What one thing would you change about the driving test?

I would make emergency braking mandatory.

My instructor and parents said it should be in every test because you will at some point in your driving life make an emergency stop that could be vital (might save a person getting run over).

They should make us do two manoeuvres. One manoeuvre out of the possible four doesn't seem rigorous.

I would make emergency braking mandatory.

My instructor and parents said it should be in every test because you will at some point in your driving life make an emergency stop that could be vital (might save a person getting run over).

They should make us do two manoeuvres. One manoeuvre out of the possible four doesn't seem rigorous.

Good idea.

Another thing that would be great in the test would be motorway driving as so many learners struggle to drive safely on it afterwards... Tough due to a lit of test centres being far from.motorways...

I agree with the poster above that the emergency stop should be mandatory - that is such an important thing to get right.
I would also include a bay or parelell park in every test (ive passed my test and found im STILL not confident with this), and a hill start.

But good parts of the test as it is i'd say.....the marking system is *on the whole* fair and i like the idea of the independent drive section

My enfield test centre is right near the M25.

I agree with the poster above that the emergency stop should be mandatory - that is such an important thing to get right.
I would also include a bay or parelell park in every test (ive passed my test and found im STILL not confident with this), and a hill start.

But good parts of the test as it is i'd say.....the marking system is *on the whole* fair and i like the idea of the independent drive section

Yeah, they should include at least a bay park or parallel park as necessary.

They should scrap reversing round the corner, it's rare you see that nowdays.

Even so, if after you pass and you find yourself in a situation where you have to park round a corner, a fairly experienced driver knows his/her car well and knows how much steer lock to put to get it to reverse where they want it to, so they would be able to reverse round a corner without too much of a problem.

On the whole, I've seen the marking sheet and it's rigorous enough. Hence why people say the UK test is hard compared to other countries.


https://www.learnerdriving.com/driving-test/free-interactive-marking-system

Has anyone seen an online version like this?

It's really helpful!

My test centre was about an hour from the nearest motorway so would be very unpractical. But at least some dual carrigeway would be good. I went onto a small amount of A road in my bike test but not even a dual carriageway...



Good point.

Emergency stop/both parking manoveures and hill starts should all be essential because there are things you will need to do in everyday driving and people should be confident with them.

Yea, the independent driving section is still fairly new and i think it's a good idea. Shows people can follow basic road signs whilst still remembering the rules of the road.

Marking system is fair as well since you need a major fault or a dangerous fault to cause you to fail most of the time. The same minor 4 times rule can be annoying as i once failed with only 5 minors and no majors because they were all for the same thing...

in most they only do one.

Motorway driving would be super, but you'd be buggered if you live in Scotland/Wales/Devon/Norwich. Thus, it wouldn't really be enforceable unless they made you drive in particular cities (and I suppose you can still drive around without ever needing to use a motorway if you lived in those areas too).

I have to say though, reversing around corners, turning in the road, hill starts and parallel parking are just things that I usually bodge quite well. I am used to doing them and don't need to think about it very much. Emergency stops, however, sneak up on the best of us and therefore these should always be tested in the exam.

What are the views on re-testing drivers? Obviously not to driving test standards (as those are really quite irrelevant once you start on the roads and learn "real" driving skills) but to safe and aware standards? I think a lot of drivers quickly forget how to drive and never evaluate themselves. Driving is seen as too much of a right in my opinion.

I think re-testing drivers is a very very good idea. It'd be expensive and i reckon thats why they don't do it, but there's too many unsafe drivers on the road. People can pass their test when they're 17, never drive again and then get in a car when they're 50 and go out on the road by themselves. I think thats wrong, and although it would cost the government money to test people periodically, it would probably save quite a number of accidents and therefore money.

I think re-testing drivers is a very very good idea. It'd be expensive and i reckon thats why they don't do it, but there's too many unsafe drivers on the road. People can pass their test when they're 17, never drive again and then get in a car when they're 50 and go out on the road by themselves. I think thats wrong, and although it would cost the government money to test people periodically, it would probably save quite a number of accidents and therefore money.

What about making the driver fund it? Is there a profit/loss to operating the driving centres? In pretty much all situations I can think of where a person is operating machinery or heavy vehicles, they must be re-evaluated to hold their permit. Usually this is provided by the company, but drivers would have to provide for themselves.

Just a quick thought, with no research of any kind, but how about a re-test after 10 years if you have had an at-fault incident or have enough points on your licence, then a test 10 years afterwards for everyone? If you haven't driven sufficient mileage over the course of 5 years, then do an evaluation before being allowed to drive again.

I really can't think of a suitable number of years when you can flat out say that drivers become dangerous, so it's hard to know how frequent it could or should be. In most cases it should just be a refresher (as they do hold a licence)... So a quick 20 minute trip through town and around the dual carriageway to ensure you're in suitable control of the car. If you fail, then you have 30 days to re-test, and if you fail that you must go on a proper course to re-train you. Doesn't seem too harsh, does it?

Motorway driving would be super, but you'd be buggered if you live in Scotland/Wales/Devon/Norwich. Thus, it wouldn't really be enforceable unless they made you drive in particular cities (and I suppose you can still drive around without ever needing to use a motorway if you lived in those areas too).

What are the views on re-testing drivers? Obviously not to driving test standards (as those are really quite irrelevant once you start on the roads and learn "real" driving skills) but to safe and aware standards? I think a lot of drivers quickly forget how to drive and never evaluate themselves. Driving is seen as too much of a right in my opinion.

I seriously think this should happen aswell, especially given our ageing population
Whilst it may be expensive to get people redo-ing a practical I reckon the theory should be done every 10 years (at the same time that you have to renew your licence card) as it wouldn't be all that expensive, you could even get people to do it online from home (even if they cheated they'd probably still learn something!).

I think there should be a cap in tests, if you fail more than 5 times then you have to wait 2 years before taking another. Stops people trying to brute-force it, and actually try to become better drivers