UK Driving test: Learners must be able to use sat navs - Sensationalist Headlines

[url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39594852[/url] [QUOTE]Learner drivers will have to be able to follow directions from a sat nav and drive into a parking space to pass their test. Ministers have announced four changes to the current test which will come into force on 4 December. [...] Changing behaviours The Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), which is in charge of running driving tests and approving instructors, said it wanted the test to have "more real life scenarios" such as driving into and reversing out of a parking space. It said it wants the test to reflect the changing behaviours of drivers. Manoeuvres such as "reverse around a corner" will be replaced in the new test and examiners will test a driver's ability to use a sat nav as an alternative to following road signs. About half of all car drivers now have a sat nav and using them teaches drivers to better manage distractions, the DVSA said. The "show me" and "tell me" question at the beginning of the test will become a "show me" question while driving such as asking candidates to use the rear windscreen heater. The DVSA said increasing the time candidates had to do independent driving would allow the examiner to better assess the driver's ability to drive safely on high risk roads. Currently, learner drivers spend a large amount of test time on low risk roads such as housing estates. [/QUOTE]

Sounds dumb, some of this stuff. Learner drivers aren't always going to be able to answer questions and focus on driving at the same time.

sounds like the UK test is already much harder than what we have here but overall seems like a good idea, even people who don't use satnav should be able to deal with distractions like that and still drive confidently

[QUOTE=GordonZombie;52107954]Sounds dumb, some of this stuff. Learner drivers aren't always going to be able to answer questions and focus on driving at the same time.[/QUOTE] And yet they should. The first thing that will happen when that new driver gets hit permit, is that he will be in a car with somebody (friend or family) and they will chat. I don't want people who can't push a button or answer a question on the road. That's insane.

Replacing reverse around a corner with driving into spaces seems like a good idea. I got reversing around a corner on my test and have never done it since.

[QUOTE=Morgen;52108013]Replacing reverse around a corner with driving into spaces seems like a good idea. I got reversing around a corner on my test and have never done it since.[/QUOTE] I've never encountered a situation where I have needed to do that other than on the test.

[QUOTE=Morgen;52108013]Replacing reverse around a corner with driving into spaces seems like a good idea. I got reversing around a corner on my test and have never done it since.[/QUOTE] I had to do a reverse round a corner on a fairly steep hill. Ended up doing most of it in fourth gear and luckily the instructor didn't notice. Thanks gravity! :v:

[QUOTE=The Genie;52107938]Let's just hope it's not Apple maps. Satnav: turn left Driver: but we're on a bridge Instructor: do it[/QUOTE] Apple Maps has actually given me more accurate directions than Google Maps at times, at least in the UK. It's improved a lot since it was first introduced.

[QUOTE=djjkxbox;52108037]Apple Maps has actually given me more accurate directions than Google Maps at times, at least in the UK. It's improved a lot since it was first introduced.[/QUOTE] In 300 yards, turn right. Your destination is at the bottom of the pond.

Sounds reasonable, there's already a part of the test where they either give you a set of directions (eg 2nd left, next right, second right) to follow, or tell you to follow the road signs for a certain destination, following directions from a satnav is just another way of doing the same thing, and something you need to be able to do safely.

issuing motorway tests are far more important than this

[QUOTE=rampageturke 2;52108096]issuing motorway tests are far more important than this[/QUOTE] It's amazing how many people don't understand motorway lanes or basic driving courtesy. I'm convinced that some people genuinely believe the left-hand lane is reserved for lorries only and the middle lane is for pottering along at 50mph (and that randomly slamming on the brakes to check they still work is perfectly okay).

[QUOTE=djjkxbox;52108037]Apple Maps has actually given me more accurate directions than Google Maps at times, at least in the UK. It's improved a lot since it was first introduced.[/QUOTE] I've found Apple Maps to just be totally unable to cope with roads in Scotland. There is no ideal solution, but Google is definitely the best. Most of the routes it suggests to me make sense, and its even made me aware of some pretty dank shortcuts that I wasn't aware of before. [editline]15th April 2017[/editline] [QUOTE=Ishwoo;52108123]It's amazing how many people don't understand motorway lanes or basic driving courtesy. I'm convinced that some people genuinely believe the left-hand lane is reserved for lorries only and the middle lane is for pottering along at 50mph (and that randomly slamming on the brakes to check they still work is perfectly okay).[/QUOTE] Motorway driving would basically be impossible up my way, there are no motorways in Scotland until you get to Glasgow/Edinburgh and head south. I had to basically just use what I remembered from the theory test and apply it ad hoc when I first ventured onto a Motorway.

[QUOTE=Ishwoo;52108123]It's amazing how many people don't understand motorway lanes or basic driving courtesy. I'm convinced that some people genuinely believe the left-hand lane is reserved for lorries only and the middle lane is for pottering along at 50mph (and that randomly slamming on the brakes to check they still work is perfectly okay).[/QUOTE] I sometimes question why people start braking for no reason in an open road...

[QUOTE=Rocâ„¢;52108164]I sometimes question why people start braking for no reason in an open road...[/QUOTE] If it is wet and they've just been through a puddle of water, that's the only acceptable reason for people to be braking on an open road with no other hazards (vehicle ahead of them suddenly slowing down etc). Get the brakes dry whilst you're on a straight.

[QUOTE=Craigewan;52108190]If it is wet and they've just been through a puddle of water, that's the only acceptable reason for people to be braking on an open road with no other hazards (vehicle ahead of them suddenly slowing down etc). Get the brakes dry whilst you're on a straight.[/QUOTE] It makes no sense in the middle of a dry summer on a clear road though. I think it's when they look at the speedo and see they're doing 55 in a 70 and think SHIT BETTER SLOW DOWN and brake harshly down to 40, then accelerate back up to whatever speed they were intending to drive at. Either that or they actually feel the need to test their brakes every mile.

[QUOTE=GordonZombie;52107954]Sounds dumb, some of this stuff. Learner drivers aren't always going to be able to answer questions and focus on driving at the same time.[/QUOTE] If you genuinely can't handle doing your test and answering basic questions, you're not ready to pass and start driving. If you find it hard to focus on driving and answering questions without being a danger to other road users, you need more practice until you're comfortable enough to do both. This is pretty good, loads of people use SatNav these days, so learning to use it when someone experienced is there to make sure you don't goof up is a plus. [QUOTE=Morgen;52108013]Replacing reverse around a corner with driving into spaces seems like a good idea. I got reversing around a corner on my test and have never done it since.[/QUOTE] I've used reversing around corners a decent amount since passing. I normally prefer just doing a three point turn and coming out normally, but sometimes if you pull into a tight road with cars parked on both sides and someone blocking it, the only thing you can do is reverse around the corner to let them out. I'm glad I got taught it, cause otherwise it'd be daunting as fuck and most likely it'd cause loads of people to just sit there too scared to reverse around the corner. On the topic of driving in the UK, it disgusts me how many people don't understand how roundabouts work. I'll be pulling up to the roundabout and someone will be sitting there waiting to go, so it's their right of way. I'll come to a stop and then they [I]still[/I] stay sat there. 9 times out of 10 I'll just say fuck it and go since the amount of times I've waited and everyone just sits there for 30 seconds too scared or polite to know when to actually go. I passed my driving test with 1 minor :smug: Only reason I didn't pass with a perfect score is cause the instructor told me to go down a dead-end road leading off from a roundabout and said "Do a 3-point turn". The road was empty, there were no cars on it, no pedestrians. I didn't check my blind spots when doing it, RIP. If I'd have known you still have to check for blind spots when you know there's literally no one there, I wouldn't have goofed up. [QUOTE=Teddybeer;52108152]A decent instructor would be able to judge when and where to do it. I fondly remember the what if questions when we past some possible interesting situation.[/QUOTE] My examiner became so relaxed during my test when he realised I wasn't a shitter. At first he'd keep telling me to focus when I spoke, but then towards the end we were like two pals chatting about everything. Ended up talking about his kids and how his son is trying to get into medicine, good times. He even gave me a cheeky heads up at the end of the test by telling me the speed limit was 5mph on the road leading into the test centre, which is notorious for catching students out, so that was nice of him (even though I was on top of that shit) :cool:

They should also learn how to read a map to be honest, you can't rely on GPS and your phone for everything.

How about teaching them proper car control and proper road manners? Satnavs differ so much car-to-car(And not all cars have them, especially the older, cheaper ones learners tend to get) that it's pointless to have them on a curriculum. Doubly so when you have people who don't have the basic grasp of how to correct for various skids driving down the road having crashes they could avoid if they had been taught how to handle a slide. [QUOTE=Thomo_UK;52108321]They should also learn how to read a map to be honest, you can't rely on GPS and your phone for everything.[/QUOTE] I'm currently working with a Goodyear commercial tire joint, and I do road service calls. A lot of the time the drivers I'm having to find and rescue aren't at an address. I use Google Maps to find them all the time, by just reading the map itself and cross-referencing with the service ticket(just last week I had one guy who gave location as 'NB HWY109 between Red Rock Road and Old 109', and he was stopped on the shoulder by nothing but farmland for as far as the eye could see). Still a highly vital skill these days.

[QUOTE=The Genie;52107938]Let's just hope it's not Apple maps. Satnav: turn left Driver: but we're on a bridge Instructor: do it[/QUOTE] Exactly this is why it needs to be part of the test. We need to ensure we [B]don't[/B] let people whom will blindly follow satnav directions without doing some basic correlation with what's actually safe to do on the road.

[QUOTE=Craigewan;52108190]If it is wet and they've just been through a puddle of water, that's the only acceptable reason for people to be braking on an open road with no other hazards (vehicle ahead of them suddenly slowing down etc). Get the brakes dry whilst you're on a straight.[/QUOTE] 1: The brakes will air dry in a matter of seconds if any water does manage to find them from a puddle. 2: The only time I've ever found my brakes wet enough that I had to dry them off by riding them [i]was when I had taken my truck through standing water up to the floor pans[/i]. No puddle on the road is going to be deep enough to soak the brakes. If you do manage to hit standing water deep enough to do that you're either A: taking a shortcut through a creek like I was, or B: gonna be more concerned with getting your engine fixed after it swallows a few gallons of the stuff than you are drying the brakes off since most cars take their engine air in through vents in the lower portions of a front fender.

[QUOTE=Thomo_UK;52108321]They should also learn how to read a map to be honest, you can't rely on GPS and your phone for everything.[/QUOTE] The more shit you pack into the exam the less attention will individual factor receive. I would rather feel assured all the people on the road know how to use the satnav they will be using 99% of the time anyway rather than hope that maybe they understand a map.

[QUOTE=TestECull;52108338]1: The brakes will air dry in a matter of seconds if any water does manage to find them from a puddle. 2: The only time I've ever found my brakes wet enough that I had to dry them off by riding them [i]was when I had taken my truck through standing water up to the floor pans[/i]. No puddle on the road is going to be deep enough to soak the brakes. If you do manage to hit standing water deep enough to do that you're either A: taking a shortcut through a creek like I was, or B: gonna be more concerned with getting your engine fixed after it swallows a few gallons of the stuff than you are drying the brakes off since most cars take their engine air in through vents in the lower portions of a front fender.[/QUOTE] You don't have to deal with Scottish roads then, our rain means that you can have lots of standing water, which even if not particularly deep last for long enough that your brakes will get wet. Hell, I know of at least two B roads in my 'shire that have actual, honest-to-god fording points, where the tarmac drops down through a stream. And it's good practice to just make sure your brakes are dry afterwards anyway, which is why it is in the theory test and most instructors I've seen cover it. The precaution costs nothing.

Surprises me it's not been done before. Not sure if it's a mandatory part of the practical exam here in the Netherlands, but my instructor did have me park the car on a parking spot, and also had me reverse into a street a few times. As for using satnav, he did have me open the map on the infotainment system once to quickly check the upcoming road, but that's about it.

[QUOTE=Craigewan;52108371]You don't have to deal with Scottish roads then, our rain means that you can have lots of standing water, which even if not particularly deep last for long enough that your brakes will get wet.[/quote] Tennessee springtime ain't much different. We get waves of storm systems in that usually just dump rain on us for 2-3 days straight. These storms roll through roughly once a week until summer hits, at which point we get fuck all rain until november :v:. I live out in the sticks, too, and there's tons of places where the puddles get two or three inches deep, run along the right shoulder for quite a few carlengths. Even then I don't find my brakes getting wet. I 'spose if you have really small wheels and tires, stupidly short sidewalls and really open wheels, or perhaps missing dust shields, some water could get on the rotors. But it'd air-dry in a few seconds. [quote]Hell, I know of at least two B roads in my 'shire that have actual, honest-to-god fording points, where the tarmac drops down through a stream.[/QUOTE] The road I drive down every time I head into town has a spot where, for about 200 yards or so, it dips down and runs pretty much right down a riverbank. The river then dips down and crosses under the road. That stretch has flooded so often there's ancient warning signs alerting drivers to the fact that it might be as much as two feet deep there. [QUOTE=loopoo;52108212]If you genuinely can't handle doing your test and answering basic questions, you're not ready to pass and start driving. If you find it hard to focus on driving and answering questions without being a danger to other road users, you need more practice until you're comfortable enough to do both. This is pretty good, loads of people use SatNav these days, so learning to use it when someone experienced is there to make sure you don't goof up is a plus. I've used reversing around corners a decent amount since passing. I normally prefer just doing a three point turn and coming out normally, but sometimes if you pull into a tight road with cars parked on both sides and someone blocking it, the only thing you can do is reverse around the corner to let them out. I'm glad I got taught it, cause otherwise it'd be daunting as fuck and most likely it'd cause loads of people to just sit there too scared to reverse around the corner. On the topic of driving in the UK, it disgusts me how many people don't understand how roundabouts work. I'll be pulling up to the roundabout and someone will be sitting there waiting to go, so it's their right of way. I'll come to a stop and then they [I]still[/I] stay sat there. 9 times out of 10 I'll just say fuck it and go since the amount of times I've waited and everyone just sits there for 30 seconds too scared or polite to know when to actually go. I passed my driving test with 1 minor :smug: Only reason I didn't pass with a perfect score is cause the instructor told me to go down a dead-end road leading off from a roundabout and said "Do a 3-point turn". The road was empty, there were no cars on it, no pedestrians. I didn't check my blind spots when doing it, RIP. If I'd have known you still have to check for blind spots when you know there's literally no one there, I wouldn't have goofed up. My examiner became so relaxed during my test when he realised I wasn't a shitter. At first he'd keep telling me to focus when I spoke, but then towards the end we were like two pals chatting about everything. Ended up talking about his kids and how his son is trying to get into medicine, good times. He even gave me a cheeky heads up at the end of the test by telling me the speed limit was 5mph on the road leading into the test centre, which is notorious for catching students out, so that was nice of him (even though I was on top of that shit) :cool:[/QUOTE] I'm actually kinda jealous you guys get an actual road [i]test[/i]. The one I had to take consisted of pottering around a suburb for five minutes, then reversing into a parking space at the test station. That was it.

[QUOTE=Mr Kotov;52108032]I've never encountered a situation where I have needed to do that other than on the test.[/QUOTE] I often do this when I'm in a residential area (low traffic if any) when I'm parked near an intersection and don't wish to do a 3 point turn on a skinny street. example: [t]https://my.mixtape.moe/vlglpz.png[/t] Obviously I don't do this on blind turns or when there's traffic

[QUOTE=Amplar;52108426]I often do this when I'm in a residential area (low traffic if any) when I'm parked near an intersection and don't wish to do a 3 point turn on a skinny street. example: [t]https://my.mixtape.moe/vlglpz.png[/t] Obviously I don't do this on blind turns or when there's traffic[/QUOTE] Yep, which is exactly the circumstance that the manoeuvre is for. It is a useful thing to learn, I'm kinda surprised at how many people are saying they haven't used it. In residential areas I find that I do it more than 3-pointer due to cars parked along the street etc.

[QUOTE=TestECull;52108404]I'm actually kinda jealous you guys get an actual road [i]test[/i]. The one I had to take consisted of pottering around a suburb for five minutes, then reversing into a parking space at the test station. That was it.[/QUOTE] Depends where you live in the UK. If I took my test in my hometown, I'd be pottering around suburbs for about 30 mins. I took my test in Newcastle though, which is a pretty big city. They basically made me go around everywhere. Only place that is off-limits is the motorway. I think that's really weird. We're not allowed to drive on the motorway during our lessons or exam, but the second we pass the test, we can drive on the motorway with 0 experience.

[QUOTE=djjkxbox;52108037]Apple Maps has actually given me more accurate directions than Google Maps at times, at least in the UK. It's improved a lot since it was first introduced.[/QUOTE] Backing this up. When I delivered for dominos I'd use apple maps because it would tell you exactly where the house was whereas google would say I was outside said house when really it was 3 houses up or down

I'm sorry but Waze is the superior navigation app for driving.