An instructor in West Yorkshire has been revealed as the worst driving instructor in the country. The instructor has only achieved a 15 per cent pass rate over a three-year-period whilst one of her students failed the test a staggering 27 times. Only 26 of the learners out of the 169 she had prepared for test passed.

Three other instructors were also revealed as being ranked amongst Britain’s top 12 worst driving instructors.

According to a DSA spokesman, ‘the pass rate of a driving instructor is no reflection of their teaching standard. Instructors may not have trained the candidate but only presented them for the test. Others focus on training candidates who have difficulty in learning to drive.’

Another possible reason for the low pass rates of these particular instructors is the area in which they teach, as it had been revealed earlier that this particular region is home to the worst learner drivers in the UK perhaps due to its narrow rural roads, bad surfaces and busy junctions.

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Learners and new drivers would argue that the driving test is getting harder, but do experienced drivers agree? The number of first time passes is certainly dropping as is the number of young drivers, with many people leaving learning to drive until later on in life. A reason for this could be that the route to obtaining a full driver’s licence is getting harder.

Britannia looks at the history of the driving test in order to consider this question.

– Voluntary testing was introduced in March 1935 with a Mr J Beene being the first person to pass his driving test, at a cost of seven shillings and sixpence – £22 in today’s money. Compulsory testing began in June the same year. That year the pass rate stood at 63 per cent.

– In 1963, the voluntary register of approved driving instructors (ADIs) was set up meaning that in order to become an ADI, stringent written and practical test must be passed and in 1970, all instructors had to be officially registered.

– In 1975, the requirement of candidates to demonstrate arm signals was removed.

– From 1990, examiners were required to give candidates a brief explanation of faults committed during the test, plus advice on areas for improvement.

– The theory test was introduced in 1996 with the hazard perception test being introduced in 2002.

– Show me, tell me vehicle safety questions were added to the beginning of the practical test in 2003 and in 2010 independent driving became part of the test, with candidates having to drive for 10 minutes making their own decisions.

It is clear, therefore, that further assessments are now required of learners, but also both what is required of instructors and examiners has also developed as well perhaps allowing learners to become more and more prepared for their test in recent years.

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In recent years, the number of people who can honestly say they passed their driving test first time is decreasing.

Even more surprising is the reason why people fail their test:

The obvious answer may seem to be manoeuvres, complicated junctions, and difficult hill starts. But this is not the real answer – observation at junctions, use of mirrors and signals is in fact why most people who are test standard fail their practical test.

These aspects of driving are considered the simpler aspects of driving so why are they the most common reason for failing?

What is perhaps the main reason for this is nerves on the day of the test. Observation at junctions can be a difficult judgment to make but with the added pressure of a driving test, this can amount to a driving test fail.

The solution to this is to emphasise observation at junctions, use of mirrors and signals whilst learning to drive so that they become second nature to you and are less likely to be affected by nerves on the day.

In addition, these aspects of driving are often overlooked as most learners find features such as manoeuvres more difficult. In fact, observation constitutes the main part of the driving test and should be one focused on when learning by not only the instructor but the pupil as well.

Britannia’s advice for driving test success is to persevere if you fail your driving test; there are reports of some people even taking over 30 attempts to pass their practical test.

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Of course there is much focus on the standard of driving of novice and teenage drivers. However, is it more a question of learning by example? Learners must be at a certain standard to pass the driving test and indeed that standard is quite high with it becoming increasingly harder to pass first time round. The government are also considering proposals to change the programme of learning to driving by requiring learners to complete a year’s ‘learner stage’ involving a minimum of 100 hours of daytime driving and 20 hours of night-time driving.

But should the focus be on experienced drivers? Young drivers evidently learn by example and it has been suggested that bad habits can be picked up as a child by observing the way your parents drive. The prospect of bringing in medical assessments for elderly drivers has been considered but perhaps all experienced drivers should be subject to a full assessment including a review of their driving, a medical assessment and an eyesight test before their licence is renewed.

Do you agree that passing a driving test should entitle you to a licence until you are 70, or should all drivers be subject to frequent assessment? Let Britannia Driving School know your thoughts by clicking the comments link below:

The practical driving test is constantly critiqued and suggestions made on how to improve the way the test is conducted. One main suggestion is the emphasis placed on manoeuvres in the practical test.

The practical test currently consists of 35-40 minutes of driving including a 10 minute independent drive and one manoeuvre. There are currently growing concerns over the number of accidents involving new drivers and what can be done to prevent this.

One suggestion is that due to the structure of the practical test, much emphasis is placed when learning to drive on the manoeuvres since they are perceived as the most difficult aspect of driving. However, the time spent in perfecting the manoeuvres is perhaps better spent on providing the learner with great driving experience.

Since manoeuvres are not a factor in reducing the number of accidents on our roads, they should perhaps be signed off by the instructor whilst the practical test would merely focus on whether the learner would be a safe driver.

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