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2014 marks an impressive 80 years since plans were introduced to perform official road tests for those owning or using motor vehicles on UK roads, while 2015 marks 80 years since road testing became compulsory for drivers. There are men and women driving on today’s roads who took the very first form of UK driving test, but just how has it developed over the years? How has the UK driving test changed since 1935?
The Price
If you’re a young driver struggling to save money for your driving test, you may wish you could time travel back to 1935. The very first tests cost just 37 pence in today’s money, rising to £1.75 when the Swansea DLVA opened in 1965. Even allowing for changes in the value of currency, that was still an excellent price for the driving test, equating to about £25 today. New drivers today are required to pay £43 for a provisional and first licence, £25 for the theory test, and £62 for the practical driving test (which rises to £75 for tests taken on evenings, weekends, and bank holidays).
Availability of the Test
Availability is certainly something that is much better today than it was back during the early days of the UK driving test. While new drivers can arrange to take their practical test at a time that suits them (many test centres close for just three days per year – Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Years Day, although there is an extra fee for taking the test on other public holidays throughout the year), some of the first wannabe test takers struggled to find availability. Testing was suspended for more than one year during the second world war, when examiners were required for traffic duties, and again suspended in 1956 due to the Suez Canal crisis. During this time, however, learners were permitted to drive unaccompanied on the roads, but were required to arrange for a test once testing has resumed.
Format of the Test
The testing format is something that has changed significantly over the years, and those who took one of the very first UK driving tests will have undertaken a format of test that’s completely alien to us today (and perhaps rather unsafe!). Back in 1935, examiners would to meet drivers at local car parks or other large areas of empty space and perform the test in the vicinity – after all, there were no test centres back then. For motorcycle tests, the examiner would merely watch from the sidelines until 1989 when finally the pursuit test was introduced. It wasn’t until 1996 that the UK driving test transformed into something recognisable to us today. This is when the theory test was rolled out across the country, with further changes happening in 2002 when the hazard perception aspect was incorporated.
Manouevers & Signals
Remembering which buttons do what, successfully completing that tricky reverse around a corner… if you think the current UK driving test is a bit of challenge, spare a thought for those poor people who had to perform hand signals during their test! It may sound easy, but removing your hand from the wheel, putting your arm through the window, and performing the correct signal to tell other drivers your intentions, all while being monitored by an examiner, isn’t particularly simple. It wasn’t until 1974 when hand signals were removed from the UK driving test – a time when the majority of cars on the roads had built in indicators.
While the previous forms of the UK driving test may well sound like they’d be a piece of cake, keep in mind that the pass rate in 1935 was just 62 percent, dropping to 50 percent after the war. This is roughly the same as the average pass rate today, so perhaps things weren’t quite as easy as we think! While the driving test has undoubtedly changed over the years, it appears to have changed at a level equal to the changes in the road environment.
