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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/14/reversing-into-parking-space-and-using-sat-nav-added-to-uk-driving-test
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| Reversing into parking space and using satnav added to UK driving test | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Learner drivers in the UK will have to reverse in and out of a parking space and follow directions on a satnav in a governmental push to improve drivers’ skills. | |
| The changes, part of the biggest shake-up of the driving test since the introduction of a theory exam in 1996, will be introduced next year. | The changes, part of the biggest shake-up of the driving test since the introduction of a theory exam in 1996, will be introduced next year. |
| The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency also plans to double the amount of independent driving in the test from 10 to 20 minutes. | |
| It will also replace traditional test manouevres such as reversing around a corner with “real-life” procedures, including reversing into a parking bay and switching on lights or heated windows. | |
| The changes follow other reforms already announced, such as allowing learner drivers to gain experience on motorways and introducing a deposit that would be refunded to successful candidates. | The changes follow other reforms already announced, such as allowing learner drivers to gain experience on motorways and introducing a deposit that would be refunded to successful candidates. |
| These were explored under a £2m project by the Department for Transport examining whether the current regime gives the best training for learner drivers. | These were explored under a £2m project by the Department for Transport examining whether the current regime gives the best training for learner drivers. |
| Gareth Llewellyn, the chief executive of the DVSA, said that while Britain’s roads are among the safest in the world, there is scope to do more to keep road users safe, particularly newly qualified drivers. “Making sure the test better assesses a driver’s ability to drive safely and independently is part of our strategy to help every driver through a lifetime of save driving,” he said. | |
| About 1.6m driving tests are taken in the UK every year. In the past five years 3% of reported road accidents had the contributory factor “learner or driver inexperience”. The National Travel Survey 2014 showed that more than half of all drivers in England now use a satnav - an increase from 32.5% in 2009. | |
| The changes have been trialled for a year with more than 4,500 learners and 850 instructors in 32 locations, and will be introduced following a six-week consultation, which closes on 25 August. | |
| Steve Gooding, the director of the RAC Foundation, said: “These proposed changes recognise that it is more important for candidates to demonstrate the ability to drive independently on high-risk roads than the skill of reversing into a quiet cul-de-sac. | |
| “The new approach will be deemed a success if, in the longer term, it produces better-prepared drivers and we experience fewer road casualties.” | “The new approach will be deemed a success if, in the longer term, it produces better-prepared drivers and we experience fewer road casualties.” |
| Mark Peacock, the head of BSM driving school, said: “The proposed changes to the practical driving test, particularly the extended independent driving and use of a satnav, should help to produce better, safer motorists. | |
| “We have already had positive feedback from our instructors and their pupils and therefore fully support these proposed changes.” |