DfT's Draft Road Safety Strategy Announced

29 April 2009

The DfT's draft road safety strategy for 2010-2020 - A Safer Way: Consultation on Making Britain's Roads the Safest in the World – has been published. Alongside the draft strategy, a programme of measures to reform the driver training and testing process are also published today in response to the Learning to Drive consultation conducted last year. Almost 7,000 people responded to the radical plans and the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) will now:

• Roll out a new voluntary pre-driver qualification in safe road use for 14-17-year-olds. Successful completion will provide a partial credit for the theory test, allowing learner car drivers to take an abridged test from October this year.
• Introduce case studies into the theory test to better assess whether learners have understood driving or riding theory, also from this October.
• Develop a new vocational qualification for van drivers, helping them to enhance the skills they need to drive for work.
• Improve the practical test by introducing an assessment of a candidate's ability to drive independently without detailed instructions from the examiner, as well as requiring the supervising driver to accompany the candidate during the test to help unsuccessful candidates understand feedback from examiners and help tailor further learning.
• Improve the content of the Pass Plus scheme to maximise both take up and the incentives offered by insurers to drivers who complete the scheme.
• Launch a trial of the new Learning to Drive syllabus, which sets out all the aspects of driving that are needed to be a safe driver.
• Bring forward proposals to modernise driver training including providing learners with more information to help them to choose an instructor.

Talking about the proposed reform of driver training and testing, Peter Huntington, Chief Executive, GoSkills said "Right from its early days, GoSkills has been convinced that driving skills should be taught at school and should be seen as the fourth basic skill. We have worked closely with the DSA and awarding bodies in order to promote a qualification in Scotland. We hope that the rest of the UK will follow soon. We are delighted by this policy amendment. It will save lives by improving driving standards and encourage young people to pursue careers in the Passenger Transport Sector."

The consultation on A Safer Way: Consultation on Making Britain's Roads the Safest in the World has commences and will close on 14th July 2009. To view it and submit your comments please visit www.dft.gov.uk/roadsafetyconsultation