Sandgate
Driving School
Latest news for learner
drivers
| Driving Tests | Driving tests can be booked, cancelled or rescheduled online at www.direct.gov.uk/drivingtest where you can also check all test availability 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. |
| £60 off Pass Plus | Once you have passed your
test why not consider a Pass Plus course. Kent County Council are
offering a £60 sponsorship. To be eligible you must:: Be aged 17-19 and live in the KCC area (excluding Medway) Use an approved driving instructor registered with KCC Register with KCC before starting the Pass Plus Course Further details can be seen at www.kent.gov.uk |
| Raising the Driving Test Age? | There is a possibility that the age for taking the driving test will be raised to 18, matching the school leaving age. A Government Committee is due to publish a report this autumn. Under the proposals, a pupil would be able to begin learning at 17 but not take a practical test until they are 18. Research suggests that this 12 month learning period would greatly reduce accidents by improving the standard of driving of new drivers. |
| Theory Test | New questions will be added to the theory test with effect from 28th September 2009, and will include case studies. New study material will be available online from HMSO. |
| Theory Test |
DSA to stop publishing questions used in theory tests
The Driving Standards Agency is to stop publishing the multiple choice questions and answers used in theory tests, Road Safety Minister Mike Penning announced today. This will help to ensure that new drivers learn the principles behind driving theory rather than just learning answers. The move follows the introduction of independent driving into the driving test and the DSA's decision to stop publishing test routes in October 2010, to make sure the test assesses a learner's ability to drive and not their capacity to memorise routes. Mike Penning said: “The driving theory test should help to prepare drivers for real life on the road - good driving is not just about vehicle-handling skills, but also about having the knowledge and understanding of safe driving theory. “No longer publishing these questions and answers will mean that successful candidates will have to understand the theory rather than simply memorising answers. “I believe that this - along with the other changes we are making to the driving test regime - will lead to better drivers and safer roads.” In September 2011 DSA will change the format of books and other learning materials available to help people prepare for theory tests. This will take place at the same time as more challenging case studies are introduced to car and motorcycle theory tests. Then, from 1 January 2012, DSA will create theory tests using questions which will not be published. Practice questions and answers, not used in theory tests, will still be available to help candidates with revision. Other companies which publish products containing DSA theory test questions will also no longer have access to the questions used in the tests. |
| Changes to the practical test from October 2010 |
Independent
driving
will become part of
the practical driving test in Great Britain in October 2010. It's tasking the candidate to drive for about 10 minutes, either following a series of directions, following traffic signs, or a combination of both. To help the candidate be clear about where they’re going, the examiner can show them a diagram too. It doesn't matter if candidates don't remember every direction, or if they go the wrong way - that can happen to the most experienced drivers. Newspaper reports. The claim in some newspapers that independent driving would lead to a fall in the driving test pass rate is based on early research where conditions did not reflect the eventual design of the new element of the test. Subsequent trials with a larger number of participants and more closely reflecting the conditions in the planned new test showed no significant fall in the pass rate. The DSA has published a short video on its YouTube channel explaining more about independent driving. Watch the video on YouTube.
Observer on test. Anyone accompanying a candidate TO THE TEST CENTRE must sit in the test vehicle on the test for category B but Not B+E. Hoping this may lead to all test candidates using a registered instructor and raise “Quality Assurance” in the industry. There are many benefits not least helping with the debrief section of the driving test. Flexible manoeuvres. Only 1 manoeuvre to be assessed as there is a negligible risk of KSI during manoeuvres. Giving more time to assess high incident risk areas i.e.; Rural roads, busy right turns across traffic, joining and changing lanes and faster moving traffic where there is greater stats of KSI (Killed & seriously injured). Trials have taken place at Cardington with ADI’s and their pupils, where the ADI sat in the front seat and examiner in the rear during a test situation, good feedback received but to implement this system all 400+ test centres must look for suitable test routes to use. |
|
Government Drops Plans To Force Driving Instructors To Sit In On Their Pupils L-Tests |
From the Daily Mail - 12th
October 2009
Radical plans to force driving instructors -
whether parents or paid-for professionals - to sit in on their
pupils' L-tests have been 'put into reverse' by the Government. |