Change to large vehicle driving tests announced

Date: 11/11/2010

A change is being made to the lorry, coach, bus and trailer driving tests in a bid to make the examinations more realistic.

Road Safety Minister Mike Penning announced candidates will have to perform the braking exercise on the road rather than at the test centre from January 1st 2011.

The assessment will be carried out immediately before applicants are asked to pull away from behind a parked vehicle.

Mr Penning commented: "This update to the testing process reflects advances in modern braking technology and allows us to strengthen our assessment of the candidate's ability to brake safely in real traffic conditions."

He added he has asked the Driving Standards Agency to keep tests for these vehicles under review to see if any other improvements can be identified.

The move follows other changes made to driving examinations recently, which mean past theory questions and answers will no longer be published online and driving test entrants will have to navigate their own route for ten minutes without instructions.

Posted by Mary Treen