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ACE DRIVING - GOVERNMENT CHANGES TO THE TEST
Ace Driving News
Here at Ace Driving we seek to bring you the latest news about driving tests and road safety matters which may affect you. So whether you are taking driving lessons in Stalham, driving lessons in Wroxham or any of our areas of coverage, (see appropriate page), you will have all the latest information.
Changes to the Practical Test
In October 2010 the Driving Standards Agency introduced an element into the practical test called 'Independent Driving'. It lasts for about 10 minutes and is designed to test a candidate's ability to progress towards a destination without prompting. The examiner will normally warn the candidate that this element is about to commence.
During this phase candidates will be asked to drive by either following traffic signs, a series of directions, or a combination of both these. Where candidates are asked to follow a series of verbal directions, they will be shown a diagram to help. This will be a simple line drawing showing junctions and the route asked to take in bold print.
Don't worry, though, if you do make a mistake about where to turn. You can always ask the examiner for confirmation. Even then, if you get it wrong, as long as what you do is done safely and correctly, you will not be faulted. For instance, the original instruction may have been to turn left but you turned to the right. As long as you carried out the Mirror, Signal, Manouevre procedure and effected the change of direction with the correct level of control, you will not be faulted.
Other Changes in the Pipeline
Often pupils hear rumours about raising age limits for car driving, limitations on new drivers, curfews, size of car engines, etc.. Most of these are just rumours but the government is continually looking at ways to reduce accident rates amongst younger drivers and various ideas are put forward. This is often what starts these rumours but there are numerous stages to go through before they become law and new ideas are often disguarded early on through a number of reasons, such as impractibility, difficulties in enforcement, etc. Rest assured, any changes that are due will be reported on this website, so keep visiting!
Why Change?
When you come to Ace Driving, you will be with a company that knows more than most about the effects that deaths and serious injuries on the roads have upon individuals and families.
In 2009, 2,222 people were killed on our roads, 80,000 were seriously injured, (such as broken bones, spines, wheelchair cases, etc), and a further 620,000 (Yes! 620,000 - nearly threequarters of a million, just less than the total population of Norfolk) people suffered less serious injuries. All those people maimed - all those parents grieving, lives devastated. It really does happen, too often.
A surprising fact is that 61% of accidents in 2009 occurred on rural roads, an important factor in the area we live!
The overall fatality rate per 100,000 population is highest among people in the 16 to 19 year age group.
The statistics show that speed is a cause of 13% of accidents and is also a contributory factor in the vast majority of injury accidents. Another major cause of accidents is failing to look properly at junctions/roundabouts etc.
So we can always, thankfully, expect the government and other interested parties to be continually looking at how our roads can be made safer.