From the DSA:
The British driving test marks three-quarters of a century of helping keep people safe on the road when it turns 75 on Tuesday 1 June.
The first car and driving licences were introduced in Britain in 1903. But it was not until 1 June 1935 – amid rising numbers of deaths as the popularity of the car increased – that a compulsory driving test was introduced.
The first driver to pass was Mr J Beene and within a year, the number of deaths on the road had fallen by 1,000.
In 1934, 7,343 people were killed on the roads and there were 1.5 million cars. The latest figures show there were 2,538 deaths on the roads in 2008 when there were around 34 million cars.
Road Safety Minister Mike Penning said: “The driving test is not just a rite of passage, it has helped save thousands of lives on our roads.
“The test and the learning needed to pass it are a vital part of giving drivers the skills they need to drive efficiently and safely.
“High standards of driver training and assessment are an essential contribution to helping Britain’s roads remain among the safest in the world.”
Trevor Wedge, Chief Driving Examiner at the Driving Standards Agency, said: “The driving test still retains some of the original elements included in 1935, such as turning in the road and reversing, but it is updated regularly. We continue to make sure that the test properly prepares drivers for the demands of modern roads.
“This year will see the introduction of independent driving into the test, to help candidates demonstrate their ability to drive without step-by-step instruction. We believe that this added element will lead to better and safer drivers.”
Facts and figures:
- the test became compulsory on 1 June 1935, after being introduced on a voluntary basis on 16 March the same year
- the test was suspended during World War II and the Suez Crisis – examiners were put in charge of fuel rationing instead
- until 1975, candidates still had to demonstrate hand signals
- the theory test was introduced in July 1996
It’ll be interesting to see what the outdated fossils on some of the forums have to say about this.
You don’t really notice it until you think about it, but the number of cars on the road has increased enormously. I can remember driving to gigs at Wembley and getting an almost free run up and down the M1… then I can remember regular congestion starting around the Watford Gap services going South… then later around Junction 24 going North… finally, the gridlock you sometimes see today.
New drivers have to cope with far different conditions these days – indeed, conditions which are changing dramatically from year to year.
EDIT 28/06/2010: A more recent email from the DSA:
It’s celebration time this month as we mark the British driving test’s 75th anniversary.
Since a Mr J Beene took the first ever driving test in 1935, over 94 million tests have been conducted in Great Britain, playing a vital role in making the country’s roads a far safer place.
In the 1930s, there were only 1.5 million cars in the UK, but over 7,000 people a year were being killed on the roads; more than twice the present level – when traffic levels are 20 times higher.
To honour the test’s 75th anniversary, in this month’s Despatch we look at the history of the driving test, assessing the impact it’s had on road safety and its evolution over the years.
We also meet some long-serving ADIs who have plenty to say about their own experiences of the driving test.
The road safety industry can rightly be proud of the achievements of driver training and testing in this country since the first test in 1935, but the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) has its eyes firmly on the future as we continue to implement the Learning to Drive (L2D) programme.
This month you will find information about some of the programme’s key policies: independent driving, observer on test and continuing professional development.
So happy reading! I hope you find the information useful, and as always, thank you for all the hard work that is being done across the country.
Rosemary Thew
Chief Executive, Driving Standards Agency
You can read the latest issue of Despatch here. Despatch is the official DSA magazine for road safety professionals.