By Joe Jeffrey
Join us in raising a glass to toast the UK driving test (but not whilst behind the wheel), now in its 80th year
Driving licences – you’ve gotta love ’em. After all, where would we be without that trusty bit of green paper or photo ID? For many of us, the answer would certainly not be putting our feet up in our home from home on wheels and exploring the wonderfully illustrious landscape the good old United Kingdom duly provides.
It’s true to say you have to work to get your driving licence though – and that comes by way of the driving test, which this week celebrates its 80th anniversary. In order to mark this milestone, CaravanTimes has pieced together some interesting facts for you to enjoy.
The beginning
Despite the first driving licences being introduced in the UK in 1903, it took a further 32 years for the UK driving test to become compulsory. 246,000 candidates applied for a driving licence during the first year of compulsory testing, with a pass rate of 63 per cent. Fast-forward to present day and almost 1.5 million people took their test for the 2103/2014 period, with a 47.1 per cent pass rate – that’s a whopping 695,580 new road users in the UK which adds to a grand total of 27 million vehicles on the road today.
Bestseller
As bland as it may be to read, The Highway Code – which sells thousands upon thousands of copies each year – has yet to have left the UK Bestsellers list. Introduced in 1931, The Highway Code has served as a driver’s bible of dos and don’ts, aiding over a million prospective drivers each year and helping them to pass the rather-more less practical theory element of the driving test. The impact following the introduction of The Highway Code was rather palpable though; before it was introduced there were over 7,000 fatalities on the UK’s roads, despite there being just two million road users. Today, owing in part to the Code, that figure has been slashed to half, despite a stark increase in vehicles registered.
Driving School
Sick to your eyeteeth of reality show after reality show? Want to ban Big Brother and shove those celebs back into the jungle? Well, you’ve only got the driving test to blame. 1997’s Driving School was one of the first ‘fly-on-the-wall’ documentaries of its kind, opening the door to many more reality shows which followed. Concentrating on following learner drivers around the road networks of Bristol and Wales, the docusoap was broadcast on BBC1 for the first time in 1997 and proved to be a primetime hit, following learner drivers like the unforgettable Mauren Rees around, who is more known for running over her husband Dave’s foot than passing her test.
Increase in prices
The first driving test cost a measly 7/6d – in today’s money that’s 37.5p. Compared to today’s fee of £62 for the pleasure of sitting the driving test alone, as well as the £25 cost for sitting your theory test, we could be forgiven for thinking something doesn’t quite add up. However, it’s true to say that the theory test has been a welcome addition to many, with the hazard perception test proving beneficial in alerting less experienced drivers to dangers and distractions faced before they sit behind the wheel of a vehicle independently.
“Shaaaaaaaaronnn”
It may have taken just one single attempt to bite the head off of a bat during his infamous concert performance in 1982, but the Prince of Darkness was certainly no match for the driving test examiners that managed to fail him a grand total of 18 times – sometimes even before stepping foot inside the test car. The legendary Black Sabbath hellraiser certainly went to hell and back in his bid to secure a full driving licence, but finally managed to secure his licence to drive at the ripe age of 60.
