The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has confirmed that the driving test in England, Scotland and Wales will change from 4 December 2017.

The new driving test will include following directions from a sat nav and new reversing manoeuvers.

The four changes to the driving test are:

1. The independent driving part of the driving test will increase to 20 minutes
The independent driving part of the test currently lasts around 10 minutes but will be increased to around 20 minutes – roughly half of the driving test. During this part of the test, the learner driver will have to drive without turn-by-turn directions from the driving examiner.

2. Following directions from a sat nav
During the independent driving part of the test, most candidates will be asked to follow directions from a sat nav. The examiner will provide the sat nav and set it up. The candidate won’t need to set the route – the examiner will do this. One in 5 driving tests won’t use a sat nav. The learner driver will need to follow traffic signs instead.

3. Reversing manoeuvres will be changed
The ‘reverse around a corner’ and ‘turn-in-the-road’ manoeuvres will no longer be tested, but learner drivers should still be taught them by their driving instructor.

Candidates will be asked to do one of three possible reversing manoeuvres:

  • parallel park at the side of the road
  • park in a bay – either driving in and reversing out, or reversing in and driving out (the examiner will tell the candidate which to do)
  • pull up on the right-hand side of the road, reverse for 2 car lengths and rejoin the traffic

4. Answering a vehicle safety question while driving
The examiner will ask the learner driver two vehicle safety questions during the driving test – these are known as the ‘show me, tell me’ questions.

The pass mark for the driving test is staying the same, as is the length and cost of the test.

Transport Minister, Andrew Jones, said: “Our roads are among the safest in the world. However, road collisions are the biggest killer of young people.

“These changes will help us to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads and equip new drivers with the skill they need to use our roads safely.”

The DVSA video guide below shows how the test will work from 4 December 2017.

Read more about what will happen during the driving test from 4 December 2017.