News
Driving Standards Agency announces changes to test fees
The Driving Standards Agency has announced the results of last autumn’s consultation on its proposed driving test fee structure.
Theory tests for learner car drivers and motorcycle riders booked on or after 30 March will be £31 while practical tests for car drivers will cost £62 from that date. This is a reduction of £1.50 on the proposed fee.
The fee for practical vocational tests and for car plus trailer tests (category B+E) will be £115, some £4 less than was proposed. Fees for the non-statutory services we provide will also rise from that date in line with the individual proposals.
The overall motorcycle test fee will remain unchanged in March at £80 (split between Module 1 - £10 and Module 2 - £70) but will undergo its annual uprating and rise to £90.50 (split between Module 1 - £15.50 and Module 2 - £75) in October 2009 as previously announced.
Fees related to the Approved Driving Instructor Registration Scheme will increase from 24 April.
DSA Chief Executive, Rosemary Thew, thanked the public for participating in the public consultation, and said: “We are doing everything we can to ensure that fees remain as low as possible for our customers - particularly during the current economic climate.
“Despite this, increases are necessary to cover inflation, increases in general running costs and development work.
“The Agency is largely self-funding. We receive only a small amount from general taxation and have to recover most of our costs through test fees.
“We are confident that these increases will enable us to maintain our high standards and provide a first class service to all our customers.”
Please refer to the Annex for a summary of the driving test fee structure.
If you would like to know more about the consultation we have published the Response to Consultation Report on the DSA website.
Theory Tests (from 30 March 2009) Fees
Car and Motorcycle/moped £31.00
Lorry and Bus (HPT) £15.00 (unchanged)
Lorry and Bus (MCQ) £35.00 (unchanged)
Practical Tests- Standard (from 30 March 2009) Weekday fees Saturday/Sunday & weekday evenings fees
Car £62.00 out of hours sat /sun /evenings £75.00
Lorry and Bus £115.00 out of hours sat /sun /evenings £141.00
Car plus trailer £115.00 out of hours sat /sun /evenings £141.00
Tractor and other domestic categories £62.00 out of hours sat /sun /evenings £75.00
Practical Tests- extended (from 30 March 2009) Weekday fees Saturday/Sunday & weekday evenings fees
Car £124.00 out of hours sat /sun /evenings £150.00
Observer on Test
2010 will see the introduction development, of new and exciting changes for learner drivers, instructors and examiners.
The results of the Learning to Drive consultation identifiedways we could improve drivertraining and testing. It emerged that encouraging test candidates to have an observer on test, who would also listen to the feedback at the end, would improve their learning and development. Examiners and instructors are already aware of this practice. In 2008/9 18,000 instructors accompanied pupils on 81,000 tests - at the request of the candidate.
From 6 April these figures will rise, because examiners will always ask candidates if they would like their instructor (or another observer - preferably the person who has taught them) to sit in on their test and listen to the feedback. However, it is purely the candidate's choice.
Independent driving is coming in October
DSA has published two research reports about independent driving, which will be included in practical
tests from October. Newly-qualified drivers say that one of the biggest challenges they face is driving
without the support of their instructor. The reports indicate that independent driving should help bridge that gap.
The reports - 'From taking directions to taking control' and 'On the road to independence' - can befound at www.dsa.gov.uk
Independent driving explained
From 4 October 2010, learner drivers will be tested on independent driving as part of the practical driving test.
During their test, candidates will have to drive for about 10 minutes, either following a series of directions, following traffic signs, or a combination of both.
To help candidates understand where they're going, the examiner may show them a diagram.
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.
Manoeuvres
From October, car test candidates (category B) will have to complete one reversing manoeuvre rather than two. The manoeuvre will be selected at random by the examiner from:
" turning in the road
" reversing around a corner
" reverse parking (either on the road, or into a bay)
An emergency stop exercise will still be conducted on one in three tests.
Routes, directions and sat navs
If the candidate goes off-route during the independent driving section, the examiner will get the candidate back on route and continue with the independent driving section wherever possible. The test won't be terminated.
If the candidate looks like taking a wrong turning, the examiner will control the situation as they do now and preferably step in before the candidate goes off route. If that's not possible, the examiner will help the candidate get back on route as soon as possible by guiding them with normal directions.
Independent driving is not a test of the candidate's orientation skills. If the candidate goes off route, but does not commit a fault, there's nothing to assess. Any faults that did occur would be assessed under the circumstances at the time - as usual. There is no change to assessment.
There will be times when, due to poor or obscured signage, the examiner may have to intervene. If this happens the examiner would say, 'There are no signs here. Just continue ahead please' and then, 'Now, carry on following the signs to ……'
If the candidate asks for a reminder of the directions, the examiner will be happy to confirm them. Driving independently means making your own decisions and, just like when driving with friends, this includes deciding when it's safe and appropriate to ask for confirmation on where you're going.
Independent driving is designed to test the learner's ability to drive unsupervised and make decisions without guidance and in unfamiliar contexts. DSA is therefore taking the opportunity to review the appropriateness of current route publication practices.
The independent driving section of the test is approximately 10 minutes when you will be asked to drive making your own decisions. A sat nav gives directions in much the same way as the driver trainer, or the examiner, so it's not appropriate to use for independent driving.
Second-hand car warning: know your rights
* Published: Thursday, 18 March 2010
Consumers are paying an average of £425 each to fix faults with second-hand cars that are the dealer's responsibility to correct. A study by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) also found that many dealers are using illegal disclaimers like 'No Refund'. Make sure you know your rights when buying a second-hand car.
Second-hand car dealer market
Your consumer rights when buying a car
* Buying a car: your consumer rights
An OFT study has found that the £24 billion second-hand car dealer market is often not working well for consumers.
The report found that most used car faults come to light in the first three months after purchase, suggesting many second-hand cars sold are not of satisfactory quality. In this situation it is the the dealer's responsibility to fix the problem.
Despite this, nearly 30 per cent of buyers surveyed who contacted their dealer about a problem said they did not have problems resolved.
Consumers who had this problem spend an estimated £425 each, or £85 million per year in total, fixing unresolved faults that are the dealer's responsibility to correct.
The report also found that:
* many dealers are illegally falsifying a vehicle’s mileage (clocking)
* some dealers are pretending to be private sellers in order to avoid their legal responsibilities to consumers
* one in eleven car dealers use illegal disclaimers about the car's history and condition, such as that a car is 'sold as seen' or 'No Refund'
* many dealers fail to disclose what mechanical and other pre-sale checks they have carried out
While the OFT believes that current laws are strong enough, more needs to be done to make sure:
* dealers are aware of the law
* consumers are aware of their rights
* dealers who fail to comply face a real threat of prosecution