§ Mr. QuinnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to revise the practical driving test. [63228]
136W
§ Ms Glenda JacksonFollowing extensive consultation, we have decided to make important changes to the practical driving test, its length, content and the way it is marked.
From Spring 1999, candidates will be required to demonstrate their skills in a broader range of road and traffic conditions. Tests will have about ten minutes more general driving. Test routes will include more higher speed dual carriageways and rural roads. The emergency stop exercise will be carried out at random in about one third of all car tests rather than all of them. Candidates who commit large numbers of less serious driving faults will fail their test. The threshold will initially be set at 15 faults. The revised test will set higher standards for candidates' driving and will check they are prepared for the pressure of driving in today's road and traffic conditions.
The package also includes measures to raise training standards. We plan to introduce a voluntary log book scheme at the same time as the test is amended, to aid candidates and their instructors to gauge progress towards test standard. Candidates will also be given more detailed written feedback about their performance on test by the examiner. This will advise unsuccessful candidates about the reasons they failed and provide those who passed guidance about aspects of their driving which could still be improved.
The implementation date for these changes will be announced shortly. The longer test and the revised marking arrangements will be introduced for the motorcycle test, and the emergency stop exercise will be retained in all those tests. The revised marking arrangements will also be introduced for lorry and bus driver tests. Training logbooks for these sectors will be developed in consultation with the representative bodies.