House of Commons - Transport

Select Committee on Transport Seventh Report

3 A more structured approach to learning to drive

THE EXISTING SYSTEM OF LEARNING TO DRIVE

19. In the United Kingdom people wishing to drive must be at least 17 years old. They are then able to apply for a provisional licence in order to begin to learn to drive on public roads. Learners can take lessons with an Approved Driving Instructor and practise driving with an accompanying driver. Accompanying drivers must be at least 21 and must have held a full UK licence for three years. The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) is responsible for maintaining and checking the standards of all Approved Driving Instructors. According to the DSA, those who pass their driving test have had, on average, about 45 hours of professional training combined with 22 hours of private practice.

20. In order to drive unaccompanied, learner drivers must pass a theory test and a practical driving test. The theory test is made up of two parts: multiple choice and hazard perception, and candidates need to pass both. Once the theory test has been passed, learners can take the practical driving test. In the practical test, candidates are examined on their general driving and on two reversing exercises (reversing around a corner; turning in the road; or reverse parking). They are also tested for basic checks that a driver would carry out to ensure the vehicle is safe for use. Candidates may also be asked to carry out an emergency stop. Candidates can make up to 15 minor driving faults and pass (16 or more results in failure).[23] One serious or dangerous fault results in failure.[24] Committing three minor faults in the same area leads to the candidate receiving a serious fault for a repeated mistake, thereby failing the test.

21. Once someone has passed both the theory and practical driving tests they are able to drive unaccompanied on all public roads, with no restrictions or further training required. The only different regulation that novice drivers face is disqualification for a lower number of penalty points under the New Drivers Act 1995 (see Chapter 10).

Problems with the current system

22. The existing process of learning to drive was heavily criticised by many of our witnesses.[25] We heard that it encourages people to seek to pass the test in the minimum time possible, rather than learning to drive safely.[26] Research has identified that many people distinguish between learning to drive and learning to pass the test.[27] The Minister acknowledged that this was a problem.[28]

23. For many people, the cost of learning to drive is seen as a burden. A one-hour lesson with an approved driving instructor generally costs between £20 and £25.[29] The theory test fee is £21.50. The practical test fee is £48.50 on weekdays, and £58.50 on evenings and at weekends. For an average driver the cost of learning to pass and becoming qualified is therefore likely to be about £1,000.

24. Mr Lepine, of the Motor Schools Association of Great Britain, told us:

25. The fact that less than half the people taking the test pass it demonstrates the poor level of preparedness that the current system provides.[31] People obviously apply to take the test in advance of acquiring the necessary skills and experience to be able to drive consistently at the required standard. Research has shown that many successful driving test candidates are not consistently at the test standard.[32] It was suggested that a more structured approach to learning to drive would help raise the standard of test candidates, the pass rates and improve their safety once qualified. We were advised that there would be benefit in increasing the driving experience that learners have before they pass the test and are permitted to drive solo.[33]

The Second Review of the Road Safety Strategy

26. The Minister told us that he accepted that the existing training and testing regime was deficient. He said: "I entirely share the view that the way we teach people to drive and the way we test them […] needs to be fundamentally reformed."[34] The Second Review of the Government's Road Safety Strategy, Tomorrow's Roads: Safer for Everyone, was published on 26th February 2007, during the course of our inquiry.[35] The driver training and testing regime formed a central component of the Strategy Review, and the document proposed a systematic reform of the way people learn to drive. It states: "The time has come to reform fundamentally the way people learn to drive. We need to do more than tinker with the particular elements, we need to overhaul the current system for learning, including predriver education, testing and maintaining driving skills through life."[36]

27. The Review describes how the reform will be based on a new framework of competencies, which will underlie all the education, training, testing and lifelong learning initiatives. It outlines the following three elements of the framework:

a new competency and knowledge framework setting out what a candidate must know and be able to do;
a modern training syllabus setting out what a candidate needs to learn; and
a systematic set of assessment criteria setting out how the testing stage will establish that a candidate has covered the syllabus properly and can demonstrate the required level of competence.[37]

The Department states: "Our overall aim is a simple one: that anybody who prepares properly across the whole syllabus will expect to pass the test; and those who skimp or treat the test as a matter of luck will fail."[38]

28. We welcome the proposals set out in the Government's Second Review of the Road Safety Strategy, and the Department's intention to reform the driver training and testing framework.

Quality of driving instruction

29. A systematic reform of the training regime will require comprehensive re-training of Approved Driving Instructors. We received evidence that the quality of driving instruction was in some cases poor. We also heard that the method of training was outmoded. RoadSafe argued that, "The current system of driver education is based largely upon fault correction […] A move to a more educationally based approach is overdue."[39] More information on attitudes to driving can be found in the Chapter 5. The Department has suggested that the new framework will be built on a modern template, consistent with the vocational frameworks being established across the education system and in industry.[40]

CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

30. The Road Safety Act 2006 made provisions to improve the standard of instruction delivered by Approved Driving Instructors, including the introduction of mandatory quality assurance arrangements in those areas of driver training that are not currently regulated.[41] The Department has announced plans for the continuing professional development (CPD) of Approved Driving Instructors, and the DSA told us that it is working with industry partners to set up a CPD programme.

31. There is concern among an industry of self-employed instructors about who will cover the cost of the requirement to undergo ongoing training and development.[42] Mr Grigor, the Driving Examiners Branch Secretary of the PCS Union, explained: "getting independent contractors to undertake that kind of training when in reality there is not much of an incentive to do so is problematic."[43] The Department for Transport advised that the majority of instructors would "have to meet the costs of CPD as one of a number of business expenses."[44] Despite these concerns, the Motor Schools Association of Great Britain is in favour of compulsory continuing professional development for instructors.[45] Mr Lepine told us: "At the moment the industry is working with the Driving Standards Agency in order to put together a voluntary scheme which we very much hope Ministers will make compulsory in the very near future."[46]

32. There was also a suggestion that the entry requirements for driving instructors were too low.[47] RoadSafe suggested that the whole instruction industry should be more professionalised, with instructors having a greater understanding of the higher-level cognitive functions which underlie driving skills.[48] Representatives of the Under 17 Car Club suggested that there should be a shift in focus in the promotional material of driving schools. They suggested that the focus should be away from the test pass rate, which arguably further encourages instructors to "teach the test", towards an emphasis on collision involvement rates of former pupils in order to provide a better incentive to quality instruction.[49]

33. There is consensus that the process of learning to drive must be improved if casualties are to be cut; if such reforms are to be successful, it is paramount that the quality of driving instruction be significantly raised. In such a competitive commercial environment, it is unlikely that a voluntary continuous professional development scheme would be fully effective, and we therefore support a mandatory continuous professional development programme for all driving instructors. We recommend the Department, as part of its reform of the driver training and testing framework, to examine carefully ways of raising the entry requirements for registration as an Approved Driving Instructor.

Pass Plus

34. Pass Plus is a training scheme for newly-qualified drivers which was introduced in 1995. The training is available only within the first 12 months of passing the test. It consists of six practical modules which cover driving in town, in all weathers, on rural roads, at night, on dual carriageways and on motorways. There is no test at the end of it: instead driving is continually assessed by the instructor. Pupils must successfully complete all the modules in the course. The scheme is voluntary and approximately 13% of newly qualified drivers complete the course.[50]

35. Several witnesses indicated their support for this scheme and suggested that it helped reduce novice driver casualties.[51] Indeed, many insurance companies offer a discount on the cost of insurance for novice drivers who have successfully completed the course, assuming that their risks of collision are reduced.[52] However, emerging evidence from the Association of British Insurers shows that Pass Plus drivers have only a marginally lower collision rate than drivers who do not participate in the scheme.[53] Preliminary research commissioned by the Department and published in 2006 found that, after controlling for variables in background and psychological characteristics, there was "little or no difference between Pass Plus takers and non-takers in terms of their accident rates or their driving behaviour".[54] It is important that the Department for Transport properly and promptly evaluates measures such as Pass Plus following their implementation. The Department's full evaluation of Pass Plus is due in December 2007—12 years after the scheme's implementation. If the results from the Association of British Insurers' ten year study are accurate, it could be that novice drivers, and others, are being given a misleading picture of the safety benefits which accrue from undergoing this extra voluntary training.