Following the designated route using a satellite navigation system will become mandatory for learner drivers to get their license in the UK, starting with December 4.
This is just one of the changes announced by the Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), which is the authority in charge of running driving tests and approving instructors, reports BBC.
“Ensuring the driving test is relevant in the 21st Century – for example, the introduction of sat navs, will go a long way towards doing this“, Transport Minister Andrew Jones said.
Additionally, the ‘reverse around a corner’ maneuver will be replaced, and the ‘show me’ and ‘tell me questions’ at the beginning of the test, will be transformed into a ‘show me’ question during driving, when learners will also be asked to use the rear windscreen heater.
Other changes will see them completing 20 minutes of independent driving, rather than the current 10, and answering vehicle safety questions while on the move.
These major modifications follow a public consultation conducted by the DVSA, during which they received almost 4,000 responses, with the majority agreeing with the increasing of the independent driving part and asking the candidates to follow directions from a sat nav.
“We are very supportive of the revisions DVSA is making to the practical driving test, which will mean candidates undergo a far more realistic assessment of their readiness to take to the road unsupervised. Much has changed since the first driving test was taken in 1935, and it must be right that the test evolves, just as the cars we drive are themselves changing to incorporate ever more driver assist technology, such as inbuilt sat nav systems“, added RAC Foundation Director, Steve Gooding.
PHOTO GALLERY
