Motorists Support Compulsory Driving Test Resit Every 5 Years
A recent survey shows that UK drivers back compulsory driving test resits every 5 years. Just how practical is the idea and will motorists have to pay to retake the practical driving test?
With 45 million licence holders in the UK, just how practical is it to retest every motorist, every 5 years? It seems outrageous, especially if you consider that there is a shortage of qualified driving examiners and a huge backlog of driving tests in the UK already.
Resits every 5 years would surely put a massive strain on an industry that’s already at breaking point. CEO of Red Driving School, Ian McIntosh, certainly supports this view. He said: “The idea of having to retest drivers every 5 years is somewhat impractical and ill-considered.”
“The current system would not be able to cope if this was made compulsory,” he added.
Driving Test Resit | Questions Unanswered
A driving test every 5 years would be challenging and leaves a lot of questions unanswered. For example, what would be the consequence of failing a 5 year retest? Would motorists who have been driving 20 years or more have their licence revoked?
Would a practical driving test resit require a motorist to redo the theory test? Would motorists be forced to pay for a test every 5 years?
While it’s admirable that motorists would be willing to resit a driving test every 5 years in the interests of road safety, the likely expense and inconvenience of having to do a driving test at 5 year intervals makes the idea highly impractical and would become frustrating.
Based on the average UK life expectancy, and the age at which people pass their test, it’s estimated that motorists would have to resit the practical driving test 12 times during their lifetime.
Driving Test Should Be Updated More Often
Following the launch of the new look driving test on 4 December, 2017, the survey found that motorists want the practical driving test to be updated more often. More than half said
the test should be regularly revised to factor in new automotive technologies and driving practices.
Meanwhile, drivers think that changes to the test should focus more on safety, including a better understanding of mobile phone laws and routine safety checks on things like tyres.
Safety expert at Continental Tyres, Mark Griffiths, said: “The findings are at odds with the confirmed changes to the driving test. Clearly people want safety prioritised – like knowing more about the legal use of mobile phones when driving as well as other issues around driving practice.”
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