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75 years of history, but the UK Driving Test is about to change - are you ready?
In the early days of motoring there were few rules or regulations. 1893 saw France become the first country in the world to introduce a driving test, along with the first vehicle registration plates and parking restrictions. The first car and driver licences were introduced in Britain in 1903, but testing was unknown here for another 30 years!
In 1934, 7,343 people were killed on Britain's roads, despite there being just 1.5 million cars on the road compared with 30 million in 2003. Public concern was growing and drastic action was needed. In 1935 Leslie Hore-Belisha the new Transport Minister introduced the driving test and the first to pass officially was a gentleman aptly named Mr Beene!
Since then, the driving test has changed dramatically. In 1975 arm signals were withdrawn from the test and more modern additions to the test have included a theory test in 1996, and the hazard perception section of the theory test in 2002, plus questions about vehicle safety and maintenance in 2003. These measures have reduced the number of deaths to 2,538 in 2008 with 34 million cars on the road.
In order to reduce the fatality rate further, the driving test will again change from 4th October 2010. As from this date, the test will include an Independent Driving section.
During the independent drive, the candidate must still drive correctly as per the rest of the driving test applying effective observation, using mirrors correctly, obeying speed limits and road markings etc, but completely unaided and unprompted - something they will have to do once they have passed their test.
