New driving test

[heart-of-wessex]

So has anyone taken their driving test with the new proceedures that were in place from early December?

I took mine on the 11th but unfortunately failed as I had a serious fault at a busy roundabout, apart from that I would have passed.

I don't know what the old test was like, so I never had to learn the reverse round a corner and follow signs for 10 minutes.

I personally thought the sat nav test was rather easy, a lot of the route was down country lanes so basically the whole test was just driving. The only manoever I had to do was drive forward into a parking space (which is my least favourite, I like backing into a space as I can see the white lines) so I didn't do the parallel park, stop the other side of the road nor an emergency brake, and didn't do a hill start either.

I had one tell me question which was the easy 'tell me how you would know the ABS isn't working' and one show me question which was 'show me how you would operate the horn'.

I don't know why the show me questions are relevant, the buttons in the instructors car are totally different to the ones in my own car.

Next time I take the test I'll probably end up doing all the manoevers!

What do you think of the new test, did you pass it?

 

[steamybrian]

I have been driving for nearly 25 years and was amazed to learn that new drivers now have to learn how to use a satnav. I still do not know how to use a satnav and instead use maps.
When I was at school we were taught how to read Ordnance survey maps and use a compass. Maybe drivers today should know how to read maps...!!

 

[AlterEgo]

I have been driving for nearly 25 years and was amazed to learn that new drivers now have to learn how to use a satnav. I still do not know how to use a satnav and instead use maps.
When I was at school we were taught how to read Ordnance survey maps and use a compass. Maybe drivers today should know how to read maps...!!

Why would they need to learn how to read a map? What practical benefit does a paper map give over a dynamic GPS display?

 

[steamybrian]

Why would they need to learn how to read a map? What practical benefit does a paper map give over a dynamic GPS display?

Why then is a satnav part of a driving test.?

 

[heart-of-wessex]

I know people who use a satnav for some assistance if they don't know where they are to save stopping and pulling out a map. I used to ride a 125cc Scooter around (stopped riding about 10 years ago) but I always had a road map with me and when going on long distances I'd do it in stages. I'd pull over, get the book out from under the seat, and work out which roads I'll need for the next few miles, do that section, pull over and check where I need to go next.

The satnav test replaces the old 'follow signs to x place' and is a pre-set route but clearly it is set up with waypoints, as the route I did certainly won't be the route any satnav would take you as it was a much longer way round than the direct route.

 

[AlterEgo]

Why then is a satnav part of a driving test.?

Because many, many people (including young drivers) use them. On a lot of cars a satnav is built in as part of the standard equipment.

Seems very logical to test new drivers on how to use it - safely.

 

[dgl]

Personally I think a 'special' sat nav should be used that does have a few errors in it such as, trying to take you up the wrong way up a one way street, as I believe that is what really needs to be present in sat nav test, teaching people to blindly follow their sat nav is not a good idea.

 

[TheNewNo2]

I'm not sure I like the idea of not being tested on manoeuveurs so much - while I accept they're often rare (apart from reverse parking), they're also the hardest part of driving. But then what's tested is not real driving anyway.

I don't have a problem with people using satnav, but I'm unsure how this is tested. Are they asked to set the satnav to destination X, or just to follow the satnav? If the latter I really see no benefit in it over the examiner telling you where to go, and the former seems ridiculous. I prefer paper maps myself, but I accept they're not easy to use on your own.

 

[telstarbox]

Most satnavs (or phone apps) do include a map of the immediate area, for example:

http://daxushequ.com/data/out/57/img59807278.png

They can also provide useful advance information on road signs and which lane to use:

https://9to5google.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/google-maps-lane-guidance.png

 

[AlterEgo]

I don't have a problem with people using satnav, but I'm unsure how this is tested. Are they asked to set the satnav to destination X, or just to follow the satnav? If the latter I really see no benefit in it over the examiner telling you where to go, and the former seems ridiculous. I prefer paper maps myself, but I accept they're not easy to use on your own.

Having someone tell you verbally which way to go doesn’t test your ability to visually check the sat nav *while* driving, which is surely part of the overall skills required to drive the car safely.

The driving test would be less effective if the examiner merely called out what speed your speedo was reading rather than you having to multitask and check it yourself, which is what you have to do when you drive on your own.

 

[HSTEd]

I recently passed (about three weeks ago) at the 4th attempt.... two months before my Provisional was due to Expire.

I am glad I escaped the madness of trying to drive under satnav control though!

 

[heart-of-wessex]

I don't have a problem with people using satnav, but I'm unsure how this is tested. Are they asked to set the satnav to destination X, or just to follow the satnav?

Yes you just follow the satnav. When I did it the examiner put the satnav on top of the dashboard in the middle and just hit the 'Drive' button, the route was already loaded

 

[tsr]

I was taught how to use a paper OS map, compass, grid references etc. as soon as I got to secondary school (within the last couple of decades), though I have never found out if it's still done today - which I shall get round to at some point!

But for the purposes of "normal" driving to somewhere unfamiliar in the UK, a paper map isn't necessarily a good idea - it's hard to memorise a long route from one, and it's hard to position it safely in a car without being distracted. Stopping every 90 minutes to 2 hours is a good idea in order to reduce fatigue, but on a complex route, you may need to check the map more often than that.

I am very happy to use a paper map when "off grid" or if it provides data and context which I'd otherwise not get - which has happened - but there's no substitute for using all the appropriate tools at one's disposal to properly plan a journey and to be reminded of directions. Both the likes of Google Maps and car satnavs will have been much more effectively programmed and tested than the early consumer satnavs, when they became commonplace and indeed got their poor reputation. It is also much easier to find commonly-given reference points such as postcodes if you are using a satnav - giving these sorts of directions is now the norm. I'm not 100% sure my car can even accept a satnav destination formed from a lat/long or OS grid reference - though it's quite modern so I guess it may be clever enough to interpret random choices of input like that.

 

[najaB]

Why then is a satnav part of a driving test.?

Because most people use them, some of them very badly. The driving test reflects life in 2017, not 1947.

 

[Domh245]

I was taught how to use a paper OS map, compass, grid references etc. as soon as I got to secondary school (within the last couple of decades), though I have never found out if it's still done today - which I shall get round to at some point!

We were vaguely taught about maps and map reading in year7/8 geography, but we were also taught how to use it on a more practical level in scouts, cadets, and DofE

But for the purposes of "normal" driving to somewhere unfamiliar in the UK, a paper map isn't necessarily a good idea - it's hard to memorise a long route from one, and it's hard to position it safely in a car without being distracted. Stopping every 90 minutes to 2 hours is a good idea in order to reduce fatigue, but on a complex route, you may need to check the map more often than that.

And the real advantage of modern GPS (especially on mobile devices) is the traffic monitoring, it's probably the main reason I use GPS on routes that I now. It's very useful for when the usual route is at a standstill and the GPS sends you on a magical mystery tour to avoid it.

 

[robbeech]

I know people who use a satnav for some assistance if they don't know where they are to save stopping and pulling out a map.

One would hope they would still stop to program the satnav.


I tend to use them for traffic / other live data purposes as others have mentioned. I know roughly how to get to most cities/towns in the country and whenever i can i like to have a look at where i'm going slightly more accurately before i leave incase i know of a more familiar route, or somewhere to stop for lunch on the way back, or somewhere where i can put in 100L of diesel without a mortgage etc.

 

[PeterY]

I've never used a Sat-nav. I usually only drive in my local area.

I must be a weird, I love looking at maps, especially OS ones and of course my rail atlases .

 

[Gemz91]

Having someone tell you verbally which way to go doesn’t test your ability to visually check the sat nav *while* driving, which is surely part of the overall skills required to drive the car safely.

The driving test would be less effective if the examiner merely called out what speed your speedo was reading rather than you having to multitask and check it yourself, which is what you have to do when you drive on your own.

I've often wandered the difference between following Sat Nat instructions and those of a driver instructor, but I suppose you've explained it just there.

Only passed my driving test 18 months ago, and used a Sat Nav for the first time last week, and got lost. I seem to have a knack of looking at a map and memorising the route and finding that much easier, obviously I realise not everyone has map super powers like me.

 

[AM9]

One would hope they would still stop to program the satnav.


I tend to use them for traffic / other live data purposes as others have mentioned. I know roughly how to get to most cities/towns in the country and whenever i can i like to have a look at where i'm going slightly more accurately before i leave incase i know of a more familiar route, or somewhere to stop for lunch on the way back, or somewhere where i can put in 100L of diesel without a mortgage etc.

My way as well. I think that I could find my way to withing 5 miles of anywhere from memory, maybe checked on Google maps before I leave. The last bit might need a map so I print that and also look on Streetview to check signage at critical junctions. As far as dynamic info on traffic goes, generally radio traffic news is good enough.

 

[PeterC]

Personally I think a 'special' sat nav should be used that does have a few errors in it such as, trying to take you up the wrong way up a one way street, as I believe that is what really needs to be present in sat nav test, teaching people to blindly follow their sat nav is not a good idea.

Sounds like the satnav in my car. It once told me to turn right at the next roundabout but didn't have the information that the junction between me and that roundabout was also a roundabout.

 

[TheNewNo2]

I just used a satnav for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised, though I couldn't work out how to turn the damn thing off again once I was on the M4 and knew the entire route thereafter.

 

[GusB]

Which manoeuvres are included in the test these days? January 20th marks the 26th anniversary of passing my test. Back then it was two out of three: turn in the road using forward and reverse gears, parallel parking and reversing into a junction. I was quite thankful that I was given the first two - reversing into a junction was never my favourite. I was a bit hesitant when it came to doing the turn in the road, as there was a lamp-post, but I was instructed to ignore it! The hill start was compulsory, I seem to recall, as was the emergency stop. The theory part of the test consisted of the examiner showing my a flip-chart of road signs at the end of the test.

 

[johntea]

The best sat nav in my opinion is actually just good old Google Maps on the smartphone, assuming you have mobile data as it is then basically always up to date with the least congested routes, roadworks etc.

I keep having a go at driving but only ever get so far - had a test when I was 17 which ended up in the examiner getting out of the car and making my instructor walking back to it as I was considered too dangerous to continue the test! (It was mean, we were only a few minutes away from getting back to the test centre!) - annoyingly my driving the morning of the test to get me warmed up my instructor commented if that had been my test driving I would have passed!

I'm now 29, had 25 hours or so of lessons in 2016 but then got a new job and haven't really bothered since - will probably have another go in the new year as my theory runs out next autumn! Both my parents drive automatics so I can only really train with an instructor, as a bit pointless just passing in an automatic.

However I find I can get pretty much anywhere I need to go by public transport with the odd taxi anyway, my mum drives but even she catches the train to Leeds for example as it is just so much easier than the hassle of the drive then finding (and paying!) for somewhere to park!

 

[TheNewNo2]

I don't drive regularly, but for me it's an essential skill. When I need to move house, I can hire a van to take my stuff. When I'm visiting my parents at home it gives me a degree of freedom (they live out in the sticks). I live in London, so I don't need to drive most of the year, but I find people who just never learn to be... weird. And frankly, if you don't learn when you're 17, you're pretty unlikely to at a later date because life will always get in the way.

I think when I was doing the test you had to do two or three manoeuveurs from parallel parking, reversing into a parking space, three point turn and reversing around a corner. Hill starts and emergency stops are definitely not things you can get away with not knowing!

 

[ScottDarg]

Which manoeuvres are included in the test these days? January 20th marks the 26th anniversary of passing my test. Back then it was two out of three: turn in the road using forward and reverse gears, parallel parking and reversing into a junction. I was quite thankful that I was given the first two - reversing into a junction was never my favourite. I was a bit hesitant when it came to doing the turn in the road, as there was a lamp-post, but I was instructed to ignore it! The hill start was compulsory, I seem to recall, as was the emergency stop. The theory part of the test consisted of the examiner showing my a flip-chart of road signs at the end of the test.

I passed in December last year. Manoeuvres I learned were; turn in the road, reverse round a corner and parallel parking. I was only asked to do parallel parking in the actual test.

It was 50/50 as to whether or not you got a hill start and/or emergency stop when I took my test. I was asked to perform a hill start but no emergency stop.

 

[Aussie_Rail]

I was taught how to use a paper OS map, compass, grid references etc. as soon as I got to secondary school (within the last couple of decades), though I have never found out if it's still done today - which I shall get round to at some point!

Ditto. I grew up studying the Melway (Melbourne) street directory, it was the only thing in the car to look at. I was pretty good with directions before I could drive, plus having been a Cub, Scout, Venturer, Rover and now a Leader, I'm pretty good at reading maps, compasses and understanding grid references etc.

I'm not keen on Satnavs as it kills your perception of geography, your mental barings and knowing what alternative routes you can take to point B etc. Plus, they are a distraction and something left in the car that could be stolen, which if you have 'home' as your actual 'home' saved on your GPS, the person who stole it also knows where you live. That happened to me.. haven't kept a GPS in the car ever since...

The only detail about GPS devices was the estimated time of arrival, or the mileage countdown, I always liked that. But I still refer to a map, even if its google maps on my phone.

But for the purposes of "normal" driving to somewhere unfamiliar in the UK, a paper map isn't necessarily a good idea - it's hard to memorise a long route from one, and it's hard to position it safely in a car without being distracted. Stopping every 90 minutes to 2 hours is a good idea in order to reduce fatigue, but on a complex route, you may need to check the map more often than that.

Very true. Long drives, if it involves part of the journey on the freeway, or country highways then I'll make my way onto those roads and head to roughly where I need to go and then once I get to the town or area I am going to I'll check the map until I get to where I need to go. Its not hard to do, probably just another way of doing something. Knowing you're not totally reliant on technology is a good thing. However, If time is precious, then stuff it, I'll use the GPS. lol

I am very happy to use a paper map when "off grid" or if it provides data and context which I'd otherwise not get - which has happened - but there's no substitute for using all the appropriate tools at one's disposal to properly plan a journey and to be reminded of directions. Both the likes of Google Maps and car satnavs will have been much more effectively programmed and tested than the early consumer satnavs, when they became commonplace and indeed got their poor reputation. It is also much easier to find commonly-given reference points such as postcodes if you are using a satnav - giving these sorts of directions is now the norm. I'm not 100% sure my car can even accept a satnav destination formed from a lat/long or OS grid reference - though it's quite modern so I guess it may be clever enough to interpret random choices of input like that.

Quite true. Looking at a place on the map, at least you can also see what other places are near by, shopping centers, food outlets, petrol places etc. GPS won't tell you.

 

[najaB]

Quite true. Looking at a place on the map, at least you can also see what other places are near by, shopping centers, food outlets, petrol places etc. GPS won't tell you.

Most current satellite navigation systems will give you that as well. And (depending on brand) they are more likely to be up-to-date than a paper map.

 

[TheNewNo2]

Most current satellite navigation systems will give you that as well. And (depending on brand) they are more likely to be up-to-date than a paper map.

They'll tell you about petrol stations. But they won't tell you there's a hill fort just around the bend.

 

[najaB]

They'll tell you about petrol stations. But they won't tell you there's a hill fort just around the bend.

Many of the higher-spec ones include info on other Points of Interest.

 

[trainmania100]

They should make the driving tests substantially harder
So many maniacs on the road it's a danger to drive