After conducting a trial across 20 driving test centres, the DVSA has decided to change the format of the driving test to include the following:
- reducing the number of stops during the test from 4 to 3
- lowering the frequency of emergency stop exercises from 1 in 3 tests to 1 in 7
- adding flexibility to the independent driving segment (this can be following a sat nav, traffic signs or both) to run for the full duration of the test
These changes were designed to improve the overall flow of the test and better reflect real-world driving conditions. By putting them into place and allowing for more meaningful route planning, examiners have been able to observe learner drivers in a more natural and realistic driving environment.
This last comment is something that rings very true for us at BIG TOM, as our 4 hour training sessions allow the driving instructor to observe pupils on more natural, realistic driving conditions. We typically observe our pupils as they drive from the faster paced Peterborough roads, northbound on the A1 to the more hilly driving conditions of Grantham. This controlled practice between towns and cities like Boston, Spalding, Lincoln, reflects more the type of driving that our pupils will be doing once they pass their driving test.
Owner of BIG TOM Driving School, Tom Ingram says:
“One of the essential skills that we like to develop in our pupils, is their ability to transition between different modes of driving: built-up areas, country roads, faster moving roads and manoeuvres. The structure of our training programmes enables those skills to be practised more often as the pupils travel between towns and cities. The format of our intensive driving courses enables more pupils to practise these transitions, more often than traditional pay as you go driving lessons of shorter time durations. I am very proud to have been providing this more realistic type of driving training for many years, and it pleases me to see that the DVSA assessment process is aligning with this effort to see pupils doing more realistic type driving.”
The new structure of driving test will commence from the 24/11/2026 across the UK.
