the performance dips that come with it.

 

Reliability:

 

• Test-retest

• Interrater

• Internal consistency

 

1. Test-retest. This looks at data over time. There will be two ways of looking at this. Repeating the test with the same examiner at the same time of day. Or doing it at different times of day.

 

 

To just keep repeating the same route at the same time with the same examiner is clearly a non-starter. Each test centre will have multiple routes which will test different aspects of the syllabus. Even if the route is the same, with the same cars, drivers and examiners.  Because we are all different from day to day, our decisions and those of other drivers will be different day to day. 

 

Will you keep getting the same results at a different time of the day. Clearly at different times of the day you will have a different number of interactions. Rush hour may have 200 interactions with other road users compared with 100 mid morning. One of the things that make the driving test unique is every driving situation is going to be different in some way. 

 

The above starts to make the point that pupils should be able to deal with situations rather than places. A take away from this is get your pupil used to driving in places where they are not familiar with the roads. 

 

Watch for the performance dip when they try somewhere new. Take them to different places. If they can cope with that with you in a place they are not familiar with. They are more likely to be able to cope with an unfamiliar place when they are with a stranger like the examiner.

 

2. Interrater. This looks at different examiners and do they give the same result. They obviously do for our serial failures. We have all heard the comment about a pupils’ chance of passing depending on which examiner they get.

 

 

Some examiners tend to be friendly and chatty and get the pupil to relax. Others tend to be more formal to allow the candidate to concentrate. The problem is you have no idea which examiner you will get. But also what is right for your pupil. 

 

Is there a performance dip when someone other than the instructor is sat with your pupil. 

 

Now it is not practical for your pupil to be out with different instructors all the time. But what you, the instructor can do, is adopt a different persona. You change your manner from friendly, banter loving instructor to that of a more formal demeanour. Would that affect your pupil. Or maybe the other way round if you are more formal with your instruction. 

 

Another alternative is having someone else in the car. It could be someone known to the pupil like their mum or dad. It could be someone known to you. Obviously you clear it with the pupil first. But the bottom line is can they cope with a different person sitting next to them. Does having someone new in the car produce a performance dip?

 

3. Internal consistency. Will different parts of the test produce the same result. A driving test does not have the time to test all parts of the syllabus of learning to drive. So what will happen is the various test routes will test as much of the National Syllabus as geographically possible for that centre.

 

 

This will give rise to a variety of routes which if nothing else, will stop local people from being bothered by having the same area used all the time. Also this stops us from learning, then teaching a route parrot fashion.

 

Would your pupil fail if they got a certain maneuver. Would a dual carriageway or a narrow road cause your pupil problems. Have they covered enough of the syllabus. Or to put it simply, would your pupil pass or fail  with a different route and what does that mean for their safety when passed.

 

My favourite performance dip to look for here is lane changing. We are all aware of how they might slow down to let the car coming from behind get past. And before you know it they are travelling too slowly and are being overtaken and boxed in. Crossroads and large roundabouts all create the performance dip. It’s all about how they interact with the other road user.

 

Another performance dip is the concentration one. It seems that a lot of test fails come on the 30 minute mark. How many times does a pupil blow it at the last moment? But surely that means that their driving is not intuitive enough.

 

Validity:

 

• Construct

• Content

• Criterion

 

1. Construct: Does this conform to our knowledge and theory of what is being tested (driving safely). 

The Highway Code and Driving The Essential Skills will form the core of our knowledge of that. While an individual route may not cover everything. The Theory Test and its high pass mark will give it good coverage of The Syllabus.  

 

2. Content. Does this cover all aspects that it should.

 

Stock Photo ID: 1127743439

 

Is all of The Syllabus from The DVSA covered. Clearly it can not for a huge range of reasons. What can not be tested on a practical driving test can be covered on The Theory Test. But knowing what to do in bad weather or the dark is not the same as showing what to do. 

 

Because of geographical and time restraints the range of the syllabus can not be covered. But the range of test routes an individual centre has along with the spread of them between examiners should go some way to meeting this requirement.

 

The test candidate will only be asked to do one manoeuvre but it is wise to know all four. We have no way of knowing which one of the four they will be doing. The same will go for all parts of the syllabus. 

 

3. Criterion. Are there other valid measures of a person’s ability to drive.

 

 

What other ways could you test a person’s ability to drive. It’s a very practical skill for something that could be up to 3.5 tonne MAM and driven at up to 70 mph on a public road. Surely we should only let someone be able to do that if they can demonstrate the skill to do so safely. Hence licensing and testing. Which is then followed by enforcement.

 

The bottom line is that the driving test will stay pretty much the same as it has always been. The changes to it reflect the changes in society. If we can get our pupils over the performance dips they will stand an excellent chance of passing and being a safe driver.

 

These performance dips are:

• New places
• New people or different personas
• Acting and reacting with the other road users (lane changing etc)
• Safe driving needing concentration 

 

As instructors we should certainly do our best to cover all of the syllabus. The question might be what can we take away from looking at a driving test this way:

• Cover the syllabus as far as you are able
• Do not just do test routes
• Make sure your pupil can deal with situations rather than places
• Watch for performance dips

© Liam Greaney

driving-pro.com

Everything you might want to know about Driving Tests, Theory Tests and Driving Instructors.

 

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“There’s a red car behind me, a good distance away, the vehicle approaching has a right signal on. There’s a warning for a sharp bend to the left with a side road on the right, my brake lights are on, slowing, slowing, slowing. It’s clear to take the right junction, nobody has followed me in, and I’m ok to accelerate”.

That was an example of commentary driving or, as it now seems to be more commonly named, spoken thought. It is proven to enhance concentration and alertness.

It’s a skill that many driving instructors have developed, and some of those ADIs recognise the benefit of encouraging learner drivers to talk out loud too.

But why does it work? Let’s look at the physiology of the brain to learn what’s going on.

The brain is zoned into areas that have specific functions. We know this by using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or more specifically a specialised version of it known as functional MRI (fMRI).

Using fMRI, we can put a person in an MRI scanner, ask them to do certain things such as speak, listen to music, look at a picture etc, and then see which parts of the brain receive more blood flow. Thus, we can infer which parts of the brain are more active during certain activities. It’s quite fascinating to see parts of the brain light up on a screen.

The key to alertness is that we want to encourage multiple parts of the brain to be active at the same time: we want more of the “brain centres” to be used. And this is what commentary driving achieves.

We see something, for example, a road sign or a brake light, and then the visual cortex of the brain lights up.

If we then say out loud the name of the road sign, we recruit the memory and the speech parts of the brain too. Take it one stage further and say out loud what we intend to do in response to the sign, and we additionally made the problem-solving part of the brain spring into life.

The words that are spoken, then go back into the driver’s ears and, that’s the auditory cortex, or hearing centre, activated. More brain activity equals more alertness and concentration.

But what if we could find a way to illuminate even more regions of the brain: would that lead to even more increased concentration? The Japanese would agree that it does help, and they even have a specific word for it:

Shisa Kanko

指差喚呼

Translating as pointing and calling, the technique adds in deliberate arm movements, thus also involving the motor cortex of the brain. Initially developed for use on the Japanese railway system, it quickly migrated into building sites and hospitals as a way of improving safety through increasing awareness. And Shisa Kanko is also in use on the New York Subway system. See YouTube: Japan Points the Way to Better Safety.

So, is there any reason why the technique cannot be used to supplement the existing benefit of spoken thought? Clearly, large arm movements are not practical while operating a steering wheel, and it’s probably going to cause some pain if the driver accidentally pokes their finger at the windshield.

But the beauty of the technique is that the movement doesn’t need to be a big gesture to remain effective; simply raising a finger to point at a road sign while calling it out loud or pointing at the mirrors being checked before moving off or reversing is just as good, as it still brings the motor cortex to life. It may even be beneficial as part of pre-drive checks or cockpit drill.

Personally, I have been using Shisa Kanko in driving lessons for about four years and have found it very effective with learners who have ADHD and dyslexia. And it works like a dream when working out who has priority when turning right at those pesky confusing mini roundabouts!

Point: ‘you go’.

Point ‘you stay’.

The above article is from one of our members books.

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The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has today (Wednesday 18 December 2024) set out a plan to reduce driving test waiting times.

The 7-point plan recognises that the government needs to take action to fix the driving test booking system and get new drivers on the road.

Stopping learner drivers being ripped off

Lilian Greenwood, Minister for the Future of Roads, said:

Passing your driving test is a life changing opportunity for millions – but sky-high waiting times for tests in recent years have denied that opportunity to too many people.

No one should have to wait 6 months when they’re ready to pass, travel to the other side of the country to take a driving test or be ripped off by unscrupulous websites just because they can’t afford to wait.

The scale of the backlog we have inherited is huge, but today’s measures are a crucial step to tackle the long driving test wait times, protect learner drivers from being exploited, and support more people to hit the road.

1. Recruit and train 450 driving examiners

DVSA will recruit and train 450 driving examiners across Great Britain.

The jobs were advertised on the Civil Service jobs website in 2 phases in:

• June and July 2024
• September and October 2024

DVSA is continuing to recruit and is now training candidates who were successful during the first of these recruitment campaign. They will start doing driving tests over the coming months.

2. Review and improve the rules for booking driving tests

DVSA will review and improve the driving test booking system to make sure that learner drivers can book their driving test easily and efficiently.

To do this, DVSA will follow these steps:

1. Launch a call for evidence about the current rules and processes, which DVSA has done today (18 December 2024).
2. Analyse the evidence and develop proposals to improve the rules and booking system.
3. Run a consultation on the proposed improved rules.
4. Introduce the improved rules – changing the law if necessary.

This work will take time to complete, and it will take some time for learner drivers and driving instructors to see improvements. But it will help to make the system fairer for learners and better protect them from being exploited.

3. Introduce tougher terms and conditions for the service driving instructors use to book and manage car driving tests for their pupils

DVSA will introduce a set of tougher terms and conditions for the service driving instructors use to book and manage driving tests for their pupils.

These new terms and conditions will come into force on 6 January 2025.

They set out that only driving instructors or businesses that employ driving instructors can use the service to book car driving tests.

The new terms and conditions make it clear that driving instructors and businesses must not book driving tests on behalf of learner drivers they are not teaching.

They also stop driving instructors and businesses from using a learner driver’s details to book a driving test that they have no intention of that particular learner driver using. This is sometimes done to create a placeholder so the test can be swapped to another learner driver later.

If anyone breaks the terms and conditions, DVSA can:

• issue them with a warning notice
• suspend their account
• close their account

4. Consult on new proposals to increase the amount of time people have to wait to book another test in certain situations

DVSA will run a consultation on new proposals to increase the amount of time people have to wait to book another test if they either:

• make multiple serious or dangerous faults during their driving test
• physically or verbally assault their driving examiner
• fail to attend their driving test without telling DVSA – and consider charging them a penalty

Learner drivers currently have to wait 10 working days before being able to book another test. The consultation, which will launch at a later date, will set out the full details of the potential options.

5. Increase the amount of notice you need to give to change or cancel a car driving test without losing the fee

DVSA will increase the amount of notice people need to give to change or cancel their car driving test without losing their fee to 10 clear working days.

It’s currently set at 3 clear working days. DVSA consulted on proposals to increase this in 2022.

This change will:

• encourage people to change or cancel their test sooner if they’re not ready
• give more chance for appointments to be used by someone else

DVSA is working to bring in this change from spring 2025. The exact date has not yet been confirmed. DVSA will let learner drivers and driving instructors know when the date is confirmed.

Learner drivers will still be able to apply for a refund in cases such as illness or bereavement.

DVSA will continue to pay out-of-pocket expenses for any car driving tests it cancels with fewer than 3 clear working days’ notice while it conducts a review of its out-of-pocket expenses process.

6. Explore changing the current 24-week limit on how far ahead car driving tests can be booked

DVSA will explore ways of changing how far ahead car driving tests can be booked. This is currently set at 24 weeks.

Any changes DVSA makes will be made so it can better understand how many people want to take a driving test at each test centre.

7. Encourage learner drivers to be better prepared for their driving test through the ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign

DVSA will continue to run its ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign, which 95% of users rate as useful, to encourage learner drivers to take the right action to prepare for their driving test.

Research from DVSA shows that about 23% of learner drivers take their first attempt at the driving test within one month of starting driving lessons.

The campaign aims to change this behaviour, and focuses on helping learner drivers to:

• understand what skills they need to have mastered
• prepare for their test by giving tips on managing nerves
• take a realistic mock driving test
• understand what will happen during their driving test

It also encourages people who are not ready to pass to move their test back.

Reducing waiting times

The actions being taken will help DVSA to provide 1.95 million car driving tests between April 2024 and March 2025 and to reduce the waiting time to 7 weeks by December 2025

Both of these targets have been confirmed in the DVSA business plan for 2024 to 2025.