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Driving test routes will no longer be published

09/09/2010

Details of driving test routes will no longer be published online, the Driving Standards Agency has said.

The practice is set to come to an end at the start of October, the agency says, when new routes from driving test centres are brought in.

Intended to be "more representative of real driving", the move, announced by Road Safety Minister Mike Penning, represents a shift towards the more independent approach revealed by the agency as the driving test turned 75 in June.

Mr Penning said that stopping test route publication would better reflect "realistic driving conditions", and would build greater levels of skill and confidence in learners.

"We want new drivers to be able to drive safely and independently, and learning to drive test routes by rote isn't the way to achieve this," he added.

Meanwhile, a new 'independent driving' element of the test is to involve a 10-minute period where learners will navigate without step-by-step input from the examiner - either by following road signs or a series of directions. Learners may also first be shown a diagram to help visualise their route.

It is set to come in on 4 October, and is designed "to better assess whether a learner driver is ready to drive unsupervised". The rest of the test will be unchanged.

DSA chief driving examiner Trevor Wedge said: "Evidence shows that the biggest challenge newly-qualified drivers face after passing their test is learning how to cope when they no longer have their instructor there to help and prompt them.

"We want to make sure that new drivers and riders are ready to make their own decisions when driving alone."

In May, the Institute of Advanced Motorists called for a rural road element to be incorporated into the driving test - a bid, it said, to address the disproportionately high number of deaths that take place on countryside routes.

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