You wouldnt
expect it but Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency figures reveal that
children as young as eight have been caught speeding by police in
Britain in the last two years.
A Freedom of Information request covering 2017 to the present,
unearthed that there were two instances where people aged eight were
found in cars or on motorbikes.
At the other end of the spectrum more than 900 people in their 90s
got penalty points for speeding (three of these incidents involving
people aged 99).
The DVLA did not provide information about the circumstances of the
driving offences, saying its role was to compile information provided by
the courts.
But its figures show more than one million speeding offences were recorded over the period concerned.
Nearly 1,400 offences related to people aged under 17, including one aged 11 and three aged 13.
The majority of speeders were people in their 40s, which is thought to include the largest age group of motorists.
The highest number of speeders were aged 46, amounting to 30,075 offences
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has confirmed that the driving test in England, Scotland and Wales will change from Monday 4 December 2017.
The changes are designed to make sure new drivers have the skills they’ll need to help them through a lifetime of safe driving.
The changes will only apply to car driving tests to begin with.
The 4 driving test changes
1. Independent driving part of the test will increase to 20 minutes
The independent driving part of the test currently lasts around 10 minutes. During this part of the test, you have to drive without turn-by-turn directions from the driving examiner.
This part of the test will be made longer, so it’ll last around 20 minutes - roughly half of the test.
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. You won’t need to set the route - the examiner will do this for you. So, it doesn’t matter what make or model of sat nav you practise with.
You can’t follow directions from your own sat nav during the test - you have to use the one supplied by the examiner.
You’ll be able to ask the examiner for confirmation of where you’re going if you’re not sure. It won’t matter if you go the wrong way unless you make a fault while doing it.
One in 5 driving tests won’t use a sat nav. You’ll 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 you should still be taught them by your instructor.
You’ll be asked to do one of 3 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 you which you have 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 you’re driving
The examiner will ask you 2 vehicle safety questions during your driving test - these are known as the ‘show me, tell me’ questions.
You’ll be asked the:
‘tell me’ question (where you explain how you’d carry out a safety task) at the start of your test, before you start driving
‘show me’ question (where you show how you’d carry out a safety task) while you’re driving - for example, showing how to wash the windscreen using the car controls and wipers
How the new test will work
This video shows how the test will work from 4 December 2017.
Who it affects
All car driving tests taken from 4 December 2017 will follow the new format. This includes if:
you fail a test before then, and retake your test from 4 December 2017
your test is cancelled or moved for any reason, and your new test date is from 4 December 2017
Your driving instructor should have been teaching you everything you
need to know to drive safely, so you shouldn’t need to worry about
learning anything new.
The pass mark is staying the same. So, you’ll pass your test if you make no more than 15 driving faults and
no serious or dangerous faults.
The examiner will still mark the test in the same way, and the same things will still count as faults.
The overall time of the driving test won’t change. It will still take around 40 minutes.
Road collisions are the biggest killer of young people. They account
for over a quarter of all deaths of those aged between 15 and 19.
DVSA wants to make sure that training and the driving test reduce the number of young people being killed in collisions.
These changes are being made because:
most fatal collisions happen on high-speed roads (not including
motorways) - changing the format of the test will allow more of these
types of roads to be included in driving test routes
52% of car drivers now have a sat nav - DVSA wants new drivers to be trained to use them safely
research has shown that new drivers find independent driving
training valuable - they can relate it to driving once they’ve passed
their test
Changes are supported by the public
The changes follow a:
public consultation that over 3,900 people took part in
trial of the changes involving over 4,300 learner drivers and over 860 driving instructors
88.2% agreed with increasing the length of the independent driving part of the test
70.8% agreed with asking candidates to follow directions from a sat nav
78.6% agreed with the plans to change how the reversing manoeuvres are tested
78.4% agreed with asking the ‘show me’ question while the candidate is driving
Helping you through a lifetime of safe driving
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.
DVSA Chief Executive, Gareth Llewellyn, said:
DVSA’s priority is to help you through a lifetime of safe driving.
Making sure the driving test better assesses a driver’s ability to
drive safely and independently is part of our strategy to help you stay
safe on Britain’s roads.
It’s vital that the driving test keeps up to
date with new vehicle technology and the areas where new drivers face
the greatest risk once they’ve passed their test.
More information
More information for driving instructors is being published on DVSA’s Despatch blog.
The maximum penalty for speeding is currently £1,000 but is set to rocket by a massive 150%.
From April 24 offenders can be charged up to 175% of their weekly income.
The change comes as the number of speeding offences has soared greatly by 44% in the last five years.
Harsher punishments have been put in place to ensure the fine matches “the seriousness of offending”.
The new system will see fines split into three categories.
Band A
Offences where motorists are clocked travelling up to 10mph over the stated speed limit. These people will be fined 25-75% of their earnings.
Band B
Drivers going 11mph to 21mph over the limit, will get a fine between 75 per cent and 125 per cent of weekly income
Band C
Those caught going 21mph and over. Maximum fine of up to 175% of your weekly wage
The Sentencing Council, which determines the punishments for UK
lawbreakers, said fines are being increased to ensure that there is a
“clear increase in penalty as the seriousness of offending increases”.
First time speeders can avoid the rising fines by taking a speed awareness course.
