{"id":41208,"date":"2017-12-11T11:24:10","date_gmt":"2017-12-11T11:24:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?p=41208"},"modified":"2017-12-11T11:24:10","modified_gmt":"2017-12-11T11:24:10","slug":"depth-driving-test-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2017\/12\/11\/depth-driving-test-changes\/","title":{"rendered":"In depth: Driving test changes"},"content":{"rendered":"

After its biggest changes in over a decade, local driving instructors are\u00a0warning that parts of the new driving test are already failing<\/b><\/h2>\n
\"\"

Passing your driving test is a rite of passage that many of us have or will experience; including ten-point turns, stalling on roundabouts and attempting to parallel park.<\/span><\/p>\n

But Britain\u2019s learner drivers have hit a potential bump in the road as the driving test undergoes its most significant changes in over a decade. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The changes came into effect on 4 December and include a 20 minute independent drive (10 minutes longer than before), having to follow directions from a sat-nav and the removal of the turn in the road and reverse around a corner manoeuvres for bay parking and reversing on the right hand side of the road.<\/span><\/p>\n

Local instructors have said that the changes are well-intentioned but, as is the case with the newly-installed sat-nav, a change that is already showing signs of failure. <\/span><\/p>\n

Teething problems?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Jeff Baker is a driving instructor based in the Rhondda Valleys with over 20 years of experience. He says the changes are well intentioned, but has seen his students take tests where the sat-nav has malfunctioned.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAlready I\u2019ve had some pupils who have been following the sat-nav and it\u2019s lead them the wrong way,\u201d Jeff said. \u201cOr it\u2019s malfunctioned altogether. Teething problems are to be expected, but this becoming an issue.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Tom Gadd is a student at Cardiff University who is undertaking driving lessons in the city. He says that his own driving instructor has already been talking about multiple malfunctions of the sat-nav on driving tests.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy instructor told me that on that first day, and throughout the week, there were instances where the driving examiners actually had to shut off the sat-nav because it kept malfunctioning,\u201d Tom said. \u201cDoes this make me nervous for my own test? Of course!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Tom is learning to drive in Cardiff. \u00a0But learning in the valleys, Jeff says, is an experience in itself.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOn the first day \u2026 driving examiners actually had to shut off the sat-nav because it kept malfunctioning.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Despite the new test relying a lot more on routes including busier main roads, Jeff still takes his students around more local, pedestrianised areas, the kind of places they\u2019ll go \u201cto get a pint of milk from the shop, routes they use every day.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Jeff says above all he wants his students to make the transition from learners to confident and safe licensed drivers. But he\u2019s worried about students who failed the old test and have to re-sit the new one.<\/span><\/p>\n

A daunting change<\/b><\/h3>\n

One such person is Chloe Bodman, who having failed her most recent test in September. She now has to sit the new test after Christmas, there we so many bookings she was unable to re-book before the test changed .<\/span><\/p>\n

Chloe said that the thought of re-sitting her test is \u201cdaunting\u201d as she feels like she hasn\u2019t had enough time to get used to the changes, especially since making the move from her family home in Pontyclun to Cardiff to study at university. <\/span><\/p>\n

Chloe now feels like she\u2019s playing \u201ccatch-up\u201d after starting lessons in Cardiff, a busy major city whose roads differ from her hometown of Pontyclun.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

\u201cThe roads are a lot busier,\u201d Chloe chuckles, shaking her head. \u201cI\u2019ve driven a lot around Cathays and the city centre, so I\u2019m getting more confident on the busier roads.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

But, as her test approaches, does Chloe think that the new set of changes to the driving test are helping her to become a more independent driver, one that will be more confident on busier roads \u00a0and in places such as Cardiff when she does pass her test?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how independent you can truly be as a learner driver,\u201d Chloe argues. \u201cJust because there\u2019s always someone next to you who can take control if things go wrong. But I do feel that the longer independent drive – especially in Cardiff – \u00a0are forcing me to become more reliant on myself and listening to the sat-nav, even if I still don\u2019t really know how far 200 yards is.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

New drivers? No problem<\/b><\/h3>\n

But for the horde of doe-eyed new learner drivers clutching their fresh-off-the-press provisionals, the new test heralds a chance to become as equipped as possible for life as a fully-licensed driver. Jeff says that new drivers are receptive to the changes, especially the sat-nav as \u201cit\u2019s something they will use everyday.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And as far as results for there new test, Jeff says it\u2019s far too early to tell whether the test is harder to pass now.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy local test centre has a pass rate of about 47%,\u201d Jeff said. \u201cBut we won\u2019t know concrete results for a few months or if that figure will go down. But last week, the first week of the new test, \u00a0only two of my kids passed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The changes to the driving test may be well intentioned, but with reported sat-nav malfunctions, it could make the prospect of a test even more nerve-wrecking for learner drivers. <\/span><\/p>\n

To find out more information about the driving test changes that came into place on 4 December, see<\/span> here<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After its biggest changes in over a decade, local driving instructors are\u00a0warning that parts of the new driving test are already failing,\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":280,"featured_media":41310,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[185,6],"tags":[880,74],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-41208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-active-home","category-active-life","tag-driving","tag-south-wales"],"yoast_head":"\nIn depth: Driving test changes - alt.cardiff<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2017\/12\/11\/depth-driving-test-changes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In depth: Driving test changes - 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