{"id":18511,"date":"2015-10-18T02:45:49","date_gmt":"2015-10-18T01:45:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diaryofanadi.co.uk\/?p=18511"},"modified":"2015-10-18T02:45:49","modified_gmt":"2015-10-18T01:45:49","slug":"the-new-improved-driving-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diaryofanadi.co.uk\/?p=18511","title":{"rendered":"The New, Improved Driving Test"},"content":{"rendered":"

DVSA is currently conducting trials on a new-style driving test<\/a>. The changes being trialled are listed here:\"Test<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t have a particular problem with the first two, though I do have some niggles about the satnav thing. But that last one is a real no-no as far as I\u2019m concerned.<\/p>\n

At the moment a candidate is expected to do one manoeuvre from turn in the road, reverse around a corner, parallel park, and reverse bay park. Before independent driving was introduced, they used to have to do two of these manoeuvres on their tests. I always supported independent driving, but I wasn\u2019t happy at the loss of the manoeuvre \u2013 I saw it as a dumbing down of the driving test. But what they are proposing now is that instead of a candidate having to do either a turn in the road or reverse around a corner, they\u2019d have to either drive forward into a bay and reverse out of it, or reverse and rejoin traffic (parallel park and reverse bay park are still in there). A monkey could do those things.<\/p>\n

Pupils struggle with the reverse around a corner, and it is a significant source of test failures. However, as per this article<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Ministers want to improve the driving test pass rate, which is languishing below 50 per cent.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There\u2019s the rub! The proposed changes are not intended to improve<\/strong> the driving test. They\u2019re intended to make it easier.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Personally, I cannot understand why DVSA would want to actually test someone on something as mundane as stopping on the right side of the road. All of my pupils get to do it at one time or another, usually when we\u2019re pulling up outside their house; but sometimes when we\u2019re going to do a parallel park on a particular road I use, or if I need to pull over urgently and talk about something and there\u2019s nowhere to do it on the left. I should also add that the roads we do it on are quiet urban roads \u2013 not busy A roads.<\/p>\n

As usual, some instructors seem to be confused over what the Highway Code (HC) says. They are suggesting that it is illegal to park facing traffic so DVSA is wrong to ask candidates to do it. Here\u2019s the actual HC wording:<\/p>\n

Parking (rules 239 to 247)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rule 239<\/strong><\/p>\n

Use off-street parking areas, or bays marked out with white lines on the road as parking places, wherever possible. If you have to stop on the roadside:<\/p>\n