Today is the 80th anniversary of the compulsory driving test.
The driving test became compulsory in the UK on 1 June 1935, although tests started being conducted on a voluntary basis a few months earlier and the first ‘pass’ was in March of that year. But, time hasn’t made it any easier to pass.
BSM, which launched in 1910, helped the government develop this first compulsory driving test and the examiners were initially drawn exclusively from BSM staff. Old video footage also gives an insight into early driving tests, like this one http://ow.ly/9YqG8 .
The pass rate for the test was 63% and around 246,000 candidates applied to take it. In the past year, 2014-15, government statistics show that 47% pass, 50.6% among males and 43.8% among females. There were 1,124,600 tests taken.
The first person to pass their test was a BSM pupil, Mr Ronald Beere, on 16 March 1935, before the test became compulsory and when candidates sat it voluntarily. Former Tory Peer Lord Renton was the oldest person to pass his test aged 94 and about 50 million driving tests have been taken, said the DVSA.
Edmund King, AA president, which owns BSM, said, “The introduction of the compulsory driving test on 1 June 1935 was a massive motoring milestone.
“For most people growing up, the great early achievements in life are learning to walk, talk, cycle, swim and drive. Learning to drive broadens our horizons and independence. Passing my test at 17 in a Hillman Avenger is still a vivid memory for me and was a catalyst for me to travel, explore and work abroad.”
He added, “The AA and BSM were both involved in those early days of motoring 80 years ago. BSM, which launched in 1910, helped the government develop this first compulsory driving test and the examiners were initially drawn exclusively from BSM staff.
“The first test cost just 7 shillings 6d and lasted only half an hour. The first person to pass their test was a BSM pupil, Mr Ronald Beere.
“The driving test has evolved a lot over the last 80 years and I am sure it will continue to do so. We salute the 80th anniversary of the driving test.”
Mark Peacock, head of BSM, went on, “We are very proud of our long history at BSM and our close association with the driving test. Today, we continue not only to teach people to drive but we also work with the DVSA and Department for Transport to update and improve the modern driving test.
“There are differences between the old test and the way we teach learners now. However, some of the basic manoeuvres remain the same.”
Pass on your test experiences
As part of the 80th anniversary celebrations, DVSA is hoping to collect anecdotes from a wide variety of people via social media about what passing the driving test meant to them. Individuals can share what it meant to them to pass their driving on Twitter or Facebook page with the #drivingtest80 on 1 June.
GEM has been taking a look at what’s required to gain a driver’s licence in other countries:
- Legislation introduced in Russia at the beginning of this year means transsexual and transgender people, fetishists, exhibitionists and voyeurs, as well as pathological gamblers and compulsive thieves no longer qualify for driving licences.
- In Brazil, you have to pass a psychological exam before obtaining a licence. Learners are also taught techniques for escaping from potentially life-threatening situations.
- Spain’s Highway Code is believed to be Europe’s most in-depth driving rule book, with three times as many rules as in the UK. However, the practical driving test is described as a ‘group excursion’. Spain has one of the highest road mortality rates in Europe.
- In China, you may be asked to explain to your examiner what to do if your car plunges into water.
- In Pakistan, the practical test involves one simple task: driving through a short course of cones. There is an 80% pass rate.
- Mexico has no test. Simply buy a licence for 626 pesos (£28).
- In Japan, you can fail your test if you do not bend low enough to check the underside of your car for concealed cats.
