DVSA have updated the guidance about the rules for cars used for driving tests on the GOV.UK website.
This guidance is mainly used by learner drivers who are planning to take the driving test in their own car. However, the rules also apply to the cars ADIs use when they are being used for a driving test.
Why the guidance has been updated
The guidance is updated from time to time to reflect the latest developments in vehicle technology, and to address questions we’re commonly asked.
The latest update clarifies that these features can be used during the driving test if they are fitted: • cruise control (including adaptive) • speed limiters • parking sensors and cameras • lane assist • blind spot monitoring • traffic sign recognition systems
The guidance also explains that self-parking and Tesla autopilot cannot be used during the driving test if they are fitted.
The guidance also now explains the rules for tinted windows and dual controls, as these are common queries we get.
The committee of Area 3 invite you to join us on the 7th of November between 6 & 8pm to our Area 3 London & South East Annual Conference.
This is a fantastic opportunity to connect with your peers and hear from our esteemed speakers: ● Mike Yeomans (Chairman) ● Peter Harvey MBE (Vice Chair) ● Tom Kwok (Area 3 Chairman)
In addition to the presentations, we will hold our Annual General Meeting (AGM), where you can learn about all the exciting developments happening at the association.
This meeting is not just about sharing insights—it’s an excellent chance for networking and collaboration with your fellow members.
To register, please clickhere and a joining link will be sent to you nearer the event.
Have you booked yet? It’s not too late to secure your place
MSA GB Scotland training event
Sunday 3rd November – Training & Update event open to all driver trainers in the Castlecary Hotel, Cumbernauld Glasgow. G68 0HD
The doors will be open from 08.45 for tea/coffee and pastries on arrival.
Steven Porter your area chairman will open the meeting at 09.30am
Speakers to include: Alan Gott from FBTC, with some helpful tips on your accounts Tommy Doyle a working ADI and hypnotist, to give you some ideas on helping pupils with nerves Kev & Tracey Field from Confident Drivers will talk about Drive Calm and 4 key factors to consider Peter Hearn - DVSA Area operations manager (North) Malcolm Smith – DVSA ADI Examiner on the enforcement team - Which will include a DVSA Q&A session Peter Harvey MBE - MSA GB Vice Chair will give an industry update
There will be the normal networking breaks in the morning & afternoon, with a two-course hot lunch.
It would be really good to see you there, the cost for this year £55
You need to book your place for this event by clicking on the link:clickhere or if you prefer to speak to a person: 01787221299
If you would prefer to pay on the door, please drop me an email clickhere and put for the attention of Peter, please do this ASAP, as numbers have to be given in advance for catering.
Have you booked yet? MSA GB East Coast training event
**Sunday 27th October – Training & Update event
this is now an online event
Proposed program
10.00 Opening by chairman Mike Yeomans 10.10 Driving cars in the future what will you need to change to teach drivers? 10.40 Confident drivers – Kev & Tracey Field 11.25 Comfort break – pastries & tea/coffee 11.55 Local DVSA staff member – Which will include a Q&A session 12.45 Peter Harvey MBE - MSA GB Vice Chair 13.15 AGM 13.30 approx. - close *You need to book your place for this event bookhere * A joining link will be sent to you before the event.
Tell DVSA what it’s like working as an ADI in 2024 There's still time for you to share your experience of working as an ADI. Thousands of other ADIs have already filled in the survey to share their experiences. It takes between 10 to 20 minutes to do - but the deadline is 11:59pm on Monday 30 September.
What's in the survey The survey includes questions to help DVSA and ADI associations understand more about: • the challenges you're facing • the support you get from DVSA • what it's like when you visit a DVSA test centre • your health and wellbeing
The survey does not ask for your name or ADI number - it’s completely anonymous. Individual responses will not be shared or published. How to take part The survey takes about 10 to 20 minutes to fill in. It closes at 11:59pm on 30 September 2024. By filling in the survey, you’ll be helping to give us the fullest picture of the driving instructor profession in Great Britain’s history.
What happens next DVSA will publish a summary of the survey results on GOV.UK and send you a link to view them later in the autumn. They will use the information you tell us to help us plan and improve our services for ADIs and learner drivers. DVSA would like to Thank you for your time – They know how busy you are.
DVSA are contacting all ORDIT (official register of driving instructor trainers) members past and present to find out what your current status is and if you plan to stay on the register or if you may look to re-join.
This is the start of our work to reinvigorate ORDIT and work out what level of support is needed to be able to restart the service to help other ADIs to be able to access the expertise you can offer.
You can find out more about the register on GOV.UK.clickhere
DVSA would like to thank you for your continued patience around ORDIT and we hope you will continue to support the scheme in the future. Tell us about your status If you have received this email, then you are either on the ORDIT register or have been in the past and we would like to know what you plan to do next.
It only takes a few minutes to complete and will give DVSA the insight needed to work out the next steps for the register.
The deadline to complete the form is 11:59pm on Sunday 6 October.
If you do not complete the form, DVSA will assume that you no longer want to be part of ORDIT. However, you can reapply in future if you change your mind.
Theory test booking service: Scheduled Maintenance
DVSA will be carrying out essential maintenance on the theory test service from Tuesday 10th September between 19:00 – 23:00. During the outage you won't be able to: • book a theory test • change or cancel a theory test The practical test booking service will not be affected by this. DVSA are sorry for any inconvenience this causes.
DVSA wanted to let you know about a free webinar for your pupils and their parents, friends and family, organised by Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership.
The session will focus on providing them with skills and knowledge to help them pass their test and make sure that new drivers stay safe on our increasingly busy roads.
DVSA will be inviting learner drivers with a driving test booked as well as those who have passed their driving test in the last six months at driving test centres in the local area. DVSA would greatly appreciate it if you could share this opportunity with your pupils and encourage them to attend. Book a free spot
To make it easy for your pupils to join, please ask them to visit the Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership website website where they can book their free place.
The webinar will take place online (on Teams) on Wednesday 25 September 25 from 7.00pm to 8.30pm
What’s on during the webinar The webinar will offer information and practical advice to your pupils to make them feel fully prepared for their driving tests. The webinar will feature updates on resources, safe practices, and expert tips that will not only support the journey to passing the theory or driving tests but also help stay safe and informed on the road.
Your pupils will also have the chance to ask the speakers questions during a dedicated question and answer session. The webinar will be recorded and will be made available to watch online following the session. We appreciate your support in encouraging your pupils and their friends and family to sign up to the free event.
Thank you for your ongoing commitment to helping create safe and confident drivers.
DVSA has commissioned research with Deaf BSL users about their experience preparing for and taking the driving theory test.
How your pupils can help
If you have Deaf BSL students who would like to be involved, please forward them this link to a video that explains their research and invites them to participate in a research interview.
The interview will be conducted over Microsoft Teams with the option of a BSL interpreter. It will last about 1 hour 10 minutes, with time for a break.
Participants will receive a £50 Love2shop voucher to thank them for their time.
How you can help
Although DVSA primarily want to speak to Deaf BSL users, they are also interested in the experience of the approved driving instructors who support them.
If you have any thoughts or insights into the BSL version of the theory test, please fill out this – short survey.
Thank you
DVSA will use this research to identify if they can make the BSL theory test fairer for candidates. Thank you for your support in letting your Deaf BSL students know about it.
If you would like further information please contact tayo.akinbolaji@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk or call on 07895 13349.
You may have already received this DVSA survey, however, don’t miss out on having your views heard by DVSA, just click on START below, you can do a few questions and save until later if you are short of time.
DVSA run their national survey to find out what it’s like working as an approved driving instructor (ADI) in Great Britain.
Last year, 5,795 ADIs shared their experiences. DVSA hope that even more of you will this year.
They usually carry out this survey in June, but it was rescheduled to start on Sunday 1 September 2024 this year due to the recent general election.
What's in the survey
The survey includes questions to help DVSA and ADI associations to understand more about:
your business - including things like lesson prices and the type of car you teach in
managing your business – including things like how many pupils you’re teaching and any challenges you’re facing
your work - including things like how satisfying you find the job
your skills and the resources available to you - including things like the support you get from DVSA
your continuing professional development
your health and wellbeing
The survey does not ask for your name or ADI number. It’s anonymous and individual responses will not be shared or published.
How to take part
The survey takes 10 to 20 minutes to fill in. It closes at 11:59pm on 30 September 2024.
By filling in the survey, you’ll be helping to give us the fullest picture of the driving instructor profession in Great Britain’s history.
They’ll publish a summary of the survey results on GOV.UK and send you a link to view them later in the summer. They'll use the information you tell them to help them plan and improve their services for ADIs and learner drivers.
Today (2 September) DVSA is publishing the updated guidance for the top 10 reasons why learner drivers fail their driving test in Great Britain.
DVSA encourage you to use these examples with your pupils to identify any specific skills or knowledge gaps they may have. By focusing on these areas during your lessons, you can better prepare them so that they are ready to pass.
• Review the updated list with your pupils to tailor their lessons around the areas they need to improve.
• Engage your learners in discussions about why these faults occur and the potential risks involved. This should help them to develop a deeper understanding of safe driving practices.
• Use real-life scenarios to practice and reinforce the correct behaviours, ensuring your pupils feel confident and prepared for their test.
Alongside this guidance, DVSA have got an upcoming webinar that will cover these top 10 fail reasons, along with other new resources to keep you informed and up-to-date. Details will be shared shortly, so stay tuned!
Thank you for your continued dedication to help your pupils become confident, safe, and responsible drivers.
MSA London & South East committee are proud to present Examiners Q&A
Speakers from DVSA: Peter Newell (DVSA ODM) Craig Buckwald, Sehnaz Erdogan, Dan Sullivan
Tom Kwok the area chairman will do a presentation on how we can deal with
Emergency Vehicles
Tue 17th Sept 2024 7:15pm
The meeting will be held in the Manor Drive Methodist Church Manor Drive Whetstone. London N20 0DZ
Entrance to this meeting is FREE to MSA members and £10 for non-members To book your place and for more information about MSA Contact: Tom Kwok on 07956269922 Email - clickhere
Some of DVSA online driver services will not be available tonight (Tuesday 13 August) from 6pm to midnight. This means you won't be able to book or change driving tests during this time. Theory test services will not be affected. DVSA are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
Due to Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) at Mitcham Driving Test Centre, the site will partially close on Monday 5 August 2024.
Mod 2 testing will move to a temporary location. Mod 1 testing will continue from the current location.
DVSA apologise for the inconvenience this may cause for some customers.
From Tuesday 6 August 2024, Mod 2 tests only will move to a temporary location: The Hilton Hotel, 101 Waddon Way, Purley Way, Croydon CR9 4HH View on map
Please let your pupils know DVSA have contacted candidates affected by this relocation. However, if you have booked a test on behalf of your pupil, please let them know about these changes. DVSA apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience and understanding.
Due to Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) at Lancing Driving Test Centre, the site will permanently close on Monday 5 August 2024.
For learner drivers and approved driving instructors (ADIs) visiting the site before this date, there will be no waiting room or toilet facilities available. Driving examiners will meet candidates at their vehicle.
DVSA apologise for the inconvenience this may cause for some customers.
Tests from 6 August From Tuesday 6 August 2024, the driving test centre will move permanently to Field Place.
Field Place The Boulevard Worthing
BN13 1NP
Please let your pupils know We have already contacted candidates affected by this relocation. However, if you have booked a test on behalf of your pupil, please let them know about these changes.
DVSA apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience and understanding.
Lancashire Police has two job opportunities in the Preston area. They want to employ two full time ADI’s. 37 hours per week. both on road and classroom training. Mostly for driver retraining.
Fully insured vehicles will be supplied.
If you would like further information, please contact: John.airey@lancashire.police.uk 07525 157574
DVSA are aware that planning permission has been granted to redevelop the building DVSA leases for Reading Driving Test Centre.
DVSA will keep you up to date on future plans. The lease at the current test centre runs until spring 2025 and in the meantime we are searching for a new site to serve Reading. We will announce the new test centre location when we can.
DVSA apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience and understanding.
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The temporary relocation of Paisley Driving Test Centre will end on Friday 5 July 2024. Testing will continue at the temporary location until then.
Testing will restart from 8 July 2024 from this address: 1 West Avenue Linwood Industrial Estate Paisley PA1 2 FB
Let your pupils know We have contacted candidates affected by this. However, if you have booked a test on behalf of your pupil, please let them know about these changes.
DVSA have contacted candidates affected by the reopening of the centre. However, if you have booked a test on behalf of your pupil, please let them know about these changes.
From 14 June DVSA will be asking for additional information when taking online payments. This is due to some payment providers asking for additional information to help tackle card fraud.
The additional information requested is the email address and telephone number associated with the card. This will affect anyone making a card payment via the online business service (OBS).
What to do if you have cards saved on OBS
To help speed up payments on OBS you may have saved your card details on the system. If you have, you will need to update the card details to add in the email address and telephone number before you can use the cards.
You can do this by selecting ‘account management’ on the menu, then selecting ‘payment methods’.
To update a card, you will need to enter all the card details, not just the new details.
Pwllheli Driving Test Centre will temporarily relocate between 6 June 2024 and 19 July 2024. If you have a test booked it will still go ahead at the date and time arranged, but will now take place at the temporary location.
DVSA have contacted all candidates affected by the change. The temporary move is to allow the refurbishment of the existing centre.
Maidstone Driving Test Centre will temporarily relocate between 31st May 2024 and 10th July 2024.
If you have a test booked it will still go ahead at the date and time arranged, but will now take place at the temporary location.
DVSA have contacted all candidates affected by the change. The temporary move is to allow the refurbishment of the existing centre.
The temporary test centre location is: YMCA Maidstone Melrose Close Cripple Street Maidstone ME15 6BD
Candidates should park in the allocated spaces in main car park to the right as they enter. They should meet examiners at the building entrance. There are toilet facilities and a café that accompanying drivers can use whilst they wait.
DVSA apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience and understanding.
While refurbishment works are being carried out at Pwllheli driving test centre (DTC) on Cardiff Road we will temporarily be operating out of Clwb Hwylio Pwllheli Sailing Club from Wednesday 15 May.
The address for the temporary centre is: Clwb Hwylio Pwllheli Sailing Club Glanydon Industrial Estate Pwllheli LL53 5YT
Please let your pupils know DVSA have contacted candidates affected by this temporary relocation. However, if you have booked a test on behalf of your pupil, please let them know about these changes. DVSA apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience and understanding.
The contact telephone numbers for more than 160 driving test centres (DTCs) have changed. The old numbers will no longer be active so please update your contact details.
DTC telephone numbers are given to candidates so they can contact their local driving test centre if there is bad weather on the day of their test.
A complete list of the new telephone numbers for each DTC is attached as a PDF
The contact numbers now display an 020 code, which will appear as a London number. However, you will be connected directly to your local DTC, as usual. The numbers are not routed through DVSA’s contact centre.
Let your pupils know
DVSA have contacted candidates who have a test booked to let them know the new number they should use in the event of bad weather.
If you have booked a test on behalf of your pupil, please let them know about the change in contact number.
Further changes
DVSA are investing in VOiP technology because it allows calls to be made using a broadband Internet connection instead of a regular landline.
DVSA are introducing this technology to all of DVSA’s driving test centres over the next few months. They will contact you to confirm additional new numbers in due course.
This will improve the quality of the calls to DVSA.
Due to the closure of St James Business Centre, Paisley driving test centre (DTC) will be temporarily operating from Glynhill Hotel while we seek a permanent location in Paisley.
All driving and ADI tests will transfer from Paisley DTC to Glynhill Hotel from Tuesday 7 May. The address for the temporary centre is: Glynhill Hotel 169 Paisley Road Paisley PA4 8XB
Parking When entering the hotel grounds turn right and park at the far end in front of the Barony Suite. Toilet facilities The hotel has confirmed they will provide seats and toilet facilities for candidates and accompanying drivers with the option of purchasing refreshments in the bar area.
Please let your pupils know DVSA have contacted candidates affected by this temporary relocation. However, if you have booked a test on behalf of your pupil, please let them know about these changes
Paisley test centre. This centre will be permanently closing from 7 May 2024.
All tests will therefore, now be conducted from the following temporary location:
Glynhill Hotel 169 Paisley Road Paisley PA4 8XB
The date and time of your test will not been affected by this change and candidates will receive an email to advise of this temporary location.
When entering the hotel grounds, you will need to turn right and park at the far end, in front of the Barony Suite and the examiner will meet you at your car.
The car park is solely for driving test appointments and NO practicing is permitted on the hotel grounds.
Sheffield Middlewood Road test centre temporary relocation
While refurbishment works are being carried out at Sheffield Middlewood Road driving test centre (DTC) DVSA will temporarily be operating out of Grenoside Community Centre from Thursday 2 May.
The address for the temporary centre is: Grenoside Community Centre Main Street Sheffield S35 8PR
Please let your pupils know DVSA have contacted candidates affected by this temporary relocation. However, if you have booked a test on behalf of your pupil, please let them know about these changes. DVSA apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience and understanding.
Since the waiting times for driving test have been high, we’ve seen a rise in the use of automated bots being used on the driving test booking service. This can result in the reselling of appointments, often at inflated prices. We published a blog about the work we were doing to tackle this from DVSA CEO, Loveday Ryder back in June 2023.
Since this, we’ve continued to work behind the scenes to find ways to disrupt the systems used to access the test bookings. We will be publishing a blog post in the future to explain more about this work. One thing we have been looking to do is make it more difficult for people to misuse the booking system.
Changes to swaps online
We know that the majority of approved driving instructors (ADIs) swap tests responsibly to ensure that their learners are only put forward for their test when they are ready.
However, we can see from our data that some businesses are swapping tests at a very high rate and outside normal levels (based on feedback from our recent booking behaviour ADI survey).
To ensure a level playing field for all customers, from today (25 April), we will start to limit the number of times a driving licence number can be used to swap a practical car test online. This will just be for car tests and will not affect motorcycle, theory or vocational tests.
Once a driving licence number has reached this limit for the number of swaps, it can only be swapped again by calling our customer service centre. A message will appear on the booking system if the limit is reached.
We know that from the recent ADI booking behaviour survey that 98% of ADIs who responded told us that they swap 5 or fewer tests a month. So we know that adding a limit will not affect the majority of ADIs who do swap tests.
Setting the limit
Confirming what the limit is set at would allow those people who are misusing the system to work around this change, so we are not sharing this information.
We will keep the limit under review and may change it depending on the effects we see from it being introduced.
While refurbishment works are being carried out at Rhyl driving test centre (DTC) on Victoria Road we will temporarily be operating out of Rhyl Football Club from Friday 28 June to Thursday 8 August. The address for the temporary centre is: Rhyl Football Club Grange Road Rhyl LL18 4BY
Please let your pupils know DVSA have contacted candidates affected by this temporary relocation. However, if you have booked a test on behalf of your pupil, please let them know about these changes.
Toilet facilities Please note there are no toilet facilities at the temporary DTC.
Parking The carpark is accessible from Grange Road, which will be for both entry and exit. There is no waiting room for the candidates, so they will be met by their examiner at their vehicles. DVSA apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience and understanding.
DVSA previously wrote to you about the relocation to the Norbreck Castle Hotel for all tests after the lease at Blackpool driving test centre (DTC) ended.
The relocation has now been extended until further notice and all car tests, ADI, and standard checks will continue to take place at the temporary location at Norbreck Castle Hotel until new accommodation has been secured.
The address for the temporary centre is: Lancastria Suite Rear of Norbreck Castle Hotel Queen’s Promenade Norbreck Blackpool FY2 9AA
Examiners will meet candidates at their cars at the time of the test. The car park must not be used for candidates to practise parking exercises.
Please let your pupils know DVSA have contacted candidates affected by this temporary relocation. However, if you have booked a test on behalf of your pupil, please let them know about these changes. Thank you
While refurbishment works are being carried out at Leicester Wigston driving test centre (DTC) on Tigers Road we will temporarily be operating out of Draper Commercial, Tigers Road from Monday 22 April to Friday 21 June.
The address for the temporary centre is: Draper Commercial Tigers Road Wigston Leicester LE18 4WS
Please let your pupils know DVSA have contacted candidates affected by this temporary relocation. However, if you have booked a test on behalf of your pupil, please let them know about these changes.
Toilet facilities Please note there are no toilet facilities at the temporary DTC.
Parking Draper Commercial has a one-way system in place, which you will need to adhere to. Candidates and examiners should park in the designated DVSA parking spaces only.
DVSA apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience and understanding.
The theory test booking service: Scheduled Maintenance DVSA will be carrying out essential maintenance on the theory test service from 18:00 & 21:00 Tuesday 16th April. During the outage you won't be able to:
book a theory test change or cancel a theory test The practical test booking service will not be affected by this.
At Castlecary Hotel, Castlecary Cumbernauld on 3rd November 2024 at 09:30
A full information packed day with a variety of speakers from across the profession, the Early Bird price is £50 including tea/coffee on arrival, morning coffee/tea a two course lunch with tea/coffee and afternoon tea break with all paperwork needed. to book Click Here
The Early Bird rate will end on 31st August, after that the cost will be £55
Speakers are being arranged and will be confirmed ASAP, please check back here and Newslink for further details or book now on 01787 221299
DVSA will be carrying out essential maintenance on the theory test service from Sunday 14th April between 06:00 and 17:00. During the outage you won't be able to: • book a theory test • change or cancel a theory test The practical test booking service will not be affected by this. DVSA are sorry for any inconvenience this causes.
The meeting was held on the Teams platform and was attended by senior members from DVSA and all NASP representatives.
Review of actions from last meeting
• Various action points were discussed and updated, further details below.
Driver Recovery
DVSA reported:
• Nearing end of 6 months recovery period. Some warrant holders will be returning to normal duties after end of March • National average waiting times L tests - 16.1 weeks through February • North recovering more quickly than the south • Scotland, NE England down to Lincolnshire - 12.5 weeks • London & SE England - 21-22 weeks • NW England Manchester, Wales, Gloucestershire and Staffordshire - 15 weeks • Nottingham, M1, Oxford, Cambridge, Norfolk to Penzance - 19 weeks • High demand in M1 corridor area into SE England • Actively seeking volunteers to move from low wait centres to high wait areas • Forward bookings have fallen to 507,293, with a sustained dropping off for bookings since October. These have been continually falling each month • Panic buying not fully over but customer behaviour is starting to change • 127,000 available tests in system to book • Union discussions will be shared with NASP at a later date • 33,000 tests per week in July 2023. Currently 44,000 tests per week • 2 million tests forecasted for the year - record high • There will be no need to provide additional services through the spring (when bookings are generally higher) • Recruitment – 170 available posts - proportionally in line with recovery and will be posted where they are most needed. Response has been positive. • Industrial action was suspended. Hoping to officially end the dispute so as not to jeopardise the future after March • Comms for ADIs – DVSA to share information about waiting times and next steps
ADI Registrar
• Volumes of new applications are not reducing. Over 100% more applications than previously - now 41,000 on the register with 4,000 trainee licence holders. Still receiving around 700 applications per month for trainee licences - previously 250 per month. This has been challenging, with no let-up for 18 months. • February 2024 - 1675 new ADI qualifications and 722 trainee licences. • Part 3 tests – candidates have the right to complain or to go to the magistrates’ court if unhappy with the conduct of the test. Most are dealt with and rectified internally. - Recent case went to court - DVSA won and PDI had judgment of costs against them. There was a recommendation to review the wording of part 3 test information - adding “approximately” before “40 minutes on the road” to manage expectations • NASP asked about the re-wording for Part 2 and 3 candidates’ results emails. This will need to be reviewed by the examiner team - most of whom are out testing full time • NASP asked whether there are any increases or trends regarding complaints or removals. DVSA said slight increase in complaints (including about PDIs), and more appeals, but partly to be expected with more people on the register • Lot of 2nd trainee licences being issued and an upsurge of appeals against refusal of 3rd trainee licences • DVSA always looks at test records so will know if trainees have cancelled more than once. Reasons for cancellation will be assessed on case-by-case basis. If DVSA cancels tests, the agency will consider 3rd licence. • NASP asked whether a 2nd licence will be issued if trainees have complied. DVSA agreed this was the case, but if they don’t comply, they are unlikely to get a 2nd – eg not providing the 21AT. • ORDIT – currently no plan. The team will identify those waiting for renewal and those waiting to join. The team can then decide the amount of resources needed. • NASP asked whether those waiting to get in would get priority. The wording from ADI examiners seems to suggest trainees failing part 3, should find an ORDIT trainer was unfair to those who have been unable to get in. DVSA agreed that was a fair challenge and would take it away to consider.
ADI Examiner Update
• 5,727 part 2s from September 2023 – February 2024 - record number. Previously were 500 a month. Currently delivering to capacity at 3 times the normal. • 4,637 part 3s • 863 SCs - all fallen into TIPs, newly qualified and those who had failed a SC. SC numbers reduced to give input for 2s and 3s. • 6-week course starting on 8 April for 6 new examiners. There will be 9 examiners within 3 months giving an extra 150 tests per week • Resources will be focussed on 2s and 3s and then SCs, focusing on areas with highest needs • NASP asked if people are booking early because of lack of tests. This is happening and means they will cancel tests, which will have detrimental effect on whether they get more than one trainee licence and take slots away from those who are ready. • NASP suggested it’s happening because people are scared their 2 years will run out and asked if there are messages for trainees. DVSA replied, making sure they are prepared is the best message. • NASP said if a trainee is on “Book to Hold” they can take part 3 if theory is running out, but they can’t have more than one test booked at a time. • DVSA stated, the window is still 12 weeks and priority will be given to those with part 1 expiring, as well as those who came on the list first. Some test centres have different needs. If the demand for 2s and 3s is lower there will be more SCs. • NASP asked for an update in relation to Ready2Pass regarding trainees. DVSA stated work had been started on this, however is currently paused.
Ready2Pass? and communications
• Supporting messages and PDI guidance is now being issued on a weekly basis
• NASP queried ADI qualification test results emails update, it was explained that these will be reviewed once warrant card holders return from testing. • Information on waiting times and next steps will be sent out this week • R2P for learners – paid for time now live on social media. • NASP suggested including DVSA in Milestones project
Policy update
• Driver policy team is currently focusing on driver policy priorities and has started designing a long-term recovery roadmap
NASP
• Gave an update on the Milestones project and that they have started an ADI recruitment process. This is not a DIA project to benefit DIA, but to benefit young drivers by pupil engagement and sustaining them through the trial. There had been a good response so far.
Motorists are now able to complete the 10-year renewal of their driving licence and apply for a first provisional licence through the Driver and vehicles account.
Along with the current features, such as opting to receive vehicle tax reminders by text or email, account holders will now be able to renew their photocard driving licence, track their application and see details of their new driving licence once issued.
First provisional drivers with an account will also be able to view their provisional driving licence and add a vehicle registered in their name.
These additional services come after it was announced last October that commercial drivers can now view their Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) and tachograph information through the account.
Darlington light goods vehicle (LGV) test centre, which currently operates out of Mowden Rugby Club, is moving to Banks Road, Darlington until further notice.
The address for the LGV test centre is: Darlington LGV Driving Test Centre Darlington LGV Banks Road Darlington DL1 1YE
Please let your pupils know DVSA have contacted candidates affected by this temporary relocation. However, if you have booked a test on behalf of your pupil, please let them know about these changes. DVSA apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience and understanding.
While refurbishment works are being carried out at Skegness driving test centre (DTC) on Heath Road DVSA will temporarily be operating out of Vertigo Stadium, Wainfleet Road from Monday 8 April to Friday June 28. The address for the temporary centre is: Vertigo Stadium Wainfleet Road Skegness Lincolnshire PE25 2EL
Please let your pupils know DVSA have contacted candidates affected by this temporary relocation. However, if you have booked a test on behalf of your pupil, please let them know about these changes. Thank you
*Monmouth test centre * temporary relocation extended While road works are being carried out at Monmouth driving test centre (DTC) on Old Dixton Road we will continue to operate from a temporary DTC at Sigeric until Friday 9 August.
DVSA will continue to temporarily operate out of Sigeric, Singleton Court Business Park until then.
The address for the temporary centre is:
Sigeric Ltd Singleton Court Business Park Monmouth NP25 5JA
View on a map
Let your pupils know
We have contacted candidates affected by this temporary relocation. However, if you have booked a test on behalf of your pupil, please let them know about these changes.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience and understanding.
DVSA UPDATE: Paisley driving test centre temporary relocation
Due to the closure of St James Business Centre, Paisley driving test centre (DTC) will be temporarily operating from Glasgow Shieldhall DTC while we seek a permanent location in Paisley.
All driving and ADI tests will transfer from Paisley DTC to Glasgow Shieldhall DTC from Thursday 4 April to Friday 3 May.
DVSA have contacted candidates affected by this temporary relocation. However, if you have booked a test on behalf of your pupil, please let them know about these changes.
This app will help you keep up to date with all the latest road and traffic signs to keep you safe on the road and pass your theory test.
Know Your Traffic Signs is one of the essential source materials for all UK theory tests. This includes car, motorcycle, lorry, bus and coach, and approved driving instructors (ADI). Featuring over 1000 signs, markings and road layouts, this app is vital for learner drivers and riders, everyone who drives for work, approved driving instructors (ADIs) and trainers.
On 26 March 2024 the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) wrote to DVSA to confirm that its members have accepted the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with DVSA and that it has resolved the trade dispute over the measures to reduce the car driving test waiting times. PCS consulted its DVSA members at the start of March on the MOU which detailed the measures put forward from DVSA to resolve the issues raised. These include members’ safety, terms and conditions and the standards of safety that driving tests require. PCS members voted to accept the offers made by DVSA in the MOU. We are pleased that the ongoing talks between DVSA and the PCS union have been successful and welcome the news that the dispute over measures to reduce the driving test waiting times has been resolved. We continue to work hard to reduce driving test waiting times through ongoing measures and the Ready the Pass? campaign. Colleagues across DVSA are working extremely hard to reduce waiting times and industrial action would have had an impact on this work. We remain immensely grateful for their continued efforts to bring waiting times down.
Due to urgent building work at St Albans driving test centre (DTC) all driving and ADI tests will conducted from Regus, Victoria Square from Tuesday 26 March to Tuesday 30 April. Candidates can park on site and meet their examiner at their car. The address for the temporary centre is: Regus 2 Victoria Square Fountain Court St Albans AL1 3TF
Toilet facilities Please note there are no toilet facilities at Regus. The nearest public convenience is at Bricket Road. Please let your pupils know DVSA have contacted candidates affected by this temporary relocation. However, if you have booked a test on behalf of your pupil, please let them know about these changes. Thank you
DVSA wrote to you last year about our decision to ask more qualified DVSA warrant card holders to test full time, to help reduce driving test waiting times. With the end of March only a few weeks away, DVSA has plans in place for the next steps.
From 1 April the additional qualified warrant card holders will be returning to their normal duties. They have also asked them to spend a small portion of their time doing car tests in the coming months to help continue to reduce driving test waiting times. They will update you with more details on this when they can.
This measure was never intended to be sustained on a long-term basis due to the potential impact that would have on the other statutory services DVSA offers.
Asking warrant card holders to resume their normal duties and test for a portion of their time will allow DVSA to return to delivering service levels for other statutory services it provides, whilst still working to reduce the driving test waiting time.
Working towards targets
To date, this measure has created 125,284 additional tests towards the target of 150,000 and has helped reduce the waiting time from its peak in August 2023 of 20.6 weeks to an average of 16.1 weeks in February 2024. This is a move in the right direction but there is still more work to be done.
As well as asking qualified warrant card holders to continue testing for a period of their time until the end of September, they are also:
• continuing to ask driving examiners from areas with lower waiting times to travel and test in centres with longer waiting times. • recruiting over 160 driving examiners in the areas where waiting times are highest. • continue to offer driving tests during weekends and bank holidays • raising awareness of the Ready to Pass? campaign to learner drivers, their friends and family and ADIs through the recently launched paid for social media activity
The long driving test waiting times have reduced confidence in being able to get a driving test, and this has changed the way that tests are booked. DVSA are now seeing tests being booked much earlier in the learning to drive process, which is affecting waiting times. They are running a number of surveys to gather insight to see what they can do to try to change this behaviour.
Returning to usual jobs
Asking so many trained colleagues to test full-time was not meant to be sustainable long term. as asking them to do so beyond 6 months would potentially impact the day-to-day work they do to improve road safety.
Asking them to go back to their usual jobs and continue to spend a portion of their time testing will allow them to return to their vital work. This includes:
• restarting the policy initiatives across vehicle safety, enforcement and driver and rider testing which have been on hold • doing more ADI part 2 and 3 tests to increase the number of ADIs available to learner drivers • restarting our full programme of ADI engagement calls and standards checks, and returning to normal levels of CBT and vocational trainer compliance and enforcement visits
All of these will start to increase from 1 April, but it will take a few weeks for things to get back to normal – so please bear with them.
Coventry test centre temporary relocation extended Refurbishment work being carried out at Coventry driving test centre (DTC) on Bayton Road has been extended to Friday 3 May. DVSA will continue to temporarily operate out of Warwick DTC until then.
The address for the temporary centre is: Ground Floor Wedgnock House Wedgnock Lane Warwick CV34 5AP
Please let your pupils know DVSA have contacted candidates affected by this temporary relocation. However, if you have booked a test on behalf of your pupil, please let them know about these changes.
DVSA apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience and understanding.
Refurbishment work being carried out at Nuneaton driving test centre (DTC) on Vernons Lane has been extended to Friday 8 March . DVSA will continue to operate out of Coventry Driving Test Centre on the Bayton Road industrial Estate until then. The address for the temporary centre is: Coventry Driving Test Centre Bayton Road industrial Estate 42 Baton road Coventry CV7 9EJ Please let your pupils know DVSA have contacted candidates affected by the extension of this temporary relocation. However, if you have booked a test on behalf of your pupil, please let them know about these changes. DVSA apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience and understanding.
Refurbishment work being carried out at Monmouth driving test centre (DTC) on Old Dixton Road has been extended to Wednesday 10 April DVSA will continue to temporarily operate out of Sigeric, Singleton Court Business Park until then. The address for the temporary centre is: Sigeric Ltd Singleton Court Business Park Monmouth NP25 5JA Let your pupils know DVSA have contacted candidates affected by this temporary relocation. However, if you have booked a test on behalf of your pupil, please let them know about these changes. DVSA apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience and understanding.
Starting from this week, learner drivers and parents will start to see paid-for ads again across social media and on selected websites, encouraging them to visit the ‘Ready to Pass?’ website. This includes
• adverts that appear on other relevant websites that learner drivers and their parents and guardians use • adverts on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Reddit
DVSA will also be trialling the use of sponsored search results in Google.
What are search adverts?
Search adverts target people searching for terms related to the driving test. Depending on the things they search for, they will see different adverts that will direct them to different parts of the campaign website.
This will give us the opportunity to get the campaign message in front of people who are searching for:
• earlier driving test • driving test cancellations • faster driving test
DVSA will monitor the effectiveness of these adverts to make sure they are working and use this insight to inform future paid for activity.
Ready to Pass? learning bundles
To support the campaign DVSA are creating some bundles of learning resources for you to use with your pupils, which include:
• Driving the Essential Skills • Learning to Drive • Know your Traffic Signs • The Highway Code • Practical teaching for driving instructors • Theory Test flash cards
This bundle will be available on the Safe Driving for Life website shortly and will save you 35% compared to buying the resources individually.
There will also be bundles for learner drivers and their family and friends which will be available at the same time. We will let you know when they are available.
The contact telephone number for Clacton-on-Sea driving test centre (DTC) has changed
The old number will no longer be active so please update your contact details. The DTC telephone number is given to candidates so they can contact their local driving test centre if there is bad weather on the day of their test. The new telephone number for Clacton-on-Sea DTC is: 020 44570 2700
The new contact number has an 020 code, which will appear as a London number. However, you will be connected directly to your local DTC, as usual. The new number is not routed through DVSA’s contact centre.
Please let your pupils know We have contacted candidates who have a test booked at Kirkcaldy DTC to let them know the new number they should use in the event of bad weather. If you have booked a test on behalf of your pupil, please let them know about the change in contact number.
Further changes DVSA are investing in VOiP technology because it allows calls to be made using a broadband Internet connection instead of a regular landline. We are introducing this technology to all of DVSA’s driving test centres over the next few months. We will contact you to confirm additional new numbers in due course. This will improve the quality of the calls to DVSA.
Due to health and safety issues at Stirling driving test centre (DTC) it has been necessary to temporarily close the facility to protect our colleagues and candidates. As a result all car driving and motorcycle module 2 tests will be conducted from Grangemouth DTC until further notice.
The address for the temporary centre is: Grangemouth DTC Unit 7 Grangemouth Business Centre 3 Roseland Hall Grangemouth FK8 2HF
Please let your pupils know We have contacted candidates affected by this temporary relocation. However, if you have booked a test on behalf of your pupil, please let them know about these changes. DVSA apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience and understanding.
New telephone number for Kirkaldy driving test centre
The contact telephone number for Kirkcaldy driving test centre (DTC) has changed. The old number will no longer be active so please update your contact details.
The DTC telephone number is given to candidates so they can contact their local driving test centre if there is bad weather on the day of their test. The new telephone number for Kirkcaldy DTC is: 020 4570 2724
The new number is not routed through DVSA’s contact centre. The new contact number has an 020 code, which will appear as a London number. However, you will be connected directly to your local DTC, as usual. Let your pupils know We have contacted candidates who have a test booked at Kirkcaldy DTC to let them know the new number they should use in the event of bad weather. If you have booked a test on behalf of your pupil, please let them know about the change in contact number. Further changes DVSA are investing in VOiP technology because it allows calls to be made using a broadband Internet connection instead of a regular landline. We are introducing this technology to all of DVSA’s driving test centres over the next few months. We will contact you to confirm additional new numbers in due course. This will improve the quality of the calls to DVSA.
Nick Taylor the Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors will attend the MSA GB national training day on the 23rd March in Telford to update attendees with the changes we can expect in the future and will have plenty of time to answer your questions.
If you haven't booked yet, its not to late, for further information and to book at the early bird rate clickhere
The Official DVSA Theory Test for Car Drivers Book is reduced to ONLY £9.99! (RRP: £18.99) Use code SDFL at the checkout to grab it for only £9.99!
This is the perfect resource for those preparing to pass their car theory test. Buy and re-sell to your students or share the offer before it’s too late!
Prepare to pass the multiple-choice section of your car theory test the first time with the number-one best-selling theory test book - the ONLY official expert revision guide. It includes ALL the official DVSA car theory test revision questions and exclusive study content to help you pass your driving theory test first time.
The survey will be open until 11:59pm on 14 March 2024 and should only take about 10 minutes to complete.
What the survey is for
The long driving test waiting times have reduced learner drivers' confidence in getting a driving test and has changed the way they book tests. As waiting times reduce, will booking behaviour return to normal or has it changed for good?
To help DVSA better understand this they’ve been asking learners some questions about their booking behaviour in our customer satisfaction survey – this is sent to them with their test results. They are monitoring this behaviour and will share the findings with you in a future blog post.
To help them get a more rounded understanding on this topic, they want to get your views on your pupils booking behaviour and how you and others are supporting and influencing them with this.
They also want to get your views on whether they could make any interventions to encourage.
Making the booking system fair and accessible
DVSA will also ask questions about how fair and accessible the booking system and process is currently, and what they could do to improve this in the future.
They know that the long driving test waiting times have had an impact on your views, on the fairness and accessibility of the booking system and the measures they have in place to address this. So when answering these questions, please focus on the others things they could do to make it more fair accessible.
Report misuse of the system
DVSA know that there are reports of people and businesses misusing the booking service which could also be contributing to reducing confidence in the system.
You can report cases where you think the terms and conditions of the booking service are being broken by emailing obsabuse@dvsa.gov.uk.
You will need to give the name of the business or individual and evidence that supports the claim. They will look in to the evidence you supply and not share your name or details as part of the investigation. If the investigation is taken further, there is a risk you could be unintentionally identified based on your evidence.
A fuel card from MSA GB, partner Fuel Card Services can provide huge benefits to businesses that use vehicles on a daily basis:
• Cutting fuel costs - save up to 10p per litre and get a consistent price • Increased security - fuel cards are a safer alternative to carrying cash and eliminate fraud • Streamline admin - HMRC compliant invoices, no receipts, one neat invoice and a dedicated account manager • Tighter control of business expenses - view transactions and reports online 24/7 • Increased flexibility for refuelling across a huge network • Fleet convenience - a quick and convenient way for fleets to refuel
There are a range of fuel cards available on the market and for your business to truly benefit from investing in fuel cards, you need to choose the right one for your businesses requirements.
Fuel Card Services offers a large choice of networks from leading brands, such as BP, Shell, Esso and UK Fuels so you can decide which networks you wish to include on your business account.
Fuel Card Services and MSA GB are helping to deliver cost savings to members throughout the country.
As an MSA GB member you can start saving now by contacting our partnership executive Ryan Grant. Telephone: 01227 284342 Email: rgrant or by visiting www.fuelcardservices.com/MSAGB
The winners of the Intelligent Instructor Awards 2024: have been revealed, they include, those nominated in the driver training industry, spanning instructors, driving schools, and suppliers to the industry. The Intelligent Instructor Awards in association with AcciDON’T Driving School received over 8,000 public votes this year from driving instructors! The public ranking was combined with the independent judging panel’s ranking, to determine the worthy winners.
MSA GB offer their congratulations to:
• Driving Instructor Insurer of the Year – Adrian Flux Insurance Services • Product of the Year– Driving Theory Test 4 in 1 Kit • Training Provider of the Year – RED Driver Training • Professional Support Provider of the Year – MyDriveTime • Car Supplier of the Year – Dualdrive • Driving Instructor Car of the Year – Toyota Yaris • Local Driving Instructor Association of the Year – Wirral Association of Professional Driving Instructors • Community Champion of the Year – SmartLearner Driving School • Green Driving School of the Year – Vicky’s Driving Tuition • Regional Driving School of the Year – Lesson Plus Driving School • National Driving School of the Year – Bill Plant Driving School • National Driving Instructor of the Year – Peter Skelton • Services to the Driver Training Industry Award – Louise Walsh.
As a driving instructor trainer, you know just how important it is for your trainees to learn and understand the rules of the road and instructional theory.
Now it’s easier than ever to help them learn.
Licences to learn. Discounted.
As an official register of driving instructor training (ORDIT) trainer, you can now bulk buy licences for official DVSA ADI part 1 test e-learning.
You can then give your trainees access to:
exclusive study content
all official DVSA theory test revision questions
130 interactive hazard perception clips
a measure of theory test readiness
timed mock theory tests
Because you’re buying in bulk, you’ll make savings compared to buying individual licences. And until 31 March 2024, TSO is offering 50% off the normal bulk-buy prices.
Helping you. Helping your trainees.
✔ Advertise that you provide official DVSA e-learning.
✔ Monitor trainees’ progress and mock theory test results in your account overview.
✔ Help your trainees with the areas you can see they’re struggling with.
✔ Charge your trainees for access.
✔ Your trainees make a saving compared with buying directly from us.
They learn. You earn.
Because you can charge your trainees for access, you can earn while helping them learn.
Example
Your trainees would normally pay £20 each for a 30-day licence when buying direct from TSO. However, you pay just £9 per licence (if you buy 26 to 50 licences).
You decide to charge each trainee £18 for access. This means:
your trainees save £2 each (10%) on the usual price
you make £9 on each licence to cover your time assigning it and monitoring your trainee's progress
This is just one example of how you could do it. You can choose the model that works best for your business.
If you’re self-employed, you can claim allowable business expenses for any licences you buy.
Get started today
Find out more about this service and apply for access.
As an approved driving instructor (ADI), you know just how important it is for your pupils to learn and understand the rules of the road.
Now it’s easier than ever to help them learn driving theory.
Licences to learn. Discounted.
As an independent ADI or driving school, you can now bulk buy licences for official DVSA car driving e-learning.
You can then give your pupils access to:
exclusive study content
all official DVSA theory test revision questions
130 interactive hazard perception clips
a measure of theory test readiness
timed mock theory tests
Because you’re buying in bulk, you’ll make savings compared to buying individual licences. And until 31 March 2024, TSO is offering 50% off the normal bulk-buy prices.
Helping you. Helping your pupils.
✔ Advertise that you provide official DVSA e-learning.
✔ Monitor pupils’ progress and mock theory test results in your account overview.
✔ Help your pupils with the areas you can see they’re struggling with.
✔ Charge your pupils for access.
✔ Your pupils make a saving compared with buying directly from us.
They learn. You earn.
Because you can charge your pupils for access, you can earn while helping them learn.
Example
Your pupils would normally pay £20 each for a 90-day licence when buying direct from TSO. However, you pay just £9 per licence (if you buy 26 to 50 licences). You decide to charge each pupil £18 for access. This means:
your pupils save £2 each (10%) on the usual price
you make £9 on each licence to cover your time assigning it and monitoring your pupil’s progress
This is just one example of how you could do it. You can choose the model that works best for your business. If you’re self-employed, you can claim allowable business expenses for any licences you buy.
Get started today
Find out more about this service and apply for access.
To help DVSA to reduce national average car driving test waiting times they committed to create an additional 150,000 driving test bookings.
They are doing this by getting more eligible people in DVSA with a driving test warrant card to test full time up to 31 March 2024.
Last week they published a blog post from DVSA Chief Executive, Loveday Ryder to update you on:
• the work done so far to reduce driving test waiting times • what we are doing in areas with long waiting times • the impact this is work is having on other services such as ADI part 2 and 3 tests • challenges we’ve faced such as bad weather
If you missed it last week you can read more information on all of the above in Loveday’s latest blog post on DVSA Despatch.
Hi all, You may have already seen that PCS has suspended their planned strike action for 8, 9,10 and 11 February. On 6 February 2024, the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) announced the suspension the planned industrial action in February 2024 DVSA has made an offer to PCS that addresses the 8 concerns raised by their members. These include members’ safety, terms and conditions and the standards of safety that driving tests require. PCS will now fully consult its members on the latest offer made by DVSA through a consultative ballot. Please see the media line below you can now share with your members. DVSA Chief Executive Loveday Ryder said: “DVSA colleagues do an outstanding job in helping to keep our roads safe and are working to bring waiting times down. “We are pleased the talks with PCS union have been successful, and the planned industrial action on 8-11 February will not go ahead.
“I am grateful to the DVSA and PCS negotiating teams for the productive discussions and their commitment to resolving the issues.
“Driving test candidates with tests booked between 8 – 11 February should attend their test as planned”.
Practical car driving tests • In December 2023, 152,474 practical car driving tests were carried out as a result of examiners’ hard work and effort. • This is the highest number of tests done in December since records began and helped to reduce the monthly average national driving test waiting time to 17.4 weeks in December.
The contact telephone numbers for a further 20 driving test centres (DTCs) have changed. The old numbers will no longer be active so please update your contact details.
DTC telephone numbers are given to candidates so they can contact their local driving test centre if there is bad weather on the day of their test.
The new telephone numbers for the 20 DTCs are listed below:
The contact numbers now display an 020 code, which will appear as a London number. However, you will be connected directly to your local DTC, as usual. The numbers are not routed through DVSA’s contact centre.
Let your pupils know DVSA have contacted candidates who have a test booked at the 20 DTCs to let them know the new number they should use in the event of bad weather.
If you have booked a test on behalf of your pupil, please let them know about the change in contact number.
Further changes DVSA are investing in VOiP technology because it allows calls to be made using a broadband Internet connection instead of a regular landline.
They are introducing this technology to all of DVSA’s driving test centres over the next few months. They will contact you to confirm additional new numbers in due course.
This will improve the quality of the calls to DVSA.
Tuesday 20th February 2024, Doors open at 6.30pm for 7.00pm start.
St Peter and St Paul’s Church Hall, Parkstone Road, Hastings. TN34 2NT.
£5 entry to include refreshments and buffet.
MSAgb would like to invite all ADI’s and PDI’s to this event. MSAgb members and non-members all welcome.
***Confirmed Speakers to include:**
• Tom Kwok, (MSAgb London and SE Area Director), Standards Checks. • Jo Chapman, Drink Driving and Speed Awareness. • Alan Hiscox, British Horse Society.
Attendees will receive a CPD Certificate
We hope you will find the evening useful and informative.
To help with numbers, please call/text Terry on 07719 697881 or email terence.cummins@btinternet.com
While refurbishment works are being carried out at Lichfield driving test centre (DTC) on Christie Way we will temporarily be operating out of Lichfield Social Club from Monday 29 January to Friday 8 March 2024. The address for the temporary centre is: Lichfield Social Club Netherstowe Lichfield WS13 6TS
Examiners will meet candidates in the foyer which can be accessed from entrance to the social club on the junction of Netherstowe and Purcell Avenue.
Let your pupils know DVSA have contacted candidates affected by this temporary relocation. However, if you have booked a test on behalf of your pupil, please let them know about these changes. DVSA apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience and understanding.
Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) served DVSA notice of strike action on:
8 and 9 February – all PCS members in DVSA including driving examiners
10 and 11 February – any PCS members in DVSA contracted to work weekends
DVSA has been working with PCS to address concerns raised about the working arrangements for driving examiners and the driving test service DVSA provides. DVSA has made an offer to PCS to end the dispute, which has been rejected.
Their customers expect a 7-day per week service, and, as a publicly funded body, DVSA wants to provide that. It's disappointing that strike action by PCS members will go ahead, impacting the services we offer our customers.
DVSA are unable to confirm what level of impact the industrial action might have on our services. Not all DVSA staff are PCS members, and even if they are, they might choose not to strike. So, they will not know which staff are participating in strike action until it takes place.
If your pupil has booked a test themselves
DVSA are contacting all of your pupils who have a test booked on one of the strike dates in an affected driving test centre.
This will tell them that they them should attend their test as planned unless DVSA contacts them. Or they can also choose to change the date of their test if they want to.
They have also sent a message to all candidates who have a test up to and including 6 February to reassure them that their test won’t be affected by the strike action.
If you have booked a test for your pupil
If you have booked a test for a pupil that is due to happen during the strike action, please discuss this with them to explain that their test may be affected.
If they want you to, you can change the date of their test now through your normal online booking system. You must give at least 3 clear working days’ notice to change the test date, or you’ll have to pay again.
If they do not want to change the date, they should turn up for their appointment as planned. If the test cannot go ahead due to strike action, it will be rescheduled for the first available date, and they’ll be able to claim out-of-pocket expenses. They must have turned up for their test to be able to do this.
Rescheduling some tests in advance
To help minimise the impact of the strike action DVSA may reschedule some tests in advance.
DVSA will email candidates who this will affect ahead of the strike action. If you have booked a test for your pupil that is affected and you receive the message, you must let them know.
Customer service centre
DVSA customer service centre might be affected by the strike action, and it may take longer than usual to answer your query. The customer service centre will be open from 8am to 4pm on 8 and 9 February.
We’re on the 256th day of January and the end is in sight! But we appreciate it’s been a long month and for some a difficult start to the year financially, so we have decided to extend the Early Day Rate (just £49) for MSA GB 2024 until 22nd February.
Our annual conferences are one of the highlights of the road safety and driver trainer calendars, as we bring together industry specialists, experts and opinion formers from the road safety sphere to share their knowledge and answer those hard hitting questions.
This year’s confirmed speakers include:
Dr Julia Malkin MBE
G Sabini - Roberts
Manuel Picardi
Graham Feest
FBTC
DVSA
Topics to be covered:
Teaching with and for disabilities
LGBTQ+ business awareness - Gender diversity
Update on the next European driving license directive
Safer roads, vehicles, and road users, using a safe systems approach
Your tax - going digital and what you can claim for
How will changes affect driver trainers
Also don’t forget that the conference venue (Telford Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort) boasts a stunning range of leisure and spa activities and is also family friendly, so you can turn the weekend into a family getaway with even your littlest ones.
The start of the year is a great time to plan the continual professional development (CPD) you want to focus on in 2024. DVSA know that it is a really busy time of the year, but it’s important to find time to continue to develop your skills.
CPD is any development activity that has helped you:
• learn something new • refresh your existing knowledge • improve your skills • keep up-to-date with the latest developments
Planning your CPD
When you’re planning your CPD you should consider:
• which existing skills that you want to improve • new skills that will help you in your current role • new skills that will help you develop in areas you're interested in
To help you to do this you can:
• check and see if your local or national driving instructor association is holding any free or paid for meetings, events or webinars and get them booked and added into your calendar • book training courses - either online or in person • work with a registered trainer to improve your driver training skills • watch videos, listened to podcasts or read blog posts, magazines and books • job-shadowed someone else • keep an eye out for blog post and webinars from DVSA
Topics to focus on
Some of the topics you might like to focus on include:
• driving laws, rules and techniques • driving and vehicle technology • digital and technology skills • personal growth and wellbeing • finance and business management • disabilities, learning difficulties and neurodiversity • data protection • health and safety • safeguarding
The free template on GOV.UK makes it easy to plan and record this year’s training and development.
You can join a local or national ADI association if you’re not already a member. They can help you stay up to date and will be able to tell you about CPD opportunities.
The Early Bird day ticket rate (just £49) for our much-anticipated annual conference ends tomorrow!!!
We know our members have been calling out for opportunities to meet face-to-face with the decision makers behind our industry, and this is your opportunity!! Against the idyllic backdrop of the Telford Hotel Shropshire, you can get ahead on what’s coming down the line and feel better prepared for any challenges the world of driver training may experience.
Confirmed speakers to date:
● G Sabini Roberts ● Graham Feest ● Manuel Picardi ● Dr Julia Malkin MBE ● Representatives from FBTC
Also don’t forget the Telford Hotel is a family friendly venue and with discounts already secured on the golf and spa facilities, this is the perfect way to combine business with a fun-filled family get away.
There’ll also be plenty of time to reconnect with old friends and visit the Exhibitor Hall, where you’ll find a diverse mix of organisations sharing their solutions and innovations that will help to transform the driver training sphere, now and in the future.
From today (18 January), the contact telephone numbers for 68 driving test centres (DTCs) have changed. The old number will no longer be active so please update your contact details.
DTC telephone numbers are given to candidates so they can contact their local driving test centre if there is bad weather on the day of their test.
A list of the new telephone numbers for the 68 DTCs is available to download.
The contact numbers now display an 020 code, which will appear as a London number. However, you will be connected directly to your local DTC, as usual. The numbers are not routed through DVSA’s contact centre.
Let your pupils know
DVSA have contacted candidates who have a test booked at the 68 DTCs to let them know the new number they should use in the event of bad weather.
If you have booked a test on behalf of your pupil, please let them know about the change in contact number.
Further changes
DVSA will introduce this technology to all of DVSA’s driving test centres over the next few months. They will be contacting you to confirm the new numbers in due course.
They are investing in VOiP technology because it allows calls to be made using a broadband Internet connection instead of a regular landline.
This will improve the quality of the calls to DVSA.
In this latest opinion piece, Chris Pateman-Jones, CEO of Connected Kerb, outlines how electric vehicles, once labelled as ‘silent killers’, offer even more safety benefits than petrol or diesel counterparts.
Title: 6-days left until MSA GB 2024 Early Bird Day Ticket rate ends!
There are only 6-days left to take advantage of our Early Bird day ticket rate (Just £49) for our 2024 annual conference.
To be held from March 22-23 at the stunning Telford Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort in Shropshire, it promises to be the ideal mix of information, debate, advice, education, networking and fun, as the MSA GB membership comes together to learn more about, and discuss, the big issues of the day.
The speaker programme includes an exciting and knowledgeable roster of high-profile names from the DVSA and driver training and road safety communities. A selection of the confirmed speakers and topics we will cover are :
Speakers
G Sabina Roberts
Graham Feest
Manuel Picardi
Dr Julia Malkin MBE
Representatives from FBTC
Topics
Teaching with and for disabilities
Update on the next European driving licence directive
Safer roads, vehicles, and road users: using a safe systems approach
Your tax – going digital and what you can claim for
MSA GB update and future plans
LGBTQ+ business awareness - Gender diversity
DVSA changes: how they will affect driver trainers
Throughout the course of the conference there will also be plenty of breaks, giving ample opportunity for you to meet with our Exhibitors, who will be showcasing the latest innovations and updates to enhance your personal and business development.
MSA GB is the Association that never sleeps, as we continually work to enhance our membership package, so you always feel supported and prepared for the wins and challenges that the life of a driving instructor brings.
With that in mind, we are delighted to offer a new breakdown insurance. There are 2 simple and cost-effective levels of cover for you to choose from.
Members can have cover for cars, vans and motorcycles at pocket pleasing prices. However, just because it costs less than you think, doesn't mean they cut any corners and still offer quality, reliable and trustworthy breakdown cover for all.
Full UK
It is easy to see why. A high-quality, low-cost breakdown solution, Full UK cover is specifically designed for the average motorist who wishes to be covered in every eventuality.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
🚗No excesses or call out charges.
🚗 For Vehicles up to 9 years old
🚗 Home Start.
🚗 Cover for punctures and flat tyres.
🚗 Cover anywhere throughout the United Kingdom
🚗 Includes hire car, overnight accommodation and onward travel options.
🚗 Unlimited callouts during the year of policy.
🚗 Over 3,000 recovery agents nationally.
The Full UK policies cover the vehicle, not the individual, meaning whoever is driving the vehicle at the time of a breakdown is eligible to call for assistance.
Full UK & EU
For ultimate cover, including Full UK & EU policy has it all. Providing the same great benefits and coverage as that of their Full UK Cover, but with the added surety of European Travel, it makes for a complete policy.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
🚗 No excesses or call out charges
🚗 For Vehicles up to 9 years old
🚗 Home Start.
🚗 Cover for punctures and flat tyres.
🚗 Cover anywhere throughout the United Kingdom.
🚗 Cover in any EU member state country plus Switzerland and Norway.
🚗 Includes extended hire car, overnight accommodation and onward travel options.
🚗 Unlimited callouts during the term of the policy
🚗 Over 3,000 recovery agents nationally and internationally
Full UK & EU policies cover the vehicle, not the individual, meaning whoever is driving the vehicle at the time of a breakdown is eligible to call for assistance.
For further details contact: Carol Mackie - 07914 275539
Vehicles on the road and the way they are driven have a huge impact on the environment. It is becoming increasingly important to support drivers, new and existing, with adopting eco-friendly driving habits and choices, to help them sustain a more eco-friendly driving career. Many learners, when they pass, may be taking to the roads, for work and play, for the next fifty years or more, and the pressure is on to help future proof the planet. After flights, cars typically had the highest carbon footprints per kilometre in the UK. The average petrol car produced the equivalent of 164 grams of CO₂e per km in 2023, while diesel cars averaged roughly 170 grams of CO₂e per km. In 2021, cars made up over 75% of the vehicles on the road in the UK.
Driving schools play a crucial role in instilling these practices from the very beginning of a learner’s journey. Instructors serve as role models for their students. By consistently practising and promoting eco-friendly driving habits, instructors set a positive example that young drivers are likely to emulate. Young drivers need to understand the direct impact of their driving habits on the environment. Instructors can educate them about the importance of reducing carbon emissions, conserving fuel, and minimising their ecological footprint.
1. Smooth Driving Techniques
Instruct learners to adopt smooth and gentle driving techniques, avoiding rapid acceleration and abrupt braking. Smooth driving not only conserves fuel but also enhances safety and reduces wear and tear on the vehicle.
2. Optimal Speed and Gearing
Emphasise the importance of driving at optimal speeds and using the correct gears. Maintaining a consistent speed and selecting the right gear helps improve fuel efficiency and minimises emissions.
3. Regular Vehicle Maintenance
Encourage learners to schedule regular maintenance checks for their vehicles. Well-maintained vehicles operate more efficiently, consume less fuel, and produce fewer emissions. This includes driving on correctly inflated tyres. As partners of TyreSafe, we can provide a range of materials to help support drivers in understanding the importance of correct inflation on fuel consumption, and wear and tear on the vehicle.
4. Minimise Idling Time
Teach learners the importance of turning off the engine when stationary for an extended period. Idling consumes unnecessary fuel and contributes to air pollution, hitting them in the pocket and the environment at the same time.
Habits formed during the early stages of driving often persist throughout a person’s lifetime. By instilling sustainable practices from the beginning, driving instructors contribute to the development of responsible and environmentally conscious drivers. Sustainable driving practices, such as smooth acceleration and deceleration, optimal speed, and proper maintenance, lead to increased fuel efficiency. Instructors can highlight the economic benefits of fuel conservation, making young drivers more conscious of their driving choices.
By incorporating these eco-friendly driving habits into driving lessons, instructors and learners can contribute to a sustainable future. The role of driving schools extends beyond teaching the rules of the road; it involves shaping responsible and environmentally conscious drivers who will play a vital role in creating greener and cleaner driving habits.
DVSA is opening a new large goods vehicles (LGV) practical driving test centre in Dreghorn, Ayrshire on Monday, January 8, 2024. The new facility will replace Ayrshire’s existing LGV test centre at Kilmarnock. The address for the new facility is: Dreghorn LGV Test Centre 9A Corsehill Mount Road Dreghorn Irvine Ayrshire KA11 4JZ
Please let your pupils know DVSA have contacted candidates regarding the new facility in Dreghorn. However, if you have booked a test on behalf of your pupil, please let them know about these changes. Thank you
Banbury test centre temporary closure Banbury driving test centre (DTC) will be closed until further notice. We will temporarily be operating out of:
Coiln Sanders Business Innovation Centre, Mewburn Road, Banbury. The address for the temporary centre is: Driving Test Centre Banbury Room 8 Coiln Sanders Business Innovation Centre Mewburn Road Banbury Oxfordshire OX16 9PA
Please let your pupils know DVSA have contacted candidates affected by this temporary relocation. However, if you have booked a test on behalf of your pupil, please let them know about these changes. DVSA apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience and understanding.
TSO/DVSA have a new edition of Driving – the essential skills which published last week. clickhere
It contains lots of new information including on ADAS that will interest ADIs:
• Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) - These cover many technological features in motor vehicles and include cruise control, advanced emergency braking system/forward-collision warning, traffic sign recognition, driver-drowsiness detection, lane-departure warning/lane-keep assist amongst others.
We also have a festive offer running for instructors using the code FO35 which gives 35% off and the code will last until the end of the year.
With less than 2 weeks of the year left, now is a good time to make sure that your continuing professional development (CPD) records are up to date.
CPD is any development activity that has helped you:
• learn something new • refresh your existing knowledge • improve your skills • keep up-to-date with the latest developments
You might have:
• been to meetings, events or webinars • taken training courses - either online or in person • had help to improve your driver training skills from a registered trainer • watched videos, listened to podcasts or read blog posts, magazines and books • job-shadowed someone else
ordering and reading [Practical Teaching Skills for Driving Instructors](https://www.safedrivingforlife.info/shop/practical-teaching-skills-driving-instructors/ (you can get 35% off until 31 December if you use code FO35)
As you're reflecting on what you've done in 2023, think about topics you'd like to focus on in 2024. You might want to explore:
driving laws, rules and techniques
driving and vehicle technology
digital and technology skills
personal growth and wellbeing
finance and business management
disabilities, learning difficulties and neurodiversity
data protection
health and safety
safeguarding
When you're considering what development to do, think about:
existing skills that you want to improve
new skills that will help you in your current role
new skills that will help you develop and specialise in particular areas you're interested in
joining a local or national ADI association if you’re not already a member
Further to our email yesterday from the PCS union regarding the examiners strike ballot, I would just like to confirm this was a statement from the examiner’s union and not a statement or opinion from MSA GB, to even up the balance, please see the below statement from DVSA.
Peter
National Vice Chairman
The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union has confirmed that members working at DVSA have voted for industrial action.
The ballot concerned DVSA’s driving test recovery measures.
It is disappointing that the PCS ballot supports industrial action. DVSA remain open to talks with PCS to find a resolution.
DVSA colleagues do an outstanding job in helping to keep our roads safe.
They are working hard to reduce waiting times, which includes employing new driving examiners on flexible contracts with weekend hours and asking more eligible managers and administrative colleagues to carry out driving tests full-time.
In November 2023, 196,481 practical car driving tests were carried out as a result of examiners' hard work and effort.
This is the highest since April 2007 and helped to reduce the monthly average national driving test waiting time to 18.3 weeks in November.
DVSA services during any industrial action
DVSA know that you may have concerns about industrial action that might affect our services.
You don’t need to contact them
They will update you on any impact on our services as soon as they have more information.
Thanks to all who replied to my last email and your suggestions as to the the sort of meetings you would like MSA GB to run for you. The consensus was, because of the size of our area, it would be better to use a video platform such as Zoom, although I will try and arrange a face-to-face meetings or training sessions occasionally.
Further to your comments, I am in the process of arranging a “Safeguarding Of Vulnerable Adults Awareness” webinar for February next year. As we are working with vulnerable adults every day this course will help you to know what to do if we suspect any of our students may be having problems.
As we are teaching pupils to drive, we get to know them quite well and they very often talk to us about their concerns, sometimes we find it hard to give a considered reply, this course will help you deal with these sort of situations when they arise.
The course is a 3-hour online event and I am thinking along the lines of running it on a weekend when there is a probability that more instructors will be available so if I were to suggest the morning of either Sunday 18th February or Sunday 25th February, the other decision would be the time of the event, I thought you could pick either a 09.30 start or possibly 1pm?
What I need from you now, is to know how many are interested and your preferred date and time, once I have all that information, I will arrange with the majority view and confirm with you.
The cost would be between £40-£50 depending on attendees, and those who attend will be issued with a certificate at the end plus, this will also count towards your CPD.
If you would like to participate in this course, then please reply asap using my contact details below, just to be clear, there will only be one course, the choice of date and time will be with the majority vote.
Arthur Mynott, Chairman West Coast & Wales MSA GB. arthur.mynott@msagb.com Tel 07989852274.
13 December 2023 Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency members vote for strike action PCS members working for the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) across England, Wales and Scotland have overwhelmingly voted to take industrial action.
More than 1900 members have voted for action by a margin of 90.5% on a turnout of 59.21% in response to an attempt by management to erode their terms and conditions. Strike dates will be announced in due course.
These PCS members, who carry out driving tests and approve people to be driving instructors, are in a dispute with management over plans to reduce the backlog of tests.
The so-called ‘driver services recovery programme’ – which seeks to recover backlogs to a national average of 7 weeks by 31 March 2024 – is being driven by the political ambitions of Mark Harper, Secretary of State for Transport.
The programme poses significant safety risks to test candidates and examiners, as well as an erosion of staff’s terms and conditions. It completely fails to address the root causes of the backlog and requires staff to cover 150,000 tests above capacity.
Mates for Life returns – with new stakeholder toolkit available
THINK! is relaunching its Mates for Life campaign, as it looks to continue to build understanding among young males about the dangers of drink driving.
Through a series of short films and other resources, the campaign shows 17 to 24 year-old male drivers that ‘a mate doesn’t let a mate drink drive’.
The films feature a young man encouraging his friend not to drink before getting in front of the wheel, by reminding him of the lifelong friendship and adventures they are yet to have.
Following the 2022 edition of the campaign, evaluation highlighted that 70% of those who saw it took action as a result, including intervening to stop a mate drink driving.
The THINK! team is calling on road safety professionals to support the campaign by sharing the creatives and messages. A stakeholder toolkit containing asset links and post copy is available via the THINK! website.
Know Your Traffic Signs illustrates and explains the most common traffic signs that road users are likely to encounter. It's an accompaniment to The Highway Code.
What's new in the latest edition
The 2023 edition contains new guidance and images on:
clean air zones
ultra low emission zone and low emission zones in London
tunnel restriction codes
parking places for electric taxis
bus gates
share space
parallel crossings
It also has updated guidance and signs for:
road charging
rising bollards
bus lanes
on-street parking places
pedestrian and cycle zones
motorway signals
variable signs
motorway service areas
diversion routes
UTCs (urgent treatment centres)
traffic signals for cyclists
road works and temporary situations
bridge height warning signs
There's also new guidance specific for Scotland and for Wales.
Discover the pinnacle of innovation in road safety and driver assistance with Road Angel’s award-winning dashcams. Elevate your driving experience with cutting-edge features that set Road Angel Dash Cams apart as the ultimate choice for informed and safety-conscious drivers.
Embrace the Future of Road Safety
Equip your vehicle with the latest technology for a safer and more secure driving experience. Celebrate the innovation and excellence that Road Angel brings to the world of dashcams.
Driving Test Compliant opt for the best in dashcam technology that aligns with driving test standards.
Optional Audio Recording Choose the flexibility of audio recording based on your preferences.
Easy to Fit Enjoy a hassle-free installation process for immediate use.
24/7 Always-On Dashcam Parking Mode Never miss a moment with continuous monitoring and recording, even when parked.
Dual Parking Mode Enjoy added security with comprehensive coverage from all angles.
Variable Sensitivity G-Sensor Precise event detection and critical footage capture during impacts or collisions.
High-Resolution Recording Experience stunning visual quality with Full HD, 2K+, and 4K recording options.
140° Loop Recording Comprehensive coverage ensures no crucial details are left out.
No Screen! No Distraction! Stay focused on the road with a screen-less design that eliminates distractions.
Winter Mode Optimal functionality in cold and snowy conditions.
HD Night Vision Clear footage during low-light or nighttime driving.
Auto Image Stabilization Enjoy smooth and stable video recordings.
ADAS – Advanced Driver Assistance Systems Lane departure warnings and forward collision alerts enhance driving safety.
Built-In GPS & Telematics Keep track of routes, speed, and location for valuable journey data
Battery Voltage Monitoring Ensure dashcam and vehicle battery health.
Halo App – Edit & Share Effortlessly edit and share recorded footage with the user-friendly Halo App.
3-Year UK Warranty* & Dedicated Support Team Road Angel stands behind product quality with a 3-year UK warranty and a dedicated support team.
Automotive High-Endurance SD Cards Optimize performance with Road Angel’s high-endurance SD cards designed for continuous recording.
Nationwide Installation Convenient installation services available nationwide. Make the informed choice for your driving school – invest in Road Angel Dashcams this Black Friday/Cyber Week!
DVSA driver services: PCS union ballot The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union has announced its intention to ballot its members within DVSA on taking industrial action.
We are aware that you and your pupils may have concerns on how this will affect driving tests.
DVSA will provide further information when we can once the ballot has closed on 13 December 2023 and we know the outcome.
Take part in a UK - wide Driving Instructor survey for your chance to win a £100 Amazon voucher
Each year our friends at FBTC Accountancy Services conduct an independent and authoritative analysis on the health of the UK Driver Training sector and publish a report on Instructor’s workload, earnings and job satisfaction across the industry. You can read their most recent report here. You can share your views by taking part this year, the survey will only take a few minutes, click this link to take part here
Closing date: 26th November 2023
You can complete the survey anonymously and results will only be analysed on an aggregated basis. However, if you’d like to be entered into the draw to win £100 Amazon voucher, you’ll be asked to enter your email address at the end of the questionnaire.
With over 20 years’ experience in the driver training industry and assisting more than 2,600 ADI’s each year, FBTC are the tax team to support you!
For a monthly fee of £32.50, FBTC provide an all-inclusive accountancy and tax return service. As a MSA GB member, you benefit from FBTC completing your:
Annual Accounts and Tax Return Submitting your Tax Return to HMRC Providing digital software for you to record your business transactions Preparing you for Making Tax Digital Liaising with HMRC on your behalf Providing HMRC Investigation support Assisting with professional references and proof of earnings Offering unlimited tax support
To find out more about FBTC click here and take advantage of 3 months free support as a new client - 0344 984 2515 / fbtcenquiries@fbtc.co.uk
We understand the cost of living crisis is putting business owners under considerable pressure. So to help alleviate some of the burden for our members, we’re thrilled to announce a brand- new partnership with Fuel Card Services.
A fuel card from MSA GB partner, Fuel Card Services can provide huge benefits to businesses that use vehicles on a daily basis:
🚘 Cutting fuel costs - save up to 10p per litre and get a consistent price. 🚘 Increased security - fuel cards are a safer alternative to carrying cash and eliminate fraud 🚘 Streamline admin - HMRC compliant invoices, no receipts, one neat invoice and a dedicated account manager. 🚘 Tighter control of business expenses - view transactions and reports online 24/7 🚘 Increased flexibility for refuelling across a huge network. 🚘 Fleet convenience - a quick and convenient way for fleets to refuel.
There are a range of fuel cards available on the market and for your business to truly benefit from investing in fuel cards, you need to choose the right one for your businesses’ requirements.
Fuel Card Services offers a large choice of networks from leading brands, such as BP, Shell, Esso and UK Fuels so you can decide which networks you wish to include on your business account.
Fuel Card Services and MSA GB are helping to deliver cost savings to members throughout the country.
As a member you can start saving now by contacting our partnership team at Fuel Card Services. Telephone: 01227 284342 Email: partnerships@fuelcardservices
Road Safety GB Academy to make Ageing Driver Course available FOC for ADIs
The RSGB Academy is delighted to offer places on the Ageing Driver Course at no charge to driving instructions, thanks to funding from The Road Safety Trust. The Ageing Driver Course is ideal for any Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) who wishes to learn more about how to support an older driver and who has limited experience in this area. Thanks to the funding, the Academy is able to offer 300 ADIs the opportunity to take the course free-of-charge. This will be achieved by running and evaluating an anticipated 20 courses in the next year. The next running takes place on 28 November (part 1) and 4 December (part 2); with another course confirmed for 15 January (part 1) and 22 January (part 2). More dates will be confirmed in due course. • Clickhere to read the full story and for information on how to book
Join the three heads of ADINJC, DIA and MSA, who together also form the leadership team of the National Associations Strategic Partnership (the recognised steering group for the driver and rider training industry), for a special webinar on Thursday 16th November - and quite literally ask us anything!
When: Thursday 16th November, 18.00Hrs Where: Online. to sign up clickhere
In this session we'll share any updates we have on how the DVSA's efforts to deliver more driving tests is going, as well as any wider industry, road safety or motoring developments we think may be useful to driver and rider trainers to know.
But more importantly, this will be a session aimed at letting our members ask us any questions about driver and rider training, testing, licensing - or on any topic that's relevant to the profession. Take advantage of the combined expertise, experience and insights of the NASP team, plus share your views with us and let us tap into your insights!
We look forward to catching up with you all, click link below to join.
Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Ask NASP!. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. clickhere
Following the recent announcement about more eligible managers and administrative staff doing driving tests full-time, there is a lot of interest in driving test waiting times.
DVSA are often asked by learner drivers, driving instructors and the media for the latest driving test waiting time.
They also know that people have a different understanding of what the waiting time means.
Which of these do you think it means?
How many weeks away the next available test is.
How many weeks it is until over half of the weekly tests are still available.
How many weeks it is until 10% or more of the weekly tests are still available.
In their latest blog post, John Selbey, Operational Performance and Delivery Manager, answers that question for you. He also explains how it’s just part of a range of measures we look at. Find out what driving test waiting times actually mean.
We understand the cost of living crisis is putting business owners under considerable pressure. So to help alleviate some of the burden for our members, we’re thrilled to announce a brand-new partnership with Fuel Card Services.
A fuel card from MSA GB partner, Fuel Card Services can provide huge benefits to businesses that use vehicles on a daily basis:
🚘 Cutting fuel costs - save up to 10p per litre and get a consistent price. 🚘 Increased security - fuel cards are a safer alternative to carrying cash and eliminate fraud 🚘 Streamline admin - HMRC compliant invoices, no receipts, one neat invoice and a dedicated account manager. 🚘 Tighter control of business expenses - view transactions and reports online 24/7 🚘 Increased flexibility for refuelling across a huge network. 🚘 Fleet convenience - a quick and convenient way for fleets to refuel.
There are a range of fuel cards available on the market and for your business to truly benefit from investing in fuel cards, you need to choose the right one for your businesses’ requirements.
Fuel Card Services offers a large choice of networks from leading brands, such as BP, Shell, Esso and UK Fuels so you can decide which networks you wish to include on your business account.
Fuel Card Services and MSA GB are helping to deliver cost savings to members throughout the country.
MSA GB members can immediately start saving by accessing this exclusive offer via the Member Area here
Loveday Ryder to appear at MSA GHB West Coast & Wales event on 9th November.
Yes, the DVSA Chief Executive Loveday Ryder is now going to present at our Conference in November in Gloucester. Around two weeks ago I, along with other instructors received an email from the DVSA announcing that all senior examiners who hold a warrant card will now have to deliver driving tests to help shorten the test waiting time for tests across the country.
Whilst this is an excellent idea it also meant that the two examiners who were booked to present at our Gloucester event could no longer do so which left us in a bit of a quandary. After several phone calls, and emails to secure another speaker from the DVSA, Loveday agreed to attend our event via video link. She would have liked to be there in person but unfortunately has other commitments that day and would not have time to travel to Gloucester, however, she will still be able to answer any questions you may have after her presentation. Our other speakers include:
Haydn Jenkins from Disability Driving Instructors Alan Gott from FBTC Accountancy MSA GB Chairman Mike Yeomans MSA GB Vice Chairman Peter Harvey MBE
This is shaping up to be an event that you will find interesting, informative and keep you updated. Where & When:
Thursday November 9th at the Gloucester Robinswood Hotel, Marston Close, Gloucester GL4 6EA and the cost of £45.00 per person will include refreshments throughout the day and a two-course buffet lunch. The doors will open at 9.00am for a 9.30 start and should now finish around 4.30pm.
Please contact me either by email clickhere or call me on 07989852274 to book your place. All bookings must be in advance and made by October 22nd at the very latest to enable me to let the hotel know the final numbers. Hope to see you there.
Arthur Mynott, Chairman MSA GB West Coast & Wales. Tel: 07989852274
The DVSA’s ‘Working as a driver instructor survey 2023’ reported that 9.1% of those who participated, categorised the state of their mental health as poor. Now although the role of a driving instructor can be incredibly rewarding, we know that certain aspects including working alone, combined with external factors such as the current cost of living crisis, can add an unwanted layer of pressure and stress. So, to show our support and in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Day (10th October), we have teamed up with Ken and Tracey Field of Confident Drivers, who have shared their top five tips for improving your mental health and wellbeing.
Do remember that if you find your negative feelings are becoming overwhelming, it is important to seek the help of a medical professional.
1. Thoughts are not Facts!
If you notice yourself having negative concerns, 'what if' thoughts or worries that keep repeating in your mind, ask yourself is that a thought or a fact? Just because we are having a thought doesn’t make it true. Reminding yourself and noticing the difference between thoughts and facts can help you reduce your stress levels and keep you focused on what is happening right now, in the present moment.
2. Reset with a moment of mindfulness
If you have had one of those days, a difficult situation to deal with or you are distracted by thoughts then try a quick reset to bring you back into the present moment and calm your nervous system. When you aren’t driving, take some time to notice what can you see, next swap your attention to what you can hear, swap again to what you can feel or touch, then what you can smell and taste. Hopefully after noticing all your senses you will feel more connected with the present moment, ready to continue your day.
3. Pause and breathe
If you feel worried or anxious try to take a moment to pause. Trace up and down the fingers of one hand with the other. Time your breathing to match, breathing in as you trace up one finger and breathing out as you trace down the other side. Continue for as long as you need, slowing down to a comfortable pace for you and your breathing. Regulating your breathing will help you feel calmer and tracing your fingers will help you feel more connected with your body.
4. Check your posture
If you are feeling stressed or anxious check into your posture. If you are hunched, slumped, crossing your arms and legs over your body, gripping the steering wheel or your shoulders are up by your ears then you may be increasing your stress levels with your posture. If possible step outside of the car, have a stretch and a yawn to reset your posture and allow your body to relax and breath again. Research shows that standing or sitting up straight with a confident posture reduces the stress level cortisol in your body.
5. Smile
We know it sounds a bit corny, but smiling really does change the way that you feel and behave. Choosing to smile however you are feeling can lift your mood, reduce anxiety plus it’s infectious. The more you smile, the more likely those who see you will automatically smile back, making your smile more genuine in return.
If you struggle with mental health or addiction issues, then contact a service such as Rehab 4 Addiction
NASP comment on DVSA’s announcement that it is deploying more staff to full time driver testing, creating 150,000 additional test slots. DVSA has announced today that it will be creating 150,000 additional driving tests slots by asking up to 240 full time staff to return to frontline testing for the next 6 months. The move is aimed at further reducing test waiting times, with a current national average of 20 weeks.
From as early as next week the agency will be deploying any personnel who hold a warrant card back to driver testing (approximately 240 full time employees). They will be asking those colleagues to test full time for 6 months (effectively giving up other roles or projects within the agency in that period)).
This will allow for the generation of an additional 150,000 driving test slots. These additional slots will be drip-fed into the booking system in fortnightly batches, starting from next Monday (4th October).
Whilst the release of such a large number of additional tests is certainly good news, it will inevitably cause disruption to other DVSA services (which the agency says it will work to try and keep to a minimum).
How this development will impact Part 2, 3 and Standards Checks • Part 2 and 3 tests will still go ahead • Standards Checks will be vastly reduced so you may find your upcoming check cancelled • However, those ADIs flagged to be the most risky (i.e. those who present a concerning number of poor quality test candidates, or who have failed previous checks) will still be prioritised for a check NASP welcomes this news. With such a high average waiting time for tests currently, it is our view that the additional slots will have a significant impact on bringing that average down and will help alleviate pressure on DVSA, instructors and pupils alike. We will continue to meet regularly with DVSA to monitor the impact of this development (and any other measures the agency is undertaking to combat test waiting times) and we will keep members informed on progress. To read the full DVSA Direct announcement on this topic follow the link below:
DVSA have just announced their plan to help reduce the massive waiting lists for tests around the country, we just wanted to make you aware, that your pupils are now likely to be finding tests much sooner than you had planned, it may be worth having a discussion with them in advance about the risks of accepting a test without first consulting with you.
To help tackle the high driving test waiting times, DVSA is making around 150,000 additional test appointments available over the next 6 months. They are doing this by deploying more trained staff to carry out driving tests full time up to 31 March 2024.
Most people who are trained to do a driving test are driving examiners. However some staff who are trained have moved on to other roles in the agency, including as local driving test managers, operational managers and policy experts. Until now some of these individuals have been testing in addition to their usual job.
DVSA are now asking them to do driving tests full-time, which will mean they are unable to do their usual roles. They will do all they can to limit the effect this has on the other services they offer.
How ADI testing and standards checks will be affected
During this time DVSA will significantly reduce the number of standards checks and will continue to offer ADI part 2 and 3 tests. If they need to cancel or rearrange your standards check they will contact you.
DVSA will continue to monitor driving test performance whilst prioritising car driving tests.
Putting the additional tests on the booking service
On Monday 2 October DVSA will start to add these extra appointments to the booking service. This will cover test appointments for 6 October to 3 November.
It will take a few days for all the appointments to be added.
Then on 16 October, they will start to add appointments for 4 November to 18 November. Again, it will take a few days for all the appointments to be added.
They’ll repeat this every 2 weeks. For example, they’ll add more appointments on 30 October, 13 November and so on.
DVSA will continue to do this until additional appointments are available up to 31 March 2024.
Making the most of the additional tests
It’s really important that they make every additional test count to work together to reduce the current high driving test waiting times.
They know that many of your pupils have been using the Ready to Pass? campaign resources to help prepare for their test – and found them really useful.
They also know that many of you have used the resources on the site to work with your pupils to make sure they only go for their test when they are ready to do so.
The campaign has been designed to support you and reinforce the messages you already give your pupils. You can visit the campaign website for 10 ways that you can help us spread the word.
Loughborough driving test centre Open Day: Saturday 7 October 2023
DVSA would like to invite you to come to an open day at Loughborough driving test centre if you use the test centre. The open day is for driving instructors, learner drivers, their families, and anyone with an interest in road safety.
The open day is: Saturday 7 October 2023, 9.00am to 3.00pm Loughborough Driving Test Centre Ark Business Centre
Gordon Road Loughborough LE11 1JP
You do not need to book to come to the open day – just turn up on the day. You’re very welcome to bring your pupils and their families. 82% of people who came to a driving test centre open day in the past said it helped them feel more confident about their upcoming driving test.
What’s on during the open day: If you come to the open day, you and your pupils will be able to: • meet and talk with Driving Examiners • learn more about the driving test and what Driving Examiners assess • find out more information about our ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign • find out the top reasons why people do not pass their driving test in Loughborough We'll be inviting anyone who had a test booked at Loughborough after 9 October 2023.
Please encourage your pupils to attend - especially if you think they'll benefit from visiting the test centre and talking to driving examiners to help reduce their nerves.
Customer Event at Exeter driving test centre: Thursday 5 October 2023
DVSA would like to invite you to a customer event at Exeter driving test centre if you use the test centre. The event is for driving instructors, learner drivers, their families, and anyone with an interest in road safety.
The event is: Thursday 5 October 2023, 3.30pm to 5.30pm Exeter Driving Test Centre Thorverton Road
Marsh Barton
Exeter EX2 8FS
You do not need to book to come to the open day – just turn up on the day. You’re very welcome to bring your pupils and their families. 82% of people who came to a driving test centre open day in the past said it helped them feel more confident about their upcoming driving test. What’s on during the event: If you come to the event, you and your pupils will be able to: • meet and talk with Driving Examiners • learn more about the driving test and what Driving Examiners assess • find out more information about our ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign • find out the top reasons why people do not pass their driving test in Exeter We'll be inviting anyone who had a test booked at Exeter between 9 October 2023 and 31 January 2024. Please encourage your pupils to attend - especially if you think they'll benefit from visiting the test centre and talking to driving examiners to help reduce their nerves.
DVSA have now successfully moved Standards Checks onto the iPad. This means that all of the ADI tests will now be conducted electronically from today Friday 15 September.
Today the DVSA published guidance on the top 10 reasons for failing the car driving test in Great Britain.
You can use the examples in the guidance with your pupils to help identify any areas they still need to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding.
DVSA recently hosted a webinar focusing on the top 10 faults that are recorded on driving tests. Many of the commonly recorded faults in driving tests are top contributory factors in reported collisions - that’s why we assess them as part of the test.
Understanding these reasons can help you assess if your pupils have the skills, knowledge and understanding needed to be safe when they’ve passed their test.
And perhaps most importantly, they give you a great way of exploring factors with your pupils that will increase risk in different scenarios. Digging into your pupils’ understanding of risk can give you a much better sense of their thoughts, feelings and beliefs.
DVSA are writing to let you know that Blandford Forum theory test centre is moving from 16 September. The new address is: Ground Floor Unit 3 Barnark Walk Blandford Forum DT11 7AL
Tests up to and including 15 September will continue to take place at the current address. All tests booked from 16 September onwards will be at the new address. We have contacted all of your pupils who have a theory test at Blandford Forum from 16 September to let them know.
DVSA’s official publisher, The Stationery Office, has just released more webinar dates featuring their new multi-user platform.
This tool helps trainers and organisations check the progress of drivers and pupils studying for theory tests. This enables support to be targeted where it is most needed, helping candidates to pass the test sooner. The sessions are free. You can find the new webinar dates and sign up here:clickhere
What’s it all about? The multi-user platform enables trainers and organisations to check the progress of drivers and pupils preparing to take their theory test. You can: • see the topics they understand well. • check scores to see whether their levels of understanding are improving. • identify areas where they may need extra help and support. • tailor revision sessions so they better meet your drivers’ needs It can be used for all categories of theory tests from cars to motorbikes, heavy/large goods vehicles, Driver CPC case studies, passenger-carrying vehicles and even approved driving instructor (ADIs) candidates. If you are unable to make these dates, keep checking the Safe Driving for Life website. We will add more webinar dates as we arrange them.
DVSA would like to invite you to come to an open day at Erith driving test centre if you use the test centre.
The open day is for driving instructors, learner drivers, their families, and anyone with an interest in road safety.
When the open day is: Sunday 17 September 2023, 10.00am to 2.00pm
Erith MPTC
Crabtree Manorway North
Kent
DA17 6LJ
You do not need to book to come to the open day – just turn up on the day. You’re very welcome to bring your pupils and their families.
82% of people who came to a driving test centre open day in the past said it helped them feel more confident about their upcoming driving test.
What’s on during the open day: If you come to the open day, you and your pupils will be able to:
meet and talk with driving examiners learn more about the driving test and what driving examiners assess find out more information about our ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign find out the top reasons why people do not pass their driving test We’ll be inviting anyone who has a test booked at Erith, Belvedere, Bromley, Hither Green or Sidcup DTCs between 19 September and 11 November 2023 to attend.
Please encourage your pupils to attend - especially if you think they’ll benefit from visiting the test centre and talking to driving examiners to help reduce their nerves.
MSA GB members can get the cheaper rate if booked before 20th September . the event is on Thursday November 9th at the Gloucester Robinswood Hotel, Gloucester and the confirmed Speakers are;
John Sheridan, DVSA Driver Training Policy Advisor Sue Robertson, DVSA ADI Examiner Haydn Jenkins, Disability Driving Instructors Amy Hartley, FBTC Accountancy Mike Yeomans, National Chairman MSA GB Peter Harvey MBE Vice Chairman MSA GB
Cleevely Motors will have a couple of Electric Vehicles available for test drives.
Michael from GoRoadie and Driving Instructor Services will both have a stand there also.
This is an all day event and the cost, which includes a two course buffet lunch with refreshments available throughout the day is £40.00 for MSA GB members if paid before 20th September, £45.00 for non-members. After 20th September all tickets are £45.
Doors open at 9.00am for a 9.30 start and will finish around 4.00pm.
Parking is also free at this hotel for our event, just tell the receptionist upon arrival. For further details or to book, please email me clickhere or call me on 07989852274. or email Nick Tapp:clickhere and 07900900678. Hope to see many of you there, there will be ample time to put your questions to the speakers.
DVSA Update - change to 20mph speed limit across Wales The Welsh Government is introducing a default 20mph speed limit on “restricted roads” across Wales from 17 September 2023. You can find out more about this change, including what types of roads will be affected on GOV.Wales. clickhere Learners taking a driving test on Welsh roads on or after this date will be expected to observe the new speed limit. If you use Welsh test centres, please spend some time discussing these changes with your pupils.
Delving into the top 10 faults recorded on driving tests
DVSA recently ran a webinar focusing on the top 10 faults that are recorded on driving tests. Many of the commonly recorded faults in driving tests are top contributory factors in reported collisions - that’s why we assess them as part of the test.
For those of you who were unable to join us on the day we have a recording of the session. More than 96% of ADIs who completed the feedback from the session recommend that you watch it back – so it’s well worth taking a look.
Before you watch the recording, it’s worth reading our latest blog post from DVSA driving product owner, Amanda Lane. She explains why it’s so important to look back at the top 10 faults and how the insight can be invaluable for your pupils. Read the full blog post on Despatch.clickhere
MSA GB teams up with personal breathalysers AlcoSense
There were 260 deaths on Britain’s roads in 2021 where a motorist was over the drink drive limit – an alarming increase of 18% over the previous year and the highest since 2009. In fact drunk drivers accounted for 17% of all road deaths.
“What these figures don’t tell you of course, is how many more casualties were caused by ‘lethal but legal’ drivers – those who were above the point of intoxication where effects on cognitive function occur, but below the official drink drive limit”, comments Hunter Abbott, MD of personal breathalyser firm AlcoSense.
“It’s far easier than you think to be under the influence the morning after a few drinks the night before. This is where a personal breathalyser comes into its own. It takes the guesswork out of whether there’s residual alcohol in your system”.
So to help our members protect themselves and their pupils, we’ve teamed up with AlcoSense, the award-winning range of personal breathalysers, to offer an exclusive discount to all MSA GB members. A personal breathalyser takes the guesswork out of whether there’s residual alcohol in your system (or that of your learner driver) the morning after the night before. The discount gives 10% off any AlcoSense product (excluding single-use disposables) - from the entry-level Lite 2 (£44.99) to the top-of-the-range Ultra (£249.00).
To find out how you can take advantage of this exclusive member discount, head over to the MSA GB member area and log in to find out more.
Swindon driving test centre Open Day: Saturday 9 September We’d like to invite you to come to an open day at Swindon driving test centre if you use the centre. The open day is for driving instructors, learner drivers, their families, and anyone with an interest in road safety. Spaces are limited, you will need to book a place in a timed session using the link below. When the open day is: Location: Swindon Driving Test Centre Saturday 09 September 2023 10.30am to 2.30pm Session 1: 10.30am to 12.00pm Session 2: 1.00pm to 2.30pm
Space is limited, please book your place in one of the sessions by clicking on the following link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/swindon-driving-test-centre-open-day-tickets-704484140027 82% of people who came to a driving test centre open day in the past said it helped them feel more confident about their upcoming driving test. What’s on during the open day: If you come to the open day, you and your pupils will be able to: • meet and talk with driving examiners • learn more about the driving test and what driving examiners assess • find out more information about our ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign • find out the top reasons why people do not pass their driving test in Swindon We'll be inviting anyone who had a test booked at Swindon test centre after 11 September 2023 to attend. Please encourage your pupils to attend - especially if you think they'll benefit from visiting the test centre and talking to driving examiners to help reduce their nerves.
Herne Bay driving test centre Open Day: Saturday 9 September We’d like to invite you to come to an open day at Herne Bay driving test centre if you use the test centre. The open day is for driving instructors, learner drivers, their families, and anyone with an interest in road safety. When the open day is: Saturday 9 September 2023, 10.00 to 2.00pm Herne Bay Driving Test Centre Altria Business Park The Boulevard Herne Bay CT6 6GZ You do not need to book to come to the open day – just turn up on the day. You’re very welcome to bring your pupils and their families. 82% of people who came to a driving test centre open day in the past said it helped them feel more confident about their upcoming driving test. What’s on during the open day: If you come to the open day, you and your pupils will be able to: • meet and talk with driving examiners & ADI examiners • learn more about the driving test and what driving examiners assess • find out more information about our ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign • find out the top reasons why people do not pass their driving test • see a Motorcycle MOD 1 test demonstration • see other presentations and exhibitors Refreshments are available and the whole family is welcome. We’ll be inviting anyone who has a test booked at Herne Bay test centre and neighbouring test centres from 11 September 2023 to attend. Please encourage your pupils to attend what ever stage of their learning they are at - especially if you think they’ll benefit from visiting the test centre and talking to driving examiners to help reduce their nerves.
Bristol Kingswood driving test centre Open Day: Saturday 9 September DVSA would like to invite you to come to an open day at Bristol Kingswood driving test centre if you use Bristol Kingswood or Bristol Avonmouth test centres. The open day is for driving instructors, learner drivers, their families, and anyone with an interest in road safety. When the open day is: Saturday 9 September 2023, 9.30 am to 12.30pm Bristol Kingswood MPTC Station Road Kingswood Bristol BS15 4GQ
You do not need to book to come to the open day – just turn up on the day. You’re very welcome to bring your pupils and their families. 82% of people who came to a driving test centre open day in the past said it helped them feel more confident about their upcoming driving test. What’s on during the open day: If you come to the open day, you and your pupils will be able to: • meet and talk with Driving Examiners • learn more about the driving test and what Driving Examiners assess • find out more information about our ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign • find out the top reasons why people do not pass their driving test in Bristol We'll be inviting anyone who had a test booked at Bristol Kingswood and Bristol Avonmouth test centres between 11 September and 30 November 2023. Please encourage your pupils to attend - especially if you think they'll benefit from visiting the test centre and talking to driving examiners to help reduce their nerves.
A statement from NASP on the sudden passing of Lou Walsh ADI
The National Associations Strategic Partnership joins with colleagues across the driver training industry today in expressing our deep sorrow at the tragic loss of Lou Walsh.
For all those who had the pleasure and privilege of meeting her (and working with her) she was an inspirational trainer, passionate and dedicated to both supporting and improving the training of drivers and driver trainers, as well as improving road safety overall.
She will be remembered for all of the above, but also for her amazing efforts in creating and running the Big Learner Relay for Children in Need, literally mobilising a whole industry to raise tens of thousands of pounds for good causes.
We send our deepest condolences to her partner Blaine and her family at this difficult time.
She will be remembered as a leading light in the driver training industry.
10am until 12.30 in the Hilton Double Tree Hotel. Ferenway, Hull HU2 8NH.
An opportunity to meet and network with a local ADI Examiner, and chat with other like minded ADIs. PDI's especially welcome, come and see what the business is all about. Meet some of the team from MSA GB, find out about the support to your business we can offer. Friendly atmosphere, free to attend. Meet in Hotel Lounge
Please email: mike.yeomans@msagb.com to confirm attendance. Hope to see you there.
Warwick driving test centre Open Day: Saturday 2 September
DVSA would like to invite you to come to an open day at Warwick driving test centre if you use Warwick or Rugby test centres.
The open day is for driving instructors, learner drivers, their families, and anyone with an interest in road safety.
When the open day is: Saturday 2nd September 2023, 9.00am to 1.00pm
Warwick Driving Test Centre Wedgnock House, Wedgnock Lane, Warwick CV34 5AP
You do not need to book to come to the open day – just turn up on the day. You’re very welcome to bring your pupils and their families.
82% of people who came to a driving test centre open day in the past said it helped them feel more confident about their upcoming driving test.
What’s on during the open day: If you come to the open day, you and your pupils will be able to:
Meet and talk with Driving Examiners learn more about the driving test and what Driving Examiners assess find out more information about our ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign find out the top reasons why people do not pass their driving test in Warwick and Rugby DVSA will be inviting anyone who had a test booked at Warwick or Rugby test centres between 4 September and 10 October 2023.
Please encourage your pupils to attend - especially if you think they'll benefit from visiting the test centre and talking to driving examiners to help reduce their nerves.
MSA GB East Coast have made arrangements for discounted standards check training sessions with the award-winning Knowledgeable Instructor Training, on the following dates in the Area.
9th October - Mansfield - The Towers, Botany Avenue, Mansfield, NG18 5NG
20th October – Huddersfield - tbc
20th November – Southend - tbc
21st November - Cambridge Shelford Rugby Club, The Davey Field, Cambridge Rd, Great Shelford, Cambridge CB22 5JJ
1st December - Pontefract The Hut Kershaw Avenue, Castleford, United Kingdom
Time: 8.45am - 4.30pm
The cost of these workshops is £115, however, a £16 deduction (£99) will apply to MSA GB Members. Please book this directly through the website using the code MSA-16.
The Venues for some of events are still to be confirmed, however, please put these dates in your diary, as soon as the final details are available you will be able to book directly.
We will advertise further details as soon as they become available.
This year as well as the two in person events in Scotland and the West Coast & Wales we also have two online events. You are welcome to attend any of the events.
Our Area Events are a great way to keep abreast of the latest driver trainer news and industry developments, but we know that it can be difficult to find the time to attend our in-person events. We also know that sometimes you may want to attend an event outside of your area, but it’s just that bit too far to travel.
So, we’re going to be trialling two online events for the London & South East and the East Coast which will be conducted via the ZOOM platform.
The details of each event can be found below, for further information contact the area chairman of the meeting you would like to attend.
East Coast – Monday 30th October Time: 7pm - 9.30pm
Speakers: DVSA Local ADI Examiner Mike Yeomans - MSA GB National Chair & Area 2 Chairman Peter Harvey MBE -MSA GB Vice Chairman To secure your place, please email: mike.yeomans@msagb.com with your details.
London & South East - 12th November Time: 4pm – 6pm
Speakers: Tom Kwok - London & South East Chairman Peter Harvey MBE - MSA GB Vice Chairman to secure your place, please email: tom.kwok@msagb.com with your details.
Have you signed up to our free online - ‘Find My Local MSA GB Instructor Directory’?
The Directory has only been open to members in the Member Area for a matter of weeks, but already we’ve had several instructors sign up.
Remember in the competitive driver training sphere, this is a great way to raise your profile in your local area and also highlight any specialist teaching skills that you may have. With a presence on the MSA GB App and website once live, the directory will be easily accessible by the public, who can use our simple search engine to source a driving instructor in their local area, who suits their learning needs.
For MSA GB members it couldn’t be simpler to input your details. To upload your profile onto the directory, all you need to do is:
Log into the Member Area
Look to the left of the page and scroll down until you see three blue arrow tabs.
Click on the tab - ‘Add Directory listing’
This is just one of the many fantastic benefits that MSA GB members get to enjoy with their membership, which also includes:
● PI & PL Insurance cover totalling £10 million.
● Legal & Technical Advice
● Member Representation
● Access to a wealth of exclusive information and downloadable resources
We’re delighted to be able to reveal that our MSA GB 2024 Annual Conference (22 - 23 March) will be taking place at the stunning Telford Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort in Shropshire.
Set in rural surroundings, this modern resort will allow delegates to enjoy the conference proceedings in an idyllic setting overlooking the iconic UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ironbridge Gorge, nestled amid acres of gorgeous Severn Valley.
While we have made sure that the conference programme is filled with topical sessions, lively debate and the chance to network, there’ll also be plenty of opportunities to make the most of the hotel amenities, as delegates get to enjoy FREE access to the hotel sauna, gym, pool and other leisure facilities. Details of which will be provided closer to the conference.
Delegates will also be able to take advantage of a reduced rate to relax at the spa, or if you prefer to do your networking away from the conference hall, we’ve also secured a discount for the hotel golf course.
Thinking of making a weekend of it and want to bring the family? The Telford Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort provide the perfect blend of grown-up relaxation and kid-friendly fun, with a special children’s menu and dedicated family swimming times.
Keep an eye on Newslink, the MSA GB website, our app and social media channels, as we’ll soon be releasing the details of our conference ticket packages.
Please note all bookings for the spa and golf course will need to be made with the hotel directly. The details of how to book will be announced shortly.
Passing your driving test can be your ticket to freedom, allowing you to take on work opportunities and chances to travel that were previously unattainable. However while for some their driving test can be a little nerve wracking, others are overwhelmed by their test nerves to the point they become debilitating. As part of their ‘Ready to Pass’ campaign the DVSA (click here to view) reported that 1 in 10 people who fail their driving test say it was mostly down to nerves.
We always want to help our members in any way we can to better support their pupils, so we recently reached out to get your top tips on how to calm those test nerves and we were overwhelmed by the response. Thank you to all those that contributed.
Here are our top five:
Accept the fact that you’re nervous. Then think ‘I can do this!’ because I know what to do and how to do it.
Mindfulness. Slow shallow breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Manifestation. See yourself driving your car and ask yourself why you want to drive…it’s not a need but a want.
Bring a sweet or piece of chewing gum to keep your mouth from drying up.
If test nerves become overwhelming during the test, ask the examiner if you can park on the left in a safe place, to compose yourself before it gets too bad.
If you want to know more about supporting your pupils with their test nerves, then book now for our Scottish Area Annual Conference here on 5th November, to hear from Confident Drivers’ Kev and Tracey Field, who will be leading the session – ‘Common Reasons for Driving Test Nerves and how to help.’
In June 2023, DVSA asked you to complete their annual ‘Working as a driving instructor’ survey.
This was to get feedback on a range of topics which helps them to plan for the future, find more about out how the current economic situation has affecting you, your business and pupils.
Sharing the findings
In their latest blog post, Amanda Lane, Head of Driver Testing and Training Policy shares the findings from the survey. She also sets out our immediate priorities to support ADIs.
Read the blog post to find out more about:
• average hourly lesson prices • how many ADIs have availability to take on new pupils • satisfaction with the role
The latest version of The Highway Code in Welsh is now also available to buy in print in shops and online, or from our official supplier on the Safe Driving for Life website.
You can also access The Highway Code in Welsh digitally on GOV.UK.
Mae Rheolau'r Ffordd Fawr ar gael i'w brynu yn Gymraeg
Mae’r fersiwn diweddaraf o Reolau’r Ffordd Fawr ar gael i’w brynu o wefan Gyrru’n Ddiogel am Oes neu fel e-lyfr gan fanwerthwyr ar-lein.
Gallwch gyrchu Rheolau'r Ffordd Fawr yn Gymraeg yn ddigidol ar wefan GOV.UK.
Friday 22nd September 2023, Doors open at 6.30pm for 7.00pm start.
St Peter and St Paul’s Church Hall, Parkstone Road, Hastings. TN34 2NT.
£5 entry to include refreshments and buffet.
MSA GB would like to invite all ADI’s and PDI’s to this event. MSA GB members and non-members all welcome.
Confirmed Speakers to include:
• Mike Yeomans, MSA GB Chairman • Tom Kwok, MSA GB London and South East Area Director • Dawn Cummins, Transformational Author, Nervousness and Mindfulness • Sussex Police, Sussex Safer Roads Partnership • Lawrence Brand, DVSA - Hastings Test Centre • Terry Cummins, MSA GB London and South East Area Manager
Attendees will receive a CPD Certificate.
We hope you will find the evening useful and informative.
To help with numbers, please call/text Terry on 07719 697881 or email terence.cummins@btinternet.com
With the DVSA reporting a 24% increase in the number of new driving instructor registrations in 2022/2023, compared to 2020/2021, our industry is set to become even more competitive as driving instructors do battle to gain the attention of those wanting to learn to drive. View report
So to help MSA GB members cut through the industry noise, and raise their profile, we’re delighted to announce the launch of our online - ‘Find My Local MSA GB Instructor’ directory, which will be proudly displayed on the MSA GB home page and on the MSA GB App. Once live, this new directory will be easily accessible by the public, who can use our simple search engine to source a driving instructor in their local area, who suits their learning needs.
For MSA GB members it couldn’t be simpler to input your details, and to make sure you stand out from the crowd we’ve included several opportunities for you to highlight any special skills, or teaching experience that you may have, for example teaching pupils with disabilities or those who are particularly anxious drivers.
To read more and learn how to add your information to the new directory please click here
Following a review of The Highway Code in 2020, changes were made in January 2022 to help improve road safety for cyclists, pedestrians, and horse-riders.
To raise awareness of these changes, THINK! launched the ‘Travel Like You Know Them’ campaign.
Travel Like You Know Them
The campaign, which was launched in July 2022, speaks to everyone who uses the road, with a focus on those who have a greater responsibility to reduce the risk that they may pose to others.
By offering an insight into the lives of everyday road users, the campaign aims to help people better understand each other and see more than just vehicles on the road.
The campaign is being re-launched on Thursday 3 August 2023, so look out for any messages on their social media pages.
Any doubts about whether low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) are going to be used as a political football in the lead up to the next general election have been unceremoniously booted into touch by prime minister Rishi Sunak.
In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, published on 30 July, Mr Sunak confirmed he has ordered a review into LTNs in England, saying he wants to support people to “use their cars to do all the things that matter to them”.
To quote him in full, Mr Sunak said: “The vast majority of people in the country use their cars to get around and are dependent on cars.
“I just want to make sure people know that I’m on their side in supporting them to use their cars to do all the things that matter to them.”
Needless to say, Labour has condemned the comments.
As reported by BBC News, Louise Haigh, the shadow transport secretary, accused the Conservatives of “pure hypocrisy” for accelerating and funding LTN’s before “denouncing” the policy.
Ms Haigh said road safety measures were often demanded by local communities so the decisions must be properly consulted on and made by them.
Meanwhile, the Local Government Association, which represents local councils, said the review was “unnecessary” and councils were best placed to make decisions with their communities.
It is not clear whether the Government could make councils alter or scrap existing schemes.
The review will only look at LTNs in England, as they are a devolved matter in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
What does the research say? LTNs aim to reduce through traffic in residential areas, usually by the use of barriers which prevent cars from accessing certain streets, while leaving them open to pedestrians and cyclists.
Many LTNs were put in place during 2020, thanks to Government funding, to prevent an increase in vehicle traffic as people avoided public transport during the Covid pandemic.
The schemes have polarised opinion, with critics claiming that LTNs have increased traffic and pollution in surrounding areas.
Some Conservative MPs have even described them as harming the freedom of motorists.
However, research published in December 2022 suggests LTNs reduce traffic and air pollution without displacing the problem to nearby streets.
The study by researchers at Imperial College London looked at three LTNs in London, to identify their impact on both air pollution and traffic within the LTN zones and in the surrounding area.
Researchers found that concentrations of nitrogen dioxide fell by 5.7% within the LTNs and by just under 9% on their boundaries. They also found that traffic dropped by over half inside the LTNs and by 13% at the boundaries.
Meet the examiners event - Plymouth driving test centre Tuesday 8 August DVSA would like to invite you to a “Meet the Examiners” event at Plymouth driving test centre if you use the test centre.
The event is for driving instructors, learner drivers, their families, and anyone with an interest in road safety.
When is the event: Tuesday 8 August 2023, 15.15pm to 17.15pm
Plymouth Driving Test Centre Ernesettle Lane
Plymouth
PL5 2EY
You do not need to book in advance – just turn up on the day. You’re very welcome to bring your pupils and their families.
82% of people who came to a driving test centre event in the past said it helped them feel more confident about their upcoming driving test.
What’s on during this event: If you come to this event, you and your pupils will be able to:
meet and talk with driving examiners learn more about the driving test and what driving examiners assess find out more information about our ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign find out the top reasons why people do not pass their driving test in Plymouth We'll be inviting anyone who had a test booked at Plymouth test centre to attend.
Please encourage your pupils to attend - especially if you think they'll benefit from visiting the test centre and talking to driving examiners to help reduce their nerves.
The DVSA and NASP meet on a quarterly basis – this was the third meeting of the year. The meeting was attended by seven representatives from the DVSA and three NASP associations. The purpose of this meeting was for the DVSA to provide an update on the following topics:
• Driver recovery • Driver policy • ADI registrar • ADI examiner • DVSA Ready to Pass? campaign
The DVSA and NASP both discussed and provided updates on action points noted at previous meetings. The points are as follows:
• Relationship managers – the DVSA is working on a proposal to introduce a relationship manager scheme in the autumn for key stakeholders. • Organisation chart – NASP has requested an organisation chart highlighting ADI area managers, heads of departments and what their teams do, operational managers (including how many areas there are), LDTMs and key members of staff at DVSA. This has been agreed to be created by September 2023. • Test centre open days – the external affairs and communication teams are waiting for the proposal to be reviewed by senior team. • DVSA and NASP agreed to hold an in-person workshop on 1 August 2023. • Booking driving test and learner behaviour – DVSA and NASP are working together to create a follow up blog to the one posted on 6 July about driving test waiting times. • Behavioural change workshop – DVSA and NASP agreed to hold this workshop at the end of November/early December. NASP to provide DVSA with dates. • ADI investigations on GOV.UK – DVSA met with CFI team (who conduct investigations) and it was agreed that basic guidance will be published on gov.uk and request has been made. • Terms of reference – DVSA and NASP agreed to a 7 day deadline to provide the meeting agenda and action log ahead of quarterly meetings.
Driver services update: Waiting times for booking a driving test remained high in May, with the average waiting time recorded as 17.3 weeks. The DVSA is aiming to reduce waiting times to 12 weeks by the end of the financial business year (31 March 2024).
There is 7% (100,000 tests) more demand for driving tests this year, caused by the impact from industrial action and having reduced capacity to provide these tests. The DVSA ensured it ringfenced a number of tests for learners who were affected by the industrial action so that learners could reschedule their tests as close to their original driving test as possible.
The DVSA has seen a change in booking behaviour following the Covid-19 pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, the average customer would wait until their ADI confirmed they were ready to sit their driving test, however, ADIs have recorded an increase in the number of learners who book their tests before they have started learning to drive. This means there are a high number of tests that are not ready to be delivered. The DVSA lost 1 million driving tests since the Covid-19 pandemic but have since made these 1 million driving tests available again. The DVSA confirmed it has delivered 550,000 of those tests and the remaining 450,000 are available.
The DVSA has been actively encouraging driving examiner recruitment by running a large recruitment campaign to attract high quality and a diverse range of driving examiners. Since April 2021, there have been 474 examiners who have entered active testing. The rate of examiner attrition is 15 per month.
The DVSA has procured new software in the deployment teams to help book driving tests for driving examiners who work on a shift or part-time basis. This should increase the number of available tests and release these tests further in advance, allowing flexibility for both driving examiners and learners.
Driver policy update:
BOTs:
The DVSA and NASP discussed how they can work together to improve the support and guidance ADIs need to encourage learners and change booking behaviour back to pre-Covid-19 behaviour.
The DVSA is targeting businesses that have breached their booking terms and conditions. So far, 177 businesses have been suspended from using the DVSA booking service. IT and technology teams at DVSA are clamping down on parties using IP addresses that are problematic. DVSA welcomed ADIs who informed them about phishing scams and fraudulent activity.
DVSA and NASP discussed the potential of enforcing penalties against learners, ADIs and third parties who abuse the system.
Booking behaviour:
The DVSA plans on posting a blog on the ‘safe driving for life’ website, which will target young learner drivers and will encourage them to book their driving tests when they are ready.
The DVSA is going to gain more data and insight from learners who have received their driving test results by adding additional questions to the ongoing satisfaction survey in the test result email.
ADI registrar update:
Not all ADIs are aware of the national standard. The DVSA and NASP discussed how they can work together to educate ADIs about how to improve their standards through CPD courses, what CPD is and where CPD can be accessed. Before any changes to the standard checks are introduced, the DVSA and NASP want to ensure ADIs are better prepared.
Criminal records:
DVSA informed NASP that their criminal record check supplier recently moved their contact centre. This has resulted in the supplier not being able to answer questions or provide relevant information. Weekly meetings are taking place between DVSA and their supplier. The DVSA will update NASP once this issue has been resolved.
ORDIT:
A number of NASP members asked for clarification around the number of ADIs that are allowed to register for ORDIT – it was previously believed to be a maximum of 150 members. The DVSA confirmed there is no limit on the number of approved ADIs on the register and encouraged as many ADIs to join as possible to increase the standard of instruction. DVSA will be working to educate ADIs about ORDIT and help those who apply to be better prepared.
ADI examiner update:
The DVSA is actively recruiting from the driving examiner workforce. There are 5 newly trained ADI examiners and they are in the process of recruiting another 10 to train in September. The DVSA offers an intense training programme which includes 5 week residential training and ongoing development opportunities following the programme. The DVSA is aiming to recruit a further 15 ADI examiners next year.
TIP:
There are currently 39,550 registered ADIs (March 2023). Since the changes to the parameters in May 2023, the DVSA has seen a positive reduction in the number of ADIs hitting 4 parameters. There are now 4,200 ADIs hitting that target compared to 10,000 ADIs before the implemented changes were made.
Engagement calls:
DVSA have delivered 4,624 calls in total. The feedback on engagement calls remains positive and the DVSA continues to receive calls from ADIs requesting an engagement call to have their standards check.
ADI performance reports:
The DVSA receives around 100 requests per week. They have been working with Government Digital Services to improve the way ADIs can request their data. DVSA will be working to promote the new online form (Request your Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) Driving Test Data Report) for ADIs to complete.
Book to hold:
If there are no suitable available tests, then the PDI can pay for a test and put it on hold (they will provide a preferred test centre and date) Deployment will then allocate a test.
The DVSA confirmed that part 2 figures are currently 480 and part 3 are currently 396. The DVSA is working towards a target for all PDIs to be offered a test within 15 days of joining the hold list. They are currently ahead of target and offering tests within 11 days of joining.
Ready to Pass update?:
DVSA and NASP will be holding a behavioural change workshop on 1 August. Topics of discussion will include: - Encouraging ADIs to complete CPD - Encouraging ADIs to sit in on driving tests
Working as a Driving instructor results:
14.7 % of all ADIs responded to the Working as a Driving Instructor survey. The DVSA will publish these results early August.
Barriers to taking mock tests:
Recent survey feedback highlights that learners are reluctant to sit a mock test for the following reasons; its too expensive, they have already taken a real test and failed, learners are happy to watch a YouTube video and their ADI did not offer a mock test. The DVSA is working on creating guidance for learners who want to take a mock test.
NASP update:
NASP asked DVSA to consider updating the ‘find driving schools, lessons and instructors’ page on GOV.UK to display if driving instructors offer manual and/or automatic training and mock tests for learners.
The DVSA said that this work will need to wait and be discussed as part of our future conversations with NASP and wider industry about making better consumer information available to learners and their parents.
NASP also requested an updated version of the key main areas of failure/underperformance of ADIs on Standards Checks/Part 3s as members find this information useful and it can be incorporated into CPD in this area to help trainers work on any issues. This will be discussed as part of workshop we are holding with NASP on ADI qualification process in October.
Future meetings:
The next DVSA and NASP quarterly meeting will take place on 7 November 2023.
Summer could spell a stark rise in tyre-related incidents, as more Brits choose to staycation
MSA GB is issuing a strong and stark warning to Britain’s motorists taking to the roads this summer, to help prevent tyre-related interruptions to holidays, day trips and travel plans.
Kettering driving test centre Open Day: Saturday 5 August
DVSA would like to invite you to come to an open day at Kettering driving test centre. The open day is for driving instructors, learner drivers, their families, and anyone with an interest in road safety. When the open day is: Saturday 5 August 2023, 9.00am to 1.00pm Kettering Driving Test Centre 5-6 Orion Way
Kettering NN15 6NL
You do not need to book to come to the open day – just turn up on the day. You’re very welcome to bring your pupils and their families. 82% of people who came to a driving test centre open day in the past said it helped them feel more confident about their upcoming driving test. What’s on during the open day: If you come to the open day, you and your pupils will be able to: • meet and talk with driving examiners • learn more about the driving test and what driving examiners assess • find out more information about our ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign • find out the top reasons why people do not pass their driving test in Kettering We'll be inviting anyone who had a test booked at Kettering test centre to attend. Please encourage your pupils to attend - especially if you think they'll benefit from visiting the test centre and talking to driving examiners to help reduce their nerves.
Last Friday (21 July 2023) marked 13 months to the day since DVSA first published guidance to help you carry out realistic mock driving tests for your pupils. They’ve been really encouraged by the feedback you’ve given us since then. To mark 13 months since the guidance was first published, here are 13 facts about mock tests and our guidance.
In the latest blog post, Graham O’Brien, DVSA Driving Test Manager talks about all things mock test, including:
• 13 key facts about mock tests • the main barriers for your pupils doing a mock test • updates to the mock test guidance on the Ready to Pass? campaign website • The recent mock test webinar
Stevenage Test Centre Open Day: Saturday 29 July We’d like to invite you to come to an open day at Stevenage driving test centre if you use the test centre. The open day is for driving instructors, learner drivers, their families, and anyone with an interest in road safety.
When the open day is: Saturday 29 July 2023, 9.00am to 1.00pm Location: Stevenage Driving Test Centre, Session 1: 9.00am to 9.30am Session 2: 9.30am to 10.00am Session 3: 10.00am to 10.30pm Session 4: 10.30am to 11.00am Session 5: 11.30am to 12.00pm Session 6: 12.00pm to 12.30pm Session 7: 12.30pm to 1.00pm
Space is limited, please book you place onto one of the sessions using this linkclickhere
82% of people who came to a driving test centre open day in the past said it helped them feel more confident about their upcoming driving test.
What’s on during the open day If you come to the open day, you and your pupils will be able to: • meet and talk with driving examiners • learn more about the driving test and what driving examiners assess • find out more information about our ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign • find out the top reasons why people do not pass their driving test in Stevenage and St Albans We’ll be inviting people who have a test booked at Stevenage and St Albans between 31 July and 9 November to attend. Please encourage your pupils to book a space - especially if you think they’ll benefit from visiting the test centre and talking to driving examiners to help reduce their nerves.
Everyone gets nervous about their driving test. Passing your test is one of life’s milestones that if you do pass, can prove life changing, as you get to venture out on the open road alone, going where you want, when you want. It can also create opportunities to travel and to say yes to job offers that you wouldn’t previously have been able to consider.
However for some pupils those nerves and a fear of failing can get in the way on test day. So we’re asking MSA GB members, what do you do to help your pupils re focus and get a grip on their nerves. Are you an advocate of calm breathing and mindfulness, or perhaps you think switching your phone off an hour prior is the way to quieten those nerves.
You can share your nerve beating tips, by emailing our membership team on: info@msagb.com
A critical service to driving instructors is the provision of a dual controlled replacement vehicle for either a non-fault or fault accidents. But in recent months, we have had several calls from MSA GB members across the country who have been let down by their insurance company not being able to supply a dual-controlled vehicle when they have had an accident.
Understanding the stress and the detriment to your business this can cause, we are pleased to announce that we have formed an exclusive agreement with AI solutions to supply a replacement vehicle to you should the need arise. This means that MSA GB members will be able to obtain both a replacement manual or automatic dual controlled car for both fault and non-fault accidents, without the need to buy an extra insurance policy to cover the risk.
The cost of using this new service is zero. You don’t need to register or buy an insurance policy. If you need to use the service the cost of your replacement vehicle will be charged either to their insurance policy or yours, depending entirely on who is at fault. Additionally, if the vehicle needs to be recovered, this also will be charged to the appropriate insurer. The cost of using this new service is zero. You don’t need to register or buy an insurance policy. If you need to use the service the cost of your replacement vehicle will be charged either to their insurance policy or yours, depending entirely on who is at fault. Additionally, if the vehicle needs to be recovered, this also will be charged to the appropriate insurer.
To find out more, head over to the Member Area. tinyurl.com/edsnw2uf
Glasgow Theory Test Centre: Travel Disruption 31 July - 13 August There will be road closures, parking restrictions and public transport diversions in central Glasgow due to World Cycling Championships between Monday 31 July and Sunday 13 August.
The Theory Test Centre on West Nile Street will be open as usual but access to it will be affected as follows:
On 4,7,8 and 12 August The centre will not be accessible by vehicles all day as races are being held in the city centre. It will be accessible on foot, but this will mean using special marshalled crossings of the race route for safety. Between 31 July-13 August No stopping or parking outside the test centre on West Nile Street, even when the road is open since barriers along the race route will remain in place. Some city centre road closures will remain in place, but pedestrian crossings will be accessible and un-marshalled on days where there are no races. We are contacting everyone with a theory test booked at Glasgow theory test centre from 31 July -13 August to let them know.
If you have pupils with tests booked at the centre during this period, please remind them that they should allow for extra time to travel. Alternatively they can rebook tests here.
Please remind pupils who decide to rearrange their theory test that they need to do this at least three working days before the date of their test to avoid losing their fee. For example, a test booked for Friday 4 August would need to be rearranged no later than Monday 31 July.
Up to date information about road closures and diversions in Glasgow during the World Cycling Championships can be found at Get Ready Glasgow
Please find below information on another new service for MSA GB members, we have taken a lot of calls over the past few months from instructors being let down by their insurance company not being able to supply a dual controlled vehicle when they have had an accident, causing even more concerns at an already stressful time, we now have an agreement with AI Solutions to supply a vehicle to you should the need arise.
Replacement Dual Control Cars When Things Don’t Quite Go to Plan. Call Your Dedicated Member Number 01945 425211 To Report the Incident and Arrange a Car.
A critical service to driving instructors is the provision of a dual controlled replacement vehicle following non- fault and fault accidents. Currently some driving instructors are being sold policies by their brokers or insurers which are failing to provide a dual-controlled car following an accident, sometimes, causing you to lose more business until your vehicle is repaired.
We are proud to offer exclusively to MSA GB members the provision of a replacement manual or automatic dual controlled car for both fault and non-fault accidents without the need to buy an extra insurance policy to cover the risk.
It’s important to stress that you are free to get your vehicle repaired wherever you choose. The FCA state under "treating customers fairly" that a policyholder does not have to use the services of their broker or insurer but can access any service they choose without their instructor insurance policy being invalidated.
In the event of an accident, you simply need to contact us, we will inform your insurer, and your replacement dual controlled car will be delivered to your chosen location as soon as possible. If your vehicle is drivable & legal post event, then it is best to arrange a delivery to the body repairer at an agreed time. If the vehicle is not drivable then we will ensure that it is delivered to the most convenient location for you. Sadly, statistically, accidents happen but calling 01945 425211 will ensure that the impact is kept to a minimum.
www.aiinsurancesolutions.co.uk
Carol Mackie - Director 07914 275539 carol@aiinsurancesolutions.co.uk
Andrew Peet - Director 07886 443811 andrew@aiinsurancesolutions.co.uk
Lancing and Chichester Test Centre Open Day: Sunday 16 July DVSA would like to invite you to come to an open day at Lancing and Chichester driving test centre if you use the test centre.
The open day is for driving instructors, learner drivers, their families, and anyone with an interest in road safety.
When the open day is: Sunday 16 July 2023, 10.00am to 4.00pm
Lancing and Chichester Driving Test Centre
49 Chartwell Road
Lancing Business Park
Lancing
West Sussex
BN15 8TU
You do not need to book to come to the open day – just turn up on the day. You’re very welcome to bring your pupils and their families.
82% of people who came to a driving test centre open day in the past said it helped them feel more confident about their upcoming driving test.
What’s on during the open day If you come to the open day, you and your pupils will be able to meet and talk with driving examiners learn more about the driving test and what driving examiners assess find out more information about our ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign find out the top reasons why people do not pass their driving test in Lancing and Chichester participate in Q&A sessions find out more about different types of tests DVSA will be inviting anyone who has a test booked in Lancing and Chichester test centres to attend.
Please encourage your pupils to attend - especially if you think they’ll benefit from visiting the test centre and talking to driving examiners to help reduce their nerves.
Chilwell driving test centre Open Day: Sunday 16 July We’d like to invite you to come to an open day at Chilwell driving test centre.
The open day is for driving instructors, learner drivers, their families, and anyone with an interest in road safety.
When the open day is: Sunday 16 July 2023, 10am to 2pm
Chilwell Driving Test Centre
Unit 24, Business Park Eldon
Eldon Rd,
Beeston
Nottingham NG9 6DZ
You do not need to book to come to the open day – just turn up on the day. You’re very welcome to bring your pupils and their families.
82% of people who came to a driving test centre open day in the past said it helped them feel more confident about their upcoming driving test.
What’s on during the open day: If you come to the open day, you and your pupils will be able to:
meet and talk with driving examiners learn more about the driving test and what driving examiners assess
find out more information about our ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign
find out the top reasons why people do not pass their driving test in Chilwell
We'll be inviting anyone who had a test booked at Chilwell test centre to attend.
Please encourage your pupils to attend - especially if you think they'll benefit from visiting the test centre and talking to driving examiners to help reduce their nerves.
Theory test booking service: Scheduled Maintenance DVSA will be carrying out essential maintenance on the theory test service from 05:45 and 10:00 on Saturday 8 July. During the outage you won't be able to:
book a theory test change or cancel a theory test *The practical test booking service will not be affected by this.
Yesterday DVSA Chief Executive, Loveday Ryder attended the Transport Select Committee. She spoke about the work the agency is doing to recover the driving test service and the impact of continued high demand for driving tests on the service.
In her latest blog post, Loveday goes into more details about the high demand for driving tests, what is causing it and the effect this is having on driving test waiting times.
DVSA would like to invite you to come to an open day at Leicester (Wigston) driving test centre if you use the test centre.
The open day is for driving instructors, learner drivers, their families, and anyone with an interest in road safety.
When the open day is: Saturday 8 July 2023, 8.00am to 12.00pm
Leicester (Wigston) Driving Test Centre Saffron House 1 Tigers Rd Wigston Leicester LE18 4WS
You do not need to book to come to the open day – just turn up on the day. You’re very welcome to bring your pupils and their families.
82% of people who came to a driving test centre open day in the past said it helped them feel more confident about their upcoming driving test.
What’s on during the open day If you come to the open day, you and your pupils will be able to meet and talk with driving examiners learn more about the driving test and what driving examiners assess find out more information about our ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign find out the top reasons why people do not pass their driving test in Leicester (Wigston) participate in Q&A sessions find out more about different types of tests We’ll be inviting anyone who has a test booked Leicester (Wigston) test centres to attend.
Please encourage your pupils to attend - especially if you think they’ll benefit from visiting the test centre and talking to driving examiners to help reduce their nerves.
Please be advised that the MSA GB PI & PL insurance renewal cover letter is now available on the MSA GB website via the member area. To view or download the cover letter please log in to the website and then click clickhere
You will still be receiving the same comprehensive cover as always, which includes:
Professional Indemnity Insurance up to £5 million Public Liability Insurance in the sum of £10 million
Although it is important to note, this insurance policy is only available to fully paid up members of MSA GB.
If you need any assistance or have a membership enquiry, please contact: info@msagb.com / 01787 221 020.
The high waiting times for driving test appointments has led to a rise in the use of automated bots that exploit learner drivers. This results in the reselling of driving tests, often at higher prices.
DVSA know that this is causing issues for you and your pupils and have been working to tackle the problem.
In her latest blog post, DVSA Chief Executive Officer Loveday Ryder, explains what bots are, the challenges they pose, how DVSA are protecting learner drivers and the steps they're taking to deal with them.
Some of DVSA online services will not be available from 6pm tonight (29 June) until 12am (30 June). On GOV.UK you will not be able to: • book and manage driving tests • find driving schools, lessons and instructors • use ADI services (such as renewing or updating your registration) • check, or register to check, your Driver CPC training hours • record any Driver CPC training you provide • record delegated driving test details We’re sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. Please note that you will still be able to book and manage theory tests.
With digital tax just on the horizon, MSA GB have an agreement in place with Quickbooks online to secure a 50% discount for MSA GB members on two of their premium accounting packages, to give you peace of mind and help you tackle whatever the digital future may bring.
Essentials Package
For small businesses working with suppliers. Manage VAT and Income Tax with up to 3 users.
Plus
For businesses managing projects, stock, VAT, and Income Tax. Up to 5 users.
The packages are contract free throughout with no cancellation fee.
This exclusive member offer can only be secured by contacting our MSA GB representative at Quickbooks - Ollie Nobes, on: 07723 507 026 or email: Ollie_Nobes@intuit.com quoting: MSAGB
Have you downloaded this month’s issue of Newslink?
An MSA GB member exclusive, Newslink keeps you fully informed on all the industry news, training opportunities, and occasional road tests on relevant cars. With regular contributors including the MSA GB Board and the DVSA, Newslink doesn’t just cover national stories, it also has its finger on the pulse of local and area issues.
This month’s top stories include:
Waiting times woes... continue. Despite its best efforts, the DVSA has told NASP that long waiting times for L-tests would continue –and it blamed examiner strikes for undoing its work.
Drop the D: AI taking on ADIs. Could AI enter the world of ADIs and teach learners better than driving instructors? We put the theory to the test, with an experienced ADI taking on AI.
A new index of ADI groups and associations has been added to Newslink - so it’s time to let us know about your group.
Pay per mile coming? A new report has said the UK should charge motorists on a per-mile basis in a major overhaul of the UK’s motoring tax system.
We’ve got some great practical advice from Steve Garrod in the latest issue of Newslink on how to help your learners respond in the best possible way when they’re faced with the arrival of the ‘blues n twos’.
Who’s responsible? Why a major change in the way the law looks at road traffic collisions could send shockwaves through the motoring world.
Keep an eye out in our next issue for details of our upcoming East Coast events starting on the 9th October. MSA GB East Coast has secured discounted standards check training sessions with the award-winning Knowledgeable Instructor Training.
As well as viewing it online, *Newslink can also be easily downloaded * so you can read it at your leisure.
On the front page, click on News and select Newslink in the drop-down column.
Click on the red download button of the issue you wish to read.
This will take you to the Yumpu.com online version of the magazine.
To download, look to the right of the screen where you will see three icons.
The middle icon is the one you need to download, which is an underlined downward arrow.
Once clicked, the usual download process will start, which you should see at the bottom of your screen. Then depending on your device settings, once downloaded, Newslink will either automatically open, or you will need to head to your Downloads to retrieve your issue.
See a pale blue box when perusing the latest issue of Newslink? These sections are all interactive and when you click on them, provide extra information on the topic referenced in the column you’re reading.
MSA GB East Coast have made arrangements for discounted standards check training sessions with the award-winning Knowledgeable Instructor Training, on the following dates in the Area.
9th October - Mansfield
20th October - Huddersfield
20th November - Southend
21st November - Cambridge
1st December - Pontefract.
The Venues for all these events are still to be confirmed, however, please put these dates in your diary, as soon as the final details are available you will be able to book directly. MSA GB members will get a £10 discount by using the code MSA-10. Check out the KIT Website for details of the courses https://www.adikit.co.uk/courses
We will advertise further details as soon as they become available.
DVSA wrote to you on 8 June to let you know about planned industrial action by the Public & Commercial Services union (PCS).
PCS have now informed DVSA that it has withdrawn strike action in June to enable further discussions to take place.
As a result, tests will be provided as normal on 15, 16, 19, 22 & 23 June.
If you had already moved your appointment or test to another date, it will still go ahead on the new date you chose.
If you have changed a test or appointment for you’re a customer or pupil, you should reassure them their test or appointment will go ahead on the new date.
Customers should attend their appointments as planned, unless they have been contacted directly about a cancellation. They should keep checking their emails, texts and GOV.UK for updates.
New research from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) shows that approved driving instructors (ADIs) are now using mock driving tests more regularly.
The survey, which ran during February 2023, shows that nearly 1 in 5 ADIs are now offering mock tests more regularly since DVSA published guidance on how to carry out mock tests.
The survey also revealed that:
97% of ADIs offer mock tests to either their pupils or pupils of other instructors 2% of ADIs previously did not offer mock tests, but have started to since DVSA published the new guidance 1 in 5 ADIs had seen requests for mock tests increase in the 3 months prior to the survey
The full results of the survey, which 4,033 ADIs filled in, have been published on GOV.UK.
Research with learner drivers has shown that people who have taken realistic mock driving tests are 1.4 times more likely to pass their actual driving test.
Get help with mock tests in a new webinar
DVSA is running a webinar on Monday 19 June, from 6pm to 7pm, to help ADIs with any questions they have about carrying out mock tests.
It will be hosted by Graham O’Brien, Assistant Chief Driving Examiner.
Don’t worry if you’ve never been to a webinar before. You’ll be able to see and hear the presenters, but nobody will be able to see or hear you.
You’ll be able to join via your PC, laptop, tablet or phone.
DVSA will do a short presentation, and then they’ll give you the chance to ask any questions you have about mock tests. You’ll be able to type any questions you’ve got, and they’ll do their best to answer as many as they can during the session.
This will download a file that you can open and then save into your calendar.
You do not need to register. Just use the link in the calendar appointment on the day. DVSA will send a reminder to you nearer the time with the direct link to join the webinar.
If you cannot come to the webinar, you'll be able to watch a recording of it later.
PCS members to take action at 258 test centres in England, Scotland and Wales Driving examiners in 258 test centres across England, Scotland and Wales have announced five days of strike action.
The more than 1,600 Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union members will walk out on June 15, 16, 19, 22 and 23 as part of the union’s long-running national dispute over pay, pensions, redundancy terms and job security.
to view what dates your centre may be affected: clickhere
Our partners at FBTC have been providing accountancy and tax support to UK Driving Instructors for over 25 years and in that time, have witnessed an enormous amount of change within the industry.
Having seen a need to provide an independent and authoritative analysis on the health of the UK Driver Training sector, FBTC created and conducted the Annual Driving Instructor Review, which has been widely regarded as the definitive guide to Driving Instructor earnings throughout the UK for the last eight years.
Share your thoughts on earnings and job satisfaction, this link is safe to click clickhere
Be entered in the draw to win £100 Amazon Voucher. Winner will be picked at random.
Since June 2021, DVSA have been sending surveys to driving instructors roughly every 6 months to find out what it’s like working as an approved driving instructor (ADI).
From now on, this will be an annual survey. We’ll run it throughout June of each year.
What's in the survey
The survey includes questions to help DVSA and ADI associations to understand more about: • your business - including things like lesson prices and the type of car you teach in • managing your business – including things like how many pupils you’re teaching and any challenges you’re facing • your work - including things like how satisfying you find the job • your skills and the resources available to you - including things like the support you get from DVSA • your continuing professional development • your health and wellbeing The survey does not ask for your name or ADI number. It’s anonymous and individual responses will not be shared or published.
How to take part The survey takes about 10 minutes to fill in. It closes at 11:59pm on 30 June 2023.
By filling in the survey, you’ll be helping to give us the fullest picture of the driving instructor profession in Great Britain’s history. To take the survey: clickhere
What happens next
We’ll publish a summary of the survey results on GOV.UK and send you a link to view them later in the summer. We’ll use the information you tell us to help us plan and improve our services for ADIs and learner drivers. View the results of previous surveys here: clickhere
Thank you for your time – we know how busy you are.
The West Coast & Wales committee have organised a “Basic First Aid at Work course for Friday 14th July at BizSpace in Swindon starting at 1.00 pm and finishing at 5.00pm.
The cost is £100.00 per person but that may come down if enough people are interested.
Please contact Arthur Mynott on arthur.mynott@msagb.com or tel. 07989852274 for more details.
This will be a very useful workshop to attend considering the amount of time we spend on the road and will be a valuable part of CPD.
Thinking about joining MSA GB? Then today’s the day as we’re offering an exclusive 20% discount on a year’s membership and joining fee when you sign up via the MSA GB App using code: APP1. The App is free and easy to download via the Apple App Store or Google Play.
DVSA is committed to learning as much as possible about what your pupils think of the resources it provides to help them prepare for their driving test. Such as how they used them, what impact they had and what other tools and content they would like to see.
To allow DVSA to do this they will be launching a new feedback survey for your pupils on Tuesday 23 May. They will be sent it a few days after they take their driving test so that they have had more time to reflect on their results and test experience.
The data gathered will be used by DVSA to improve the learning resources it provides to your pupils now and in the future, to help give them the best support possible in preparing for their driving test.
This new survey is different to the general feedback survey which is sent to your pupil’s in their test results email immediately after their test. It will be shorter and more specific to resources such as the ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign.
If you could encourage your pupils to complete the survey when they see it DVSA would really appreciate it.
Updated ‘Ready to Pass?’ Driving Instructor Toolkit
DVSA have recently updated our Driving Instructor Toolkit with new resources to help you promote the ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign with your pupils. By using these resources it will show that you are a supporter of DVSA and the ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign which could help attract new pupils who are shopping around for a driving instructor.
London & South East area are proud to present an event to discuss the common failure points in the local test centres
Guest speakers include: Teresa Afonso (Borehamwood LDTM) Scott Hadley (Mill Hill LDTM) Ali Saddique (ADI Examiner)
Tue 6th June 2023 7:15pm in the Manor Drive Methodist Church, Manor Drive, Whetstone, London. N20 0DZ
To book your place and for more information about MSA GB, please phone Tom Kwok on 07956269922 or Email :- MSAgreaterlondon@gmail.com Entrance to this meeting is free for members and £10 for non-members
DVSA has been made aware of a phishing email pretending to be from us asking for your address and postcode, date of birth and ADI personal reference numbers. DVSA only asks for this information if:
you have registered a new online business service account you’re asking us to lift a suspension on your account A genuine email from DVSA requesting this information would be sent from system.administrator@dvsa.gov.uk
If you receive an email asking for this information and you are unsure if it is from DVSA, do not respond but forward it by email to system.administrator@dvsa.gov.uk to check if the email was sent from us.
Help us to catch the culprits If you have received the phishing email and have responded with your details, it is important that you let us know by contacting system.administrator@dvsa.gov.uk.
We can then look to see if an account has been set up using your details and take action to protect you, close the account and take action against the fraudsters.
You should also report any scam emails to The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which is the government agency that works to protect individuals and businesses from the threat of cyber-attacks. You can do this through their website.
Reporting phishing emails to NCSC not only helps the individuals involved, but alerts the agency to emerging threats which they can investigate on behalf of others too.
Tips for spotting phishing emails There are some simple tips you can use to help spot phishing emails.
Check you recognise the email address the message has been sent ‘From’ and that it has been spelt correctly. If the email address isn’t shown in full, hover over it with your mouse and it will show the full address, if it is not from an address you recognise or spelt incorrectly it’s unlikely to be genuine Often phishing emails have bad grammar or spelling mistakes, so check that the email reads correctly and that there are no spelling mistakes If there are any links in the email, make sure that they go to the website you expect them to. If the link is from text within the email, hover your mouse over it so you can see the link the words will take you to In addition to the NCSC site, you can find more information on how to spot phishing emails at Scam emails | Action Fraud.
DVSA announce additional webinar dates to find out about a new online theory test progress tool DVSA’s official publisher’s, The Stationery Office (TSO), has launched a new multiuser tool to help organisations that deliver theory test training to drivers and riders. TSO ran some webinars to demonstrate the tool in April and May and due to high demand additional dates have been released. The free sessions are a chance to see the new multi-user platform and watch a demonstration. You can find the new webinar dates and sign up here: clickhere
What is the new tool? Trainers and organisations can save time and gain valuable information in supporting their drivers’ and pupils’ study for their theory tests. This will help them to pass more quickly. The new multiuser tool allows you to check on the progress of your drivers and pupils as they prepare to take their theory test. This means you can: • see the topics they understand well. • see their scores and check that their levels of understanding are improving. • identify areas where they may need extra help and support. • tailor revision sessions so they better meet your drivers’ needs The multiuser resource can be used to help with all theory tests. Organisations can check on students’ progress for heavy/large goods vehicles, this includes Driver CPC case studies and passenger-carrying vehicles theory test candidates. You can also use the resource to check on the progress of car, motorcycle and approved driving instructors (ADIs) candidates. It’s also a useful resource for fleet organisations to integrate into their ongoing training programmes for existing drivers.
DVSA has adjusted the parameters used to prioritise and better utilise ADI examiner resource when inviting approved driving instructors (ADI) for a standards check.
The parameters were introduced in 2021 as part of the new test information program (TIP) and they said they would keep the levels under review to make sure they were set at the right level.
DVSA have continued to analyse the data since the TIP was introduced and will be adjusting 2 of the 4 parameters, these are:
• driving faults - changing from an average of 5 or more driving faults per test to 6 or more • serious faults - changing from an average of 0.5 or more serious faults per test to 0.55
They are making the changes as now your pupils are completing full tests, the average number of driving and serious test faults has increased. This has meant they’ve needed to change the parameters to better align with the national data in the TIP.
The levels for the pass rate and physical interventions by a driving examiner are staying the same. You can find out about the other two indicators on GOV.UK
DVSA will continue to keep the parameters and the levels of the TIP under review.
DVSA have updated the information on applying for a refund of out-of-pocket expenses if your theory test or driving test was cancelled with less than 3 clear working days’ notice. : The new email address to claim is: OPEC@dvsa.gov.uk for further information and to download the form clickhere
DVSA would like to invite you to an open day at Birmingham (Garretts Green) driving test centre if you use the test centre.
The open day is for driving instructors, learner drivers, their families, and anyone with an interest in road safety.
When the open day is
Saturday 13 May 2023, 10am to 2pm Birmingham (Garretts Green) Driving Test Centre Granby Avenue Garretts Green Birmingham B33 0SD
You do not need to book to attend to the open day – just turn up on the day. You’re very welcome to take your pupils and their families.
82% of people who went to a driving test centre open day in the past said it helped them feel more confident about their upcoming driving test.
What’s on during the open day
If you attend the open day, you and your pupils will be able to:
• Meet and talk with driving examiners • Learn more about the driving test and what driving examiners assess • Find out more information about our ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign • Find out the top reasons why people do not pass their driving test in Birmingham (Garretts Green)
You’ll also be able to
• Explore a working police vehicle • Find how what you can do to help your car pass its MOT • ADI standards check Q&A • Show me tell me question demonstration.
DVSA will be inviting anyone who has a test booked at Birmingham (Garretts Green) test centre to attend.
Please encourage your pupils to attend - especially if you think they’ll benefit from visiting the test centre and talking to driving examiners to help reduce their nerves.
DVSA would like to invite you to an open day at Burgess Hill driving test centre if you use the test centre.
The open day is for driving instructors, learner drivers, their families, and anyone with an interest in road safety.
When the open day is
Saturday 13 May 2023, 12pm to 3pm Burgess Hill Driving Test Centre William Way Burgess Hill RH15 9AG
You do not need to book to attend the open day – just turn up on the day. You’re very welcome to take your pupils and their families.
82% of people who went to a driving test centre open day in the past said it helped them feel more confident about their upcoming driving test.
What’s on during the open day
If you attend the open day, you and your pupils will be able to:
• Observe demonstrations of the module 1 motorcycle test • Observe the coupling / uncoupling of an HGV • meet and talk with driving, motorcycle & HGV examiners • learn more about the driving test and what driving examiners assess • find out more information about our ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign • find out the top reasons why people do not pass their driving test in Burgess Hill
You’ll also be able to:
• explore a working fire engine and chat to the firefighters behind it • chat to the local traffic & motorcycle Police officers • find out about Bikesafe and Rider down training • learn more from advanced motoring companies • find out more about careers in the Civil Service
DVSA will be inviting anyone who has a test booked at Burgess Hill and neighbouring test centres to attend.
Please encourage your pupils to attend - especially if you think they’ll benefit from visiting the test centre and talking to driving examiners to help reduce their nerves.
With the ever changing technology in our modern vehicles, we thought this website may be of interest to you and your pupils,
Safe vehicles are a crucial element of the safe systems approach to road safety – a shared strategy to prevent death and serious injury from road crashes. Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) in turn play a huge role in the safe systems approach. In the ADAS Hub you will find useful information outlining ADAS technologies and links to further resources to learn more ADAS technology To View: clickhere
The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union has announced that its members have been asked to take national strike action on 28 April. This has changed from just being a regional strike day in London, south-east England, south-wet England and Wales. Prospect Union are also asking members to strike on 10 May and 7 June. However, we do not expect this to have any additional impact on driver, rider and instructor testing services. You can find the latest information about the driving, rider and instructor examiner strike on GOV.UK. Clickhere](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/driving-examiner-strike-april-2023)
DVSA are unable to confirm what level of impact this action might have on our services. Not all DVSA staff are PCS members, and even if they are, they might choose not to go on strike. So, we will not know which staff are participating in strike action until it takes place. If your pupil has booked a test themselves
We’re contacting all pupils who have a test booked on 28 April. This will tell them that they should attend their test as planned unless DVSA contacts them. Or they can also choose to change the date of their test if they want to. If you have booked a test for your pupil
Talk to your pupil to tell them that their test may be affected by the strike action.
If they want you to, you can change the date of their test now through your normal online booking system. You must give at least 3 clear working days’ notice to change the test date, or you’ll have to pay again. If they do not want to change the date, they should turn up for their appointment as planned. If the test cannot go ahead, the test will be rescheduled for the first available date, and they’ll be able to claim out-of-pocket expenses. They must have turned up for their test to be able to do this.
Rescheduling some tests in advance To help minimise the impact of the strike action we are rescheduling some tests in advance.
We will email candidates who this will affect ahead of the strike action. If you have booked a test for your pupil that is affected and you receive the message, you must let them know. Customer service centre
Our customer service centre might be affected by the strike action, and it may take longer than usual to answer your query. The customer service centre will be open from 8am to 4pm throughout March and April. Keep checking for updates You can find the latest information about the driving examiner strike here: clickhere Please also keep checking your emails.
Reminder: The UK government’s new Emergency Alert system will be tested at
3pm on Sun April 23rd.
This is only a test, so do NOT hold your mobile phone while driving. If you ever receive an alert or message while driving, you should never pick up the phone to deal with the message but should wait until you can pull up in a safe place.
A special offer to provide private medical plans for members of MSA GB has been arranged with HMCA, including a £50 gift card or £100 off your first-year subscription upon joining a private medical plan. You may transfer to HMCA at any age, without a medical examination and will receive guaranteed acceptance under our transfer facility.
This is a comprehensive plan which provides generous cash benefits towards surgery and other charges. This special offer is also available if you do not presently have private medical cover.
For further information and quotations contact HMCA by telephone on 01423 799949 or Visit: ClickHere
Yours sincerely,
Jane Blackmore HMCA Membership Director
HMCA/S PLC (trading as Hospital and Medical Care Association, HMCA and HMCA Members) which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN:307587). HMCA/S PLC is a company registered in England, company number: 01362094, registered office: Beech Hall, Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, HG5 0EA.
DVSA’s official publishers, The Stationery Office (TSO), is launching a new tool to help train drivers and riders through their theory tests.
Trainers and organisations can save time and gain valuable information in supporting their drivers and pupils study for their theory tests. This will help them to pass more quickly. The new tool allows you to check on the progress of your drivers and pupils as they prepare to take their theory test. This means you can: • See the topics they understand well • See their scores and check that their levels of understanding are improving • Identify areas where they may need extra help and support • Tailor revision sessions so they better meet your drivers’ needs
The resource can be used to help with all theory tests, such as checking on progress for heavy/large goods vehicles as well as Driver CPC case studies, and passenger-carrying vehicles theory test candidates. You can also use the tool to check on the progress of car, motorcycle and approved driving instructors (ADIs) candidates.
Sign up for a free webinar to find out more TSO is hosting a series of webinars in April and May to show the new multi-user platform and demonstrate the existing eLearning resources. You can sign up for the webinars for free, clickhere
If you are unable to make these dates, you should keep checking the Safe Driving for Life website. We will add more webinar dates as we arrange them.
We have recently updated our MSA GB Terms of Business, which can be downloaded via the Member Areahttps://msagb.com/restricted-content/. The Terms of Business once signed, provide a contract between you and your pupil, clearly detailing what they can expect from you as their driving instructor/school, and what you expect from them in return.
Unlike other Terms of Business that are available, these have been specifically tailored to ensure that both the driving instructor and pupil receive the same level of protection. Just a reminder that our updated Terms of Business, are just one of the many benefits that members can gain access to, with our full benefits package including:
Professional Indemnity insurance policy cover up to £5 million Public Liability insurance in the sum of £10 million Member support, with free advice available on technical, legal, business and insurance issues and phones that are answered by real people and not machines. Regular training events throughout the country Annual Conference Free subscription to the Associations monthly digital magazine – Newslink MSA GB Logo Use MSA GB Annual Report MSA GB App for instant updates
If you have any queries about our updated Terms of Business, then please don’t hesitate to contact our membership team on info@msagb.com
DVSA are writing to let you know that the address for Huddersfield driving test centre has changed. The new address is: Chestnut Centre, Board Room 1 and Board Room 2, 2A Chestnut Street, Huddersfield, HD2 1HJ. Please let your pupils know We have contacted candidates affected by this change of address. However, if you have booked a test on behalf of your pupil, please let them know about these changes. Thank you We apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience and understanding.
DVSA sets out vision to keep Britain moving safely and sustainably
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has launched its vision to 2030, setting out what needs to be done to keep Britain moving safely and sustainably. By the end of this decade, DVSA will have made progress against 5 important challenges and opportunities. These are to: • make roads safer • improve services for its customers • make road transport greener and healthier • harness the potential of technology and data • grow and level up the economy Find out about our ambitious plan and how you can play your part in keeping Britain moving safely and sustainably. clickhere
Consultation results and changes to driving test booking and notice periods Today (30 March 2023), DVSA are announcing changes we are planning to make to the booking system in summer 2023.
These changes are aimed at encouraging learner drivers to only book and take their driving test when they are properly prepared.
The statistics from February 2023 show that around 53% of learner drivers are failing their car driving test and driving examiners are having to physically intervene in 1 in 8 tests for safety reasons. This suggests that more than half are not ready to take their test or drive safely and responsibly on their own.
These changes are intended to help improve pass rates, make more tests available for learners who are ready and help to reduce driving test waiting times.
They are part of a package of measures that were publicly consulted on in 2022. The changes include:
extending the period that those who fail their car test have to wait before booking another test from 10 to 28 clear working days. This will give learners the time to undertake additional learning, training and experience which will increase the likelihood of them passing their next test. We also foresee this having a positive impact on car test waiting times.
extending the notice period during which a cancelled car test will result in a lost fee, from 3 to 10 clear working days. We are extending the notice period to encourage learners who need more practice, to give DVSA more notice when cancelling. This will give better prepared learners more chance to take advantage of short-notice test appointments.
Why we are planning to make these changes Many of you have told us that some learner drivers want to pass their driving test as quickly and cheaply as possible and that you’ve been unable to stop pupils booking a test before they are ready. We are planning to make these changes because we think they’ll:
encourage learner drivers to be better prepared for their driving test help to reduce the number of driving test appointments that are wasted make more tests available for your pupils who are properly prepared make it easier for you to find tests that are cancelled at short notice for your pupils who are properly prepared give your pupils who fail the time they need to properly prepare for their next test
What you and your pupils told us Your pupils told us that:
1 in 3 learners told us this would encourage them to only book their test when they are ready, even if waiting times remained the same as now. 42.8% of learners said this measure would encourage them to only book their test when ready, even if waiting times were reduced. That's more than those who said it would not change their behaviour (42.2%). 37.1% of driving instructors agreed with increasing the number of days your pupils will have to wait to rebook from 10 to 28. 46.8% of driving instructors agreed with increasing the short notice cancellation period from 3 to 10 days. You can read through the full results report on GOV.UKclickhere
When these changes are happening We will need to work with Parliament to change the law to allow us to introduce these changes. We plan to introduce these in summer 2023.
We will provide you with regular updates on our progress and will contact you and your pupils when the date is confirmed.
How we plan to work with you We also consulted on mandating the displaying of certificates when you take your pupils to test and providing consumer information to learner drivers. These measure will require changes to legislation in Parliament, the timetable to do this is still to be determined.
We know that some of you may be concerned about how some of these measures will affect you and the driving instructor industry.
In the coming days, we will publish a blog post to talk about how we plan to work with you and the driving instructors National Association of Strategic Partnership (NASP) to:
raise the recognition of the ADI certificate and the professionalism of qualified ADIs understand and overcome the barriers to displaying ADI certificates start to explore what consumer information that you would support being made available to help learner drivers and their family and friends to make informed choices We will inform you when the blog post is published.
Other measures The other measures that were consulted on were:
exploring changes to how we carry out the eyesight tests mandating ADIs displaying their certificate on test providing better information to learner drivers about driving instructors and their performance explore creating digital pass certificates for practical and theory tests You can read through the results of the consultation on all these initiatives in the results reports.
The other interventions will be introduced when parliamentary time allows.
Ready to Pass? Campaign In February 2023 over 1 in 5 learner drivers used the campaign to help them to prepare for their driving test and 94% of them found the content on the campaign website useful – which includes:
explaining the 27 skills on the driver's record and the 5 levels of progress you will make through each skill debunking some of the most common driving test myths explaining what we recommend should be in a mock driving test providing practical tips on managing driving test nerves and giving more information about how and where to learn mindfulness techniques If your pupils haven’t already used the campaign website to help them prepare, encourage them to go and view it. It includes simple checks for them to do to see if they are ready for their test.
We know that 72.8% of ADIs we asked are already using the resource on the site to support their pupils and carry out checks to make sure they are ready to take their test and encourage those who are not, to delay.
Goodmayes (London) driving test centre open day: Saturday 1 April 2023
DVSA would like to invite you to come to an open day at Goodmayes (London) driving test centre. The open day is for driving and rider instructors, learner riders and drivers, their families, and anyone with an interest in road safety. When the open day is Saturday 1 April 2023, 10.30am to 14.00pm
Goodmayes (London) Driving Test Centre 98 Goodmayes Road Essex IG3 9UZ
You do not need to book to come to the open day – just turn up on the day. You’re very welcome to bring your pupils and their families and refreshments will be available to all. 82% of people who came to a driving test centre open day in the past said it helped them feel more confident about their upcoming driving and rider test. What’s on during the open day
If you come to the open day, you and your pupils will be able to: • meet and talk with driving examiners • learn more about the driving test and what driving examiners assess • find out more information about our ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign • find out the top reasons why people do not pass their driving test in Goodmayes • participate in a Q&A session • find out more about careers in the Civil Service We’ll be inviting anyone who has a test booked at Goodmayes (London) test centre to attend.
Please encourage your pupils to attend - especially if you think they’ll benefit from visiting the test centre and talking to driving examiners to help reduce their nerves.
As part of the Ready to Pass? campaign, DVSA encouraging learners to ask their driving instructor to accompany them on the test.
DVSA know from research that learners have different ideas about how much feedback and detail they’ll get at the end of their test. They are explaining to learners that:
• their driving examiner will have a short amount of time to explain any mistakes they make – the examiner will only be able to explain the most important ones • their test result email will tell them how many faults they made and what they were about – but it will not give details such as where they were when they made them • they might find it hard to take in and the remember the feedback the examiner gives because they’re either excited to have passed or disappointment to have failed
For those reasons, DVSA encourage learners to ask you to sit in the back of the car during your driving test.
Check the guidance about sitting in
DVSA encourage you to check the guidance about the best way to help your pupils if you’re going to be sitting in on their test.
This includes advice and rules about:
• where you can sit in the vehicle on a driving test • what you can and cannot do once the test has started • advice on what to do at the end of the test
We are sharing this information on behalf of RoSPA
The RoSPA Road Safety team would like to invite you to a presentation about their new resources for young motorcycle riders, via Teams, in advance of its launch on 3rd April. The session will take place on Friday, March 31st from 10:00-10:45. They’ll speak to you about the campaign they have planned and talk you through their approach and rationale before they go live. As a valued stakeholder, they want to give you the opportunity to hear more about our resources and ask any questions you may have ahead of the launch. They will also be providing a stakeholder toolkit after the session, which includes information on how you can support the campaign. Sadly, compared to other groups using motorised transport, motorcyclists have a disproportionately high risk of being involved in a crash. Novice riders, in particular, are at a higher risk of being involved in a collision than more experienced motorcyclists. Nationally, a 19 year old male has twice the rate of being killed or seriously injured as a 40 year old man, per capita. Their new resources and campaign encourage new riders to skill up, providing advice and support for the learning to ride process, preparing themselves and their bike for the ride and developing their riding skills.
Microsoft Teams meeting Join on your computer, mobile app or room device Click here to join the meeting Meeting ID: 372 669 353 484 Passcode: tiDtvg
DVSA are unable to confirm what level of impact this action might have on our services.
Not all DVSA staff are PCS members, and even if they are, they might choose not to go on strike. So, we will not know which staff are participating in strike action until it takes place.
Driving test centres
PCS has told DVSA the strike action will affect driving examiners employed at a number of driving test centres. You can find a list of affected driving test centres on GOV.UK.
Tests might also be affected at other driving test centres that are not listed. DVSA will not know this until the strike action takes place.
If your pupil has booked a test themselves
Talk to your pupil to tell them that their test may be affected by the strike action.
If they want you to, you can change the date of their test now through your normal online booking system. You must give at least 3 clear working days’ notice to change the test date, or you’ll have to pay again.
If they do not want to change the date, they should turn up for their appointment as planned. If the test cannot go ahead, the test will be rescheduled for the first available date, and they’ll be able to claim out-of-pocket expenses. They must have turned up for their test to be able to do this.
Rescheduling some tests in advance
To help minimise the impact of the strike action DVSA are rescheduling some tests in advance.
They will email candidates who this will affect ahead of the strike action. If you have booked a test for your pupil that is affected and you receive the message, you must let them know.
To help minimise the impact of the strike action they are rescheduling some tests in advance.
DVSA will email candidates who this will affect ahead of the strike action. If you have booked a test for your pupil that is affected and you receive the message, you must let them know.
Customer service centre
PCS has announced strike dates that may affect the customer service centres on 5 and 6 April and 11 and 12 April. On these dates the customer service centre will be open from 8am to 4pm and it may take longer than usual to answer your query.
Keep checking for updates
You can find the latest information about the driving examiner strike on GOV.UK. Please also keep checking your emails.
The ‘Book to Hold’ facility on the ADI booking system means you can book and pay for an ADI qualifying test or standards check even if no suitable date is immediately available.
Using the facility helps the DVSA to manage demand for tests at individual centres across the country and deploy examiners accordingly. This means more instructors and potential instructors can take a test on their preferred date or close to it.
To enable them to match examiner availability with test demand even more closely, please follow these guidelines when using the “book to hold” facility.
• Only request a date within the 12-week booking window. • Wait until you feel ready to take the test before you request one, this will help to increase your chances of success first time. • Don’t request a date outside the 12 week booking window for a Standards Check as it must be completed within three months of receiving your invitation and DVSA are likely to move the date forward.
Using “Book to Hold” correctly means the DVSA can allocate examiners where they’re needed and ensure as many candidates as possible get a test on (or close to) their preferred date.
The driver’s record lets you record the level your pupils have reached against 27 driving skills they need to be a safe and responsible driver.
There are 5 progress levels for each skill:
Introduced. The subject is introduced and your pupil is able to follow the instructions they’re given.
Helped. Your pupil is improving but still needs a bit of help.
Prompted. Sometimes your pupil needs prompting, especially if it’s a new or unusual situation.
Independent. Your pupil is dealing with this consistently, confidently and independently.
Reflection. In conversation, your pupil shows that they understand how things would have been different if they had done something differently. They can adapt to situations and see why perfecting the skill makes them safer and more fuel-efficient.
Latest updates
The DVSA updated the driver's record on 7 February 2023. They:
• updated the skill names to reflect the latest edition of ‘The Official DVSA Guide to Learning to Drive’ • added short descriptions of each of the skills to the forms so you can easily print them to share with your pupils • added a summary version of the record if you'd prefer to just record when your pupil consistently shows they've moved to the next progress level, rather than recording it lesson-by-lesson
added the 'Ready to Pass?' campaign logo and website address
A new system that will give the Government and emergency services the capability to send an alert directly to mobiles phones when there is a risk to life has been launched today.
A UK-wide alerts test will take place in the early evening of Sunday 23 April which will see people receive a test message on their mobile phones.
Today, 17 March, DVSA’s official publisher, The Stationery Office, is launching a new Highway Code app.
The app is for all road users and makes it even easier - and more fun - to keep up to date with the rules of the road.
What's new?
• Instant access to the very latest version of the Official Highway Code while on the move, on tablets and mobile devices • Quizzes and timed challenge features, that help users check their knowledge of the Highway Code and track their progress. • A voice over option enabling users to listen as well as read.
The app costs £3.99 and is available to download on both Android and iOS platforms. Find it here.
Starting from this week, learner drivers and parents will start to see paid-for ads across social media and on selected websites, encouraging them to visit the ‘Ready to Pass?’ website.
The trial, which lasts until 31 March 2023, will help the DVSA evaluate how effective this type of advertising can be in reaching people who have not engaged with the campaign so far.
The DVSA have been promoting ‘Ready to Pass?’ using no-costs channels that DVSA has access to so far – including emails to your pupils with test booking, the GOV.UK website and DVSA’s Instagram account.
During February, this helped them to see:
• 79,000 people visiting the refreshed campaign website • 94% of learners using the campaign website as useful • 23.2% of learners who took their test say they used the ‘Ready to Pass? campaign website to prepare (the highest so far) • 68.7% of learners who took the test say they took a mock test to prepare, the highest since the campaign started (research shows that people who take realistic mock tests are 1.4 times more likely to pass, so the DVSA are really pleased that more people following the campaign’s advice and doing this)
Reaching more learner drivers and parents
To increase the number of learner drivers and their families who hear about ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign and the actions it promotes, the DVSA now trialling social media and other website advertising.
This will help to reinforce the message that learners and their parents should listen to your advice.
The trial will focus on social media platforms used by 17 to 24-year-olds and their parents.
So your pupils might see ads on:
• Facebook • Instagram • Snapchat (a popular messaging app) • Reddit (a popular discussion website)
They will not be advertising on YouTube due to the cost. They will also not be using TikTok, as this is a channel the UK government does not use.
On the web, digital ads will appear on websites including AutoTrader, AutoExpress, The Student Room, TicketMaster and Total Jobs.
What types of messages they’ll see
All the ads will focus on important things that learners should do, including:
• reflecting on their progress and skill level • discussing their test readiness with their instructor • encouraging them to take mock tests with all the parts of the real test • giving tips of practising ways to manage test day nerves • remind them what to take to their test
For parents, the DVSA will be challenging perceptions about how long it takes to learn to drive, and giving them advice about how to work with you to help their learner prepare for a lifetime of safe driving.
The DVSA recently launched a survey asking for your views on their plans to increase the pass rate of the standards check by two marks to 33 out of 51.
They have already had over 2,000 responses, so thanks to all of you who have already responded.
To give as many people as possible the chance to have their say they have extended the survey closing date by a week to Wednesday 22 March 2023.
Flexible driving test service trials: extending the date to feedback DVSA recently launched a survey to ask for your thoughts on the flexible driving test service trials. If any of your pupils had tests from the alternative locations, DVSA would like to know your thoughts on the sites. To give you more time to share your thoughts, we are extending the closing date until 23:45pm on Tuesday 21 March.
It takes five minutes to complete and will be open for two weeks from today. We’ve also contacted candidates whose tests were moved to one of the alternative sites to find out what they think. Learning from the trials The lessons learned from these trials, what worked, what didn’t, and the changes we need to make will play a big part in shaping the second phase of trials being held later this year. Getting feedback from you and your pupils who took part and did tests at alternative sites is a big part of making sure that all aspects of the trials are considered as part of this process.
Lessons learned from the trial and your feedback will help us map out the next steps for offering a flexible test service. We will keep you updated on progress.
The anticipation is building for our 2023 Annual MSA GB Virtual Conference on Saturday 11th March.
To all those that have registered to attend, you should have already received your joining instructions, if not, please email our membership team on: info@msagb.com, or call: 01787 221 020.
If you haven’t yet registered to attend, there’s still time. Our conference offers an incredible opportunity to hear the latest industry news and harness the knowledge of our expert line up which includes senior DVSA and road safety representatives.
You’ll also be able to join in the celebration of those that are being recognised for their dedication to the industry, and the positive advancement of our Association at the MSA GB Awards ceremony.
Speakers
DVSA, Peter Hearn & John Sheridan
Confident Drivers, Ken, and Tracey Field
Tri-Coaching Partnership Ltd – Graham Hooper Coach & Mentor IAPC & M AFC AFM ORDIT
THINK! 'Is pushing it worth it?' campaign - stakeholder toolkit
We are cascading this information on behalf of the THINK! campaign team.
The new THINK! Speeding campaign is now live!
The campaign asks young drivers ‘is pushing it worth it?’, encouraging them to reflect on their own driving and to reappraise the consequences of what they currently perceive to be safe speeds.
It will run across video on demand, digital audio, online video and social media until the end of March. All assets signpost to Is pushing your speed worth it? – THINK!, where young drivers can find more information on speeding and rural roads.
Please click the following link to download the stakeholder toolkit via a WeTransfer link.
THINK! 'Is pushing it worth it?' campaign - stakeholder toolkit
Road Safety GB are cascading this information on behalf of the THINK! campaign team. The new THINK! Speeding campaign is now live! The campaign asks young drivers ‘is pushing it worth it?’, encouraging them to reflect on their own driving and to reappraise the consequences of what they currently perceive to be safe speeds. It will run across video on demand, digital audio, online video and social media until the end of March. All assets signpost to Is pushing your speed worth it? – THINK!, where young drivers can find more information on speeding and rural roads.
Please click the following link to download the stakeholder toolkit clickhere (via a WeTransfer link).
Tests will not go ahead on 7 March at Callander driving test centre Due to the road works near Callander driving test centre (DTC) starting today (Monday 6 March), tests scheduled for Tuesday 7 March will not go ahead. Due to the roadworks, there are no routes that are accessible to the DTC for tests on Tuesday 7 March. All candidates with tests on this day have been informed and their tests have been rebooked. Testing will return to normal on Tuesday 14 March. Please let your pupils know If you’ve booked a test on behalf of your pupil for Tuesday 7 March at Callander DTC, make them aware that their test will not go ahead on this date and has been rebooked.
Department for Transport: Consultation on proposed reforms to Driver Certificate of Professional Competence
The Department for Transport has today (2 March 2023) launched a consultation about proposed reforms to the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (DCPC) qualification.
This consultation follows the review into DCPC which took place between November 2021 and January 2022 in response to acute driver shortages in the road haulage and passenger transport industries.
They are seeking views on options for how the DCPC qualification is maintained and, in the case of returning drivers, regained, taking advantage of the greater autonomy to regulate following EU-exit.
Potential measures being considered include:
• reducing minimum course lengths to enhance flexibility of delivering periodic training, • the option of new periodic test as an alternative to periodic training, which will be delivered by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), • an accelerated route for former drivers to return to the sector more easily.
If implemented, reforms will establish a National DCPC for use in Great Britain and possibly Northern Ireland should Northern Ireland ministers agree (as DCPC is a devolved matter).
The existing regime, International DCPC, will remain for travel to, from or within the EU, including the Republic of Ireland, and will continue to be recognised for journeys within the UK.
They would like to emphasise that the proposals are all subject to consultation and no final decisions have been made on which reforms may be taken forward. Proposals on which we are consulting will require amendments to legislation.
The closing date for the consultation is 11:45pm on Thursday 27 April.
Find out more at a free webinar
To find out more about the proposed changes and how they might affect you the Department for Transport (DfT) is holding a free webinar on Tuesday 14 March from 6pm - 7pm.
The webinar is an opportunity for a DfT representative to talk you through the proposals. There will also be a question and answer session.
If you would like to ask a question, please send them to dcpc.review@dft.gov.uk before 5pm on 7 March with the subject 'DCPC webinar trainer, operator and driver'.
Have your say on changes to ADI standards check pass rates
DVSA is planning to increase the pass rate of the standards check by two marks to 33 out of 51 to help raise the standard of training for learner drivers.
They want your views on this proposal, its benefits, any disadvantages and its wider impacts on improving standards.
Flexible driving centres trials: DVSA need your feedback
We've completed the four-week trial of flexible driving test centres that took place in Birmingham (Kings Heath), Doncaster, Dumfries and Mill Hill. If any of your pupils had tests from the alternative locations, we would like to know your thoughts on the sites. You can complete the survey here.clickhere
It takes five minutes to complete and will be open for two weeks from today. We’ve also contacted candidates whose tests were moved to one of the alternative sites to find out what they think. Learning from the trials The lessons learned from these trials, what worked, what didn’t, and the changes we need to make will play a big part in shaping the second phase of trials being held later this year. Getting feedback from you and your pupils who took part and did tests at alternative sites is a big part of making sure that all aspects of the trials are considered as part of this process. Lessons learned from the trial and your feedback will help us map out the next steps for offering a flexible test service. We will keep you updated on progress.
The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union has announced that its members will take part in discontinuous strike action in March.
The DVSA are unable to confirm what level of impact this action might have on our services. Not all DVSA staff are PCS members, and even if they are, they might choose not to go on strike. So, they will not know which staff are participating in strike action until it takes place.
Driving test centres
PCS has told DVSA the strike action will affect driving examiners employed at a number of driving test centres. You can find a list of affected driving test centres on GOV.UK.
Tests might also be affected at other driving test centres that are not listed. DVSA will not know this until the strike action takes place.
If your pupil has booked a test themselves
The DVSA are contacting all pupils who have a test booked on one of the strike dates in an affected region. This will tell them that they them should attend their test as planned unless DVSA contacts them. Or they can also choose to change the date of their test if they want to.
If you have booked a test for your pupil
Talk to your pupil to tell them that their test may be affected by the strike action. If they want you to, you can change the date of their test now through your normal online booking system. You must give at least 3 clear working days’ notice to change the test date, or you’ll have to pay again.
If they do not want to change the date, they should turn up for their appointment as planned. If the test cannot go ahead, the test will be rescheduled for the first available date and they’ll be able to claim out-of-pocket expenses. They must have turned up for their test to be able to do this.
Rescheduling some tests in advance
To help minimise the impact of the strike action the DVSA are rescheduling some tests in advance.
They will email candidates who this will affect ahead of the strike action. If you have booked a test for your pupil that is affected and you receive the message, you must let them know.
Customer service centre
The customer service centre might be affected by the strike action and it may take longer than usual to answer your query. The customer service centre will be open from 8am to 4pm on Wednesday 15 March 2023.
Keep checking for updates
You can find the latest information about the driving examiner strike on GOV.UK. Please also keep checking your emails.
The DVSA are making two changes to motorcycle trainer assessment and authorisation from 3 April 2023 as part of their ongoing campaign to continually raise professional standards in motorcycle instruction.
The changes are:
• Introducing basic Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks for new and existing motorcycle trainers • Requiring trainers teach a minimum of two pupils during their CBT (compulsory basic training) standards checks.
DBS checks
From this date all motorcycle instructors must get a basic DBS check when they renew their existing licence.
Anyone applying to become a motorcycle instructor for the first time will need to get a basic DBS check when they apply.
Teaching more than one pupil at CBT standards checks
From 3 April 2023 all CBT standards checks must include at least two pupils.
The DVSA are making this change to reflect real life training where most courses involve small groups of 2-4 pupils rather than one to one training.
Exceptions may be made in circumstances where one to one training is required (for example candidates with additional needs).
The DVSA are telling you about these changes in advance to give you time to prepare.
For further information
Chief Driving Examiner and Head of Rider Policy, Mark Winn, gives more details about the changes and the reasoning behind them in his latest blog post.
Theory test booking service: Scheduled Maintenance
DVSA will be carrying out essential maintenance on the theory test service from 19:00 on 23rd February and 02:00 on 24th February. During the outage you won't be able to:
book a theory test change or cancel a theory test The practical test booking service will not be affected by this.
Report of joint meeting with DVSA held on 07.2.2023 at Berkeley House, Bristol
Introduction The quarterly meeting was attended by several senior members of DVSA and all the NASP associations, the following is a summary. The purpose of this meeting was for:
• DVSA to review and provide update on the previous action points • DVSA to provide NASP with an update on driver recovery, driver policy, ADI registration, ADI examinations, Ready to Pass? campaign, PDI advertising and messaging, ORDIT update, Part 3 and entry level PDI, Pass Plus, LGV license evidence documentation.
The Government is being urged to get on with legalising private e-scooters – if that’s what it’s minded to do – in order to enable proper regulations to be put in place that will improve safety.
In May 2022, the Government unveiled a new Transport Bill, which featured its intentions to allow the public use of privately-owned e-scooters, something which is currently banned.
However in the nine months that have followed, no progress has been made.
Earlier this month, the Transport Committee revisited the ongoing question of how private e-scooters should be regulated, receiving oral evidence from a panel of experts.
The panellists expressed frustration over the delay to the Transport Bill – and called for the Government to start taking action.
David Davies, executive director of PACTS, said: “Given where we are, with the Government saying they will legalise, we want them to get on with it.
“They say… that there is no timetable now for the Transport Bill, so it is to be legislated on some time in the future, whenever that occurs. That is a frustration.”
Commander Kyle Gordon, National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead for roads policing operations, said that while he remains neutral on legalisation, he “would like regulation”.
“The sooner it came in, the more helpful that would be for us”, he told the committee.
Despite their illegality, the prevalence of privately owned e-scooters on public land continues to grow.
Ben Bradshaw MP, member of the Transport Committee, questioned whether, in the absence of legalisation, “more and more people are going to buy private ones and use them on the roads or wherever because it is a cheap and easy way of getting around”.
Clive Wood, lead regional policy and campaigns manager at Guide Dogs UK, stressed that legislation needs to be put in place “to make it safe for everybody”.
He said: “You cannot put the genie back in the bottle. There are over a million privately owned e-scooters.
“[Legalisation] would be very difficult, but we need to get on with it. We need to legislate. We need to put regulation in place to make it safe for everybody. It is not just for blind and partially sighted people but for road users, e-scooter users and everybody. That is the important thing.”
Rental trials: “some have gone better than others” The session also questioned what has been learnt from the trials of public-hire schemes in towns and cities across England.
David Davies said his impression is that “some have gone better than others”.
He told the committee: “We have had contact from some operators who clearly want to engage, particularly on the safety issues, and we are very pleased to have had that.
“Others have not chosen to engage and, frankly, have not given so much importance to safety issues.
“Similarly, some local authorities have placed more emphasis on revenue benefits, while others have given much stricter preference to safety and management.”
Clive Wood said they have been “quite positive”.
He said: “There are some elements of inconsistency in the types of information that are being provided by operators and local authorities around the statistics on the use of e-scooters and the incidence of enforcement and accidents.
“There are some inconsistencies, but in general we feel that it is quite positive.”
Public hire trials commenced in July 2020 and were initially due to last until 2021. In July 2022 the trial period was extended to May 2024.
Clive Wood said he was “quite disappointed that the evaluation period had been extended”.
However, Commander Gordon noted the extension has been “useful” from a policing point of view.
He said: “I understand Mr Wood’s frustrations.
“Of course, any extension of the trial period will allow us to have more information about behaviours. We have already seen that in the reports that have been done, which show how the use of e-scooters has changed – who uses them, when they use them and what they use them for.
“By and large, the extension has been useful from a policing perspective.”
David Davies raised the importance of analysing the existing data further and continuing to collect data.
To help tackle practical driving test fraud, driving examiners will now be able to see a high resolution image of a candidate’s provisional licence image on their tablets at the start of a test.
This will allow them to confirm their identity and prevent any attempts at driving test fraud. The images are supplied by Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) from those sent by learner drivers when they apply for their provisional licence.
They will be only made available to examiners for the start of the test and will be kept securely at all times.
Further upgrades will be added to the app used by driving examiners to do tests this spring to help them spot candidate fraud and record suspected illegal activity.
Driving examiners announce ten-day strike More than 1,600 PCS members to take rolling action across England, Scotland and Wales PCS members working as driving examiners have announced ten days’ strike action across England, Scotland and Wales. More than 1,600 staff employed by the Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency will take rolling action from March 6 to 28.further details
The strike, the latest escalation of the union’s national campaign over pay, pensions, redundancy terms and job security, comes after similar action by driving examiners at the turn of the year which caused significant disruption and cost an estimated £2.8m in lost driving test revenue. PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “The government must put forward concrete proposals to resolve this dispute. The more ministers choose to ignore members’ concerns over low pay, the more angry our members become.
“Our members cannot choose to ignore the cost-of-living crisis. Ministers can choose to resolve this dispute by putting money on the table.”
DVSA Direct invitation to ADIs and trainers in the same region
DVSA would like to invite you to come to an open day at Speke driving test centre if you use the test centre.
The open day is for driving instructors, learner drivers, their families, and anyone with an interest in road safety.
When the open day is Saturday 25 February 2023, 8.30am to 14.30pm
Speke Driving Test Centre 14 Skyhawk Liverpool L19 2QR
You do not need to book to come to the open day – just turn up on the day. You’re very welcome to bring your pupils and their families.
82% of people who came to a driving test centre open day in the past said it helped them feel more confident about their upcoming driving test.
What’s on during the open day If you come to the open day, you and your pupils will be able to: • meet and talk with driving examiners • learn more about the driving tests and what examiners assess • learn about the rules for candidates who bring their own car to the test • learn about taking mock tests • learn about the facts behind driving test ‘myths’ • find out more information about our ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign • find out the top reasons why people do not pass their driving test in Speke. We’ll be inviting anyone who has a test booked at Speke Driving Test Centre to attend.
Please encourage your pupils to attend - especially if you think they’ll benefit from visiting the test centre and talking to examiners to help reduce their nerves.
Our partners at Tri-Coaching, have asked us to let you know, they will be having a price increase by 10% from April 6th.
However, any courses booked before then remain at todays prices, and remember as an MSA GB Member you are entitled to a further 20% discount, visit the discount section on this app or the members section on the website to see how to claim your discount.
• measure of test readiness – helping learners know when they’re ready to take their real test. • timed mock tests • links out to DVSA Ready to Pass campaign – combining your practical and theory tests • a fresh new design – making it easier for users to navigate the app
The app also includes all the official revision questions, interactive hazard perception clips to help your pupils get ready for their test and a digital copy of The Highway Code.
As part of DVSA’s ongoing work to promote safe towing and the accredited trailer training scheme, they are carrying out research to find out more about motorists’ behaviour and attitudes towards towing.
This research will help inform their communications campaign in the future and ensure that their messages have the right impact on motorists who tow.
The first survey will be for candidates who have just passed their test.
What the DVSA are looking to find out
People taking part will be asked about their:
• confidence and ability in towing • knowledge of towing safely • awareness of the accredited trailer training scheme
They would be grateful if you could encourage your candidates to take part in the survey. It should take between 5-10 minutes to complete and the insights they gain will play an important part in helping DVSA and the training industry to support drivers who want to tow.
Candidates will be asked to take part in the research after they have completed the driving test customer satisfaction survey. The trailer towing survey does not affect the driving test customer satisfaction survey.
Due to the refurbishment work happening at Burton-on-Trent driving test centre, the waiting room facilities will be unavailable until Wednesday 8 March 2023.
There will be temporary toilet facilities provided at the centre.
When you arrive for your pupils test
Please arrive at least 5 minutes before your pupil’s test and wait in your car. The driving examiner will come to your car at the time of the test.
Let your pupils know
The DVSA have already contacted affected candidates, but if you have booked their test for them, please let them know.
Thank you for your patience and understanding at this time.
Earlier in the year the DVSA let you know about their plans to investigate ways they can create a modern, flexible and efficient driving test service.
They have started some trials for this flexible approach at four locations across Great Britain.
Today they published a blog post from John Selbey, Head of Driver Transformation at DVSA to share some more details about the trials and the thinking behind them. Read the blog post here.
The DVSA would like you to know about an open day at Leicester (Cannock Street) driving test centre.
The open day is for driving instructors, learner drivers, their families, and anyone with an interest in road safety.
When the open day is
Saturday 18 February 2023, 8:00am 12.00pm
Leicester (Cannock Street) Driving Test Centre
40 Cannock St
Leicester
LE4 9HT
You do not need to book to go to the open day – just turn up on the day. You’re very welcome to bring your pupils and their families.
82% of people who came to a driving test centre open day in the past said it helped them feel more confident about their upcoming driving test.
What’s on during the open day
If you go to the open day, you’ll be able to:
If you go to the open day, you and your pupils will be able to:
• meet and talk with examiners • learn more about the driving tests and what examiners assess • find out more information about our ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign • find out the top reasons why people do not pass their driving test in Leicester
Subject to availability you’ll also be able to:
• explore a working fire engine and chat to the firefighters behind it • chat to local police officers • learn more from advanced motoring companies • find out more about careers in the Civil Service
The DVSA will be inviting anyone who has a test booked at Leicester Cannock Street or Wigston Driving Test Centre to attend.
Please encourage your pupils to attend - especially if you think they’ll benefit from visiting the test centre and talking to examiners to help reduce their nerves.
The trial at Doncaster driving test centre to create a modern, flexible and efficient driving test service started on 23 January. As part of the trial, we are working closely with the approved driving instructors, candidates and colleagues who are using the alternative site. This allows us to make changes as the trial progresses. Listening to feedback One issue that has been highlighted was how busy the front car park gets during certain times of the week when tests were starting. As a result, from 2 February, tests from the alternative driving test centre will start from the side car park. The instructions to the new car park is to turn right from Shaw Wood Way towards the Legacy Centre and follow the road past the Centre towards the car park at the end of the road. If candidates go to the wrong car park, they will be asked to move their car to the correct car park. Contacting candidates We will contact all candidates with a test that is due to be taken from the alternative test site in Doncaster. If you have booked a test for your candidate, which has been moved to the alternative site in Doncaster, please let them know. We will continue to monitor the trials at the alternative sites and will make changes if needed. We will keep you up to date with any future changes.
Hi Everyone I am looking at running a “First Aid at Work” course for ADI’s and PDI’s in the Somerset Area sometime towards the end of February, March time.
The course will cost around £80.00 per person depending on numbers and will run for around four hours. What I would like to know is how many of you are interested in this sort of course. When enough are interested, I can book a venue and date and then let you have the details. If this is successful, then I can look at running a similar course in other parts of our area.
Please let me know if you are interested in this course or would like one organised closer to you via my email clickhere
Kind regards
Arthur Mynott, Chairman MSA GB Western. Tel. 07989852274
Who can observe driving tests Driving instructors and supervising drivers can sit in the back during driving tests.
You can observe a driving test if you’re 16 or over, but you cannot take any part in the test.
There are different rules for filming or recording a driving test.link
Before the test starts Turn your phone off or make sure it’s switched to silent.
‘Tell me’ vehicle safety question You can help the candidate to lift the bonnet if they’re struggling, but do not interfere unnecessarily.
Where you sit It’s usually least intrusive to sit behind the candidate, However, the best position is wherever it’s the most comfortable, providing you can sit upright with the seat belt correctly fitted.
During the test When the test has started, you can:
take notes to help the candidate change position to improve the candidate’s visibility during the reverse exercises
Do not: answer your phone prompt the candidate by coughing or nudging the back of their seat nod enthusiastically or make excessive eye contact with the candidate - it can be seen as a pre-arranged code The test will not be stopped if you naturally look left, right and behind you - but try not to put the candidate off.
At the end of the test Listen carefully to the feedback so that you can give the candidate more detailed feedback later.
Speak to the test centre manager or follow the complaints procedure link if you have genuine concerns about how the test was conducted.
Please do not enter the Wenta Business Centre car park. Tests will start and finish along Innova Way, where the examiners will meet candidates at their cars.
Motorcycle tests
Motorcycle module 1 (off-road) and motorcycle module 2 (on-road) tests will still take place from Enfield driving test centre as planned.
During the refurbishment, toilet and waiting room facilities at Enfield MPTC will be unavailable. The DVSA are sorry for any inconvenience this causes.
Letting your pupils know
The DVSA have contacted candidates affected by the refurbishment. However, if you have booked a test on behalf of your pupil, please let them know about these changes.
No tests will be lost or cancelled due to this.
Thank you
The DVSA apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience and understanding.
There is less than 1 week left to apply to become a Driving Examiner for one of the many driving test centres across the UK.
Applications close at 11:30am on Monday 30 January 2023.
Full details about the examiner vacancies and how to apply are on Civil Service Jobs.
The need for more examiners
The DVSA relaunched their driving examiner recruitment campaign to recruit additional examiners in local test centres across the UK to help meet the current demand for driving tests.
To date, they have managed to recruit more than 403 additional examiners, however they still have many roles to fill across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The DVSA are keen to attract driving examiners from a wide range of backgrounds representative of our society.
Their roles can offer part-time flexible working hours, including evening and weekend working opportunities. New entrants are coming in on flexible working patterns where they work 5 in 7 days.
Have you booked your ticket for the MSA GB annual conference on 10 – 11 March, then it’s not to late!
After a 3-year hiatus, this year’s event is set to be bigger and better than ever, as we bring together delegates from across the UK, to meet with leading figures from the motoring and road safety sectors. Each one ready to impart their knowledge, opinions, and expertise to our attendees.
Speakers DVSA, Peter Hearn Confident Drivers, Ken, and Tracey Field Tri-Coaching Partnership Ltd - Graham Hooper Coach & Mentor IAPC & M AFC AFM ORDIT TSO, Lucy McKay Partnership Manager
More speakers still to be confirmed!
Networking
With a jam-packed programme of presentations, not only does the conference provide the perfect opportunity to get up to date on the latest industry news and views, but there will be plenty of time for networking. So, you can catch up with old friends and forge new connections which could prove prosperous in 2023. We will also have our ever-popular question time, hosted by our national chairman – Peter Harvey, who will make sure your questions are put to the speakers.
Evening Entertainment
There is entertainment on both the Friday & Saturday evenings, for those guests staying for the weekend, on Friday, we will be hosting an informal buffet supper with some light entertainment, and a traditional Scottish event on the Saturday, giving you another chance to network, but in a more relaxed setting. You can book for either or both as required, or simply come along as a day delegate on the Saturday, where the cost is £48.
Tickets
Whether you’re just looking to attend for the day or want to immerse yourself in the full conference experience we have a ticket package to suit, including the opportunity to bring a non-delegate for an extra £98. We also have exclusive hotel rates for those who wish to make a weekend of it.
To find out more about this year’s event, click here.
Also please note that if you have already booked for this year’s conference you’re already in the system and will shortly be receiving an update on the weekend’s proceedings
From today (25 January) driving examiners will begin to wear body worn cameras to help tackle an increase in abuse.
DVSA have taken this decision due to an increase in unacceptable violent and abusive incidents against driving examiners since testing restarted after the pandemic restrictions. Although the most recent figures show incidents of abuse have dropped since, they still remain on course to be higher than before the pandemic. When the cameras will be used
The cameras will be an essential part of uniform, for examiners’ safety.
They will only be switched on if the examiner feels threatened or to capture inappropriate behaviour. The footage, where appropriate, will be used to prosecute offenders if abuse occurs. The cameras cannot be used to dispute a candidate’s test result.
Letting your pupils know Please inform your pupils and candidates that they will start to see examiners wearing body cameras. Please remind them of the serious consequences of abusing an examiner, which might include cancelled tests or even prosecution.
Body worn cameras are not new to DVSA, our enforcement examiners tackling road-side issues have worn them for several years.
DVSA wrote to you earlier in January 2023 to let you know that Birmingham Kingstanding driving test centre will be reopening on 26 June. From 26 June this new building will become home to all the Driving Examiners currently based at the nearby driving test centres in Sutton Coldfield, and the temporary test centre at Wyndley.
Closing the booking window at Wyndley driving test centre
As a result, from 30 January 2023 DVSA will close the booking window at Wyndley temporary driving test centre for tests after 9 July 2023. This is because tests at this centre will be moving to the new building at Birmingham Kingstanding.
If you or your pupil have a test already booked in Wyndley driving test centre, please continue to attend as planned. We will always contact bookers directly if their test has been changed. No tests will be lost Thank you
DVSA appreciate your patience and understanding while we complete this exciting transformation. The changes will mean we can better meet local needs. We are looking forward to welcoming you to the new site and providing an improved service to you and your pupils.
PCS union has instructed all DVSA members to take part in a national civil service-wide day of strike action on Wednesday 1 February.
The DVSA are unable to confirm what level of impact this action might have on their services but some driving tests will be affected.
If your pupil has booked a test themselves
The DVSA are contacting all pupils who have a test booked on one of the strike dates – including ADIs and PDIs with instructor tests and standards checks.
They will be informed that they should attend their test as planned unless DVSA contacts them. Or they can also choose to change the date of their test if they want to.
If you have booked a test for your pupil
Talk to your pupil to tell them that their test may be affected by the strike action.
If they want you to, you can change the date of their test now through your normal online booking system. You must give at least 3 clear working days’ notice to change the test date, or you’ll have to pay again.
If they do not want to change the date, they should turn up for their appointment as planned. If the test cannot go ahead, the test will be rescheduled for the first available date and they’ll be able to claim out-of-pocket expenses. They must have turned up for their test to be able to do this.
Rescheduling some tests in advance
To help the DVSA understand the extent of strike action on their testing services, they are rescheduling some tests in advance.
The DVSA will email candidates who this will affect ahead of the strike action. If you have booked a test for your pupil that is affected and you receive the message, you must let them know.
Customer service centre
The customer service centre might be affected by the strike action and it may take longer than usual to answer your query. The customer service centre will close at 4pm on Wednesday 1 February 2023.
In early 2023 DVSA will be increasing the number of assessments for existing members and new applications to join the official register of driving instructor trainers (ORDIT).
We limited ORDIT assessments after the pandemic to focus examiner resource on delivering ADI part 2 and 3 Tests. We will be restarting them with increased capacity from early 2023.
ORDIT trainers whose registration has lapsed will now need to apply for reassessment. ADIs who were applying when assessments were limited in 2020 will now be offered an assessment.
DVSA is committed to continually raising professional standards and ensuring learner drivers (and instructors) have access to the highest quality tuition possible. As a result, the ORDIT assessment process will be changing.
Changes to ORDIT assessments
Both new applicants and those reregistering will still need to achieve a Grade A on their most recent ADI standards check. In addition, DVSA will also review information available about their work as an ADI, for example, how their pupils and trainees perform when taking tests.
We will also be introducing a compulsory pre-assessment engagement call, like the one you receive ahead of a standards check. It will cover areas like test information, continual professional development (CPD) and training records.
In the practical assessment ORDIT applicants will no longer have the choice to offer feedback or advice from the back of the car. Instead, they will need to ‘role play’ being a pupil and simulate faults for their trainee to correct.
We will be contacting the ADIs who were applying when assessments were limited in 2020 about restarting their application.
In early 2023 DVSA will be increasing the number of assessments for existing members of the official register of driving instructor trainers (ORDIT) and applications for new members.
We limited ORDIT assessments after the pandemic to focus examiner resource on delivering ADI part 2 and 3 tests. We will be restarting them with increased capacity from early 2023.
If your registration has lapsed, you will need to apply for reassessment. You can do this by emailing a completed application to ORDIT@dvsa.gov.uk.
If you were applying when assessments were limited in 2020, we will contact you directly to confirm you still want to take the assessment.
Changes to ORDIT assessments
You will still need to achieve a Grade A on your most recent ADI standards check. In addition, DVSA will also review information available about your work. For example, how your pupils and trainees perform when taking tests.
We will also be introducing a compulsory pre-assessment engagement call, like the one you receive ahead of a standards check. It will cover areas like test information, continual professional development (CPD) and training records.
In the practical assessment, ORDIT applicants will no longer have the choice of offering feedback or advice from the back of the car. Instead, they will need to ‘role play’ being a pupil and simulate faults for their trainee to correct.
We will be contacting all ORDIT members whose registration has lapsed since assessments were limited in 2020, about renewing their registrations.
The DVSA wrote to you in December 2022 to update you on the work they are doing to create a modern, flexible and efficient driving test service that is less dependent upon fixed estate and takes advantage of the investment and development of new technology.
To test the proof on concept the DVSA are running trials at a number of driving test centres in early 2023, initially at Doncaster and Birmingham (Kings Heath).
They are now extending the trial to include additional sites which are:
• Dumfries driving test centre • Mill Hill driving test centre
During the trial 50% of the tests at the centres taking part in the trial will be done from an alternative site close to the existing driving test centre such as community buildings or sports and retail centres.
The DVSA will contact your pupils if their tests will be moved to take place from one of the alternative sites. If you made the booking for your pupil and you receive the email you must let them know.
Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership is hosting a free webinar for you, your pupils, and their parents. The event is open for to anyone wishing to attend but will focus on those who are learning to drive in Warwickshire and the surrounding areas.
The webinar ‘Together on the Learning to drive Journey’ is also being supported by FirstCar, AA and DVSA. The purpose of the webinar is to help learners how to access the best knowledge and gain the skills they need to help them stay safe on our increasingly busy roads.
When the webinar is
The webinar will take place on Wednesday 25 January 2023, 7.00pm to 8.00pm.
What’s on during the webinar
If you join to the webinar, you’ll hear about:
• The ‘Ready to Pass?'campaign and how it helps your pupils understand how to prepare for their driving test and check if they are ready • essential information for learners on choosing a car • an update for learners on vehicle safety and maintenance • the challenges inexperienced drivers face that could put their safety at risk
There will be a dedicated question and answer session where you, your pupils and their parents will have the opportunity to ask questions about the Ready to Pass? campaign.
During this session you’ll also be able to ask officials from the AA, First Car, Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership and Warwickshire Roads Policing Inspector questions.
How you can help
Learners drivers with driving tests and theory tests booked in Warwickshire and surrounding areas will be contacted via email to invite them to the event.
Please encourage your pupils and their parents to attend the webinar especially if you feel they would benefit from some extra help and support and find the webinar useful.
To register and receive your link to join this webinar, or for further information please visit the Warwickshire Road Safety website.
The webinar will be recorded and will be made available to watch online following the session.
DVSA want to advise you know that the DVSA contact centre services and vocational, bike and Certificate of Professional Competence business services are likely be affected by Industrial action on 13 and 16 January.
This means it may take customers longer than usual for their enquires to be answered when contacting us by:
• phone • email • social media
We are recommending that customers initially check GOV.UK, as they may be able to find the answer to their question there.
DVSA hopes to return to normal service on 17 January and thanks you and your members for your patience.
As we look ahead to 2023, we want to make sure that our members are happy with the service that they are receiving including the way we communicate with them, so we would really appreciate it if you could take the time to fill in our latest member survey.
It will only take 5-minutes, but your feedback will be invaluable in guiding the future actions and communications strategy of MSA GB. Also, all those that enter the survey by the 31st January, will be entered into a prize draw to win a £50 Amazon voucher
To view the latest DVSA statistical data sets about the number of car driving tests where the candidate made no faults, and the top 10 faults people make in the car driving test between 2007 & 2022. Click Here: website
MSA GB Greater London are proud to present a workshop on: Faults Assessment for Standards Check & Pt 3
Speakers include: Teresa Afonso (Hendon LDTM) Ali Saddique (ADI Examiner) Chris Zafirakos (L Examiner)
All instructors welcome, to book your place and for more information about MSA GB, please ring, Tom Kwok our area chairman on: 07956269922 or email for more information. clickhere
The meeting is being held at the Manor Drive Methodist Church, Manor Drive, Whetstone, London. N20 0DZ Entrance to this meeting is free for members and £10 for non-members.
Hi Everyone our partners at Tri-Coaching have some special offers to kick start 2023, they we have some great offers available for one week only on all of their CPD products.
We are offering a 20% discount on all payment options for the following products: BTEC 4 Train the Trainer aCCeLerate Client Centred Learning Course Standards Check Workshops Route 51 Pass your Standards Check or Part 3 Just use PROMO CODE NY20
In addition we are also offering a HUGE 50% Discount for: The Excellence in Coaching Course and the Presentation Skills Course using PROMO CODE NY50
All can be BOOKED NOW clickhere while spaces are available, just follow the links below. *Offers cannot be backdated or combined with any other promotions and will end on 8th January 2023
Kind regards The Tri-Coaching Team Tel: 0800 058 8009 Extra Discounts
BTEC 4 Save 20% Use promo code NY20
Train the Trainer Save 20% Use promo code NY20
aCCeLerate Save 20% Use promo code NY20
Standards Check Workshops Route 51 Pass your Standards Check or Part 3 - Save 20% Use promo code NY20
Excellence in Coaching Course Save 50% Use promo code NY50
Presentations Skills Course Save 50% Use promo code NY50
Some of you have been trying to book a space on our standards check workshop on the 15th January in Cumbernauld, the link to book has become faulty, please use this one to book your space. link
Birmingham Kingstanding driving test centre reopening on 26 June 2023
DVSA wrote to instructors earlier this year about our plans to transform the Birmingham Kingstanding driving test centre, that will provide a better, more flexible service to you and your pupils. From 26 June this new building will become home to all the Driving Examiners currently based at the nearby driving test centres in Sutton Coldfield, and the temporary test centre at Wyndley. Keeping you informed: next steps Sutton Coldfield driving test centre, As a result, from 6 January 2023 we will close the booking window for Sutton Coldfield for tests after 23 June 2023. This is because tests at this centre will be moving to the new building. The additional, replacement tests will be made available to book at Birmingham Kingstanding from 16 January 2023 for dates from 26 June 2023. If you or your pupil have a test already booked in Sutton Coldfield, please continue to attend as planned. We will always contact bookers directly if their test has been changed. No tests will be lost and all additional test will be available to book from 16 January 2023. Wyndley driving test centre We are still working to confirm the closing date for the temporary test centre in Wyndley and will let you know as soon as we can. Test are still available to book at Wyndley. Thank you We appreciate your patience and understanding while we complete this exciting transformation. The changes will mean we can better meet local needs. We are looking forward to welcoming you to the new site and providing an improved service to you and your pupils.
New Online Business Service terms and conditions now published on GOV.UK
From 2pm on Monday 9 January, we will be making changes to terms and conditions for using our Online Business Service. This is also known as 'Book and manage driving and riding tests for your pupils' service. The updated terms and conditions will require users of the service to: • agree to appropriate use of the service and not using it to make a profit
• confirm that they meet our eligibility criteria for the service
• make it clear to pupils if they charge (or have plans to charge) any additional administrative fees when booking tests for pupils
• agree not to misuse candidate details for reserving tests without their permission
We have published the updated terms and conditions on GOV.UK website to give users of the service time to prepare for the changes.
Just a little advance warning the Paym banking system is closing down.
What this means for you Paym will withdraw the service by 7 March 2023.
If any of your customers sends you money using Paym before 7 March 2023, you will still receive it in your account. Now may be a good time to advise customers that they will need to find another way to pay.
Driving examiner strike: December 2022 and January 2023
Some driving tests might be affected by strike action at times during December 2022 and January 2023. Change made The PCS union has told DVSA the strike action will affect driving examiners employed at more driving test centres. For the strike action from Wednesday 28 December to Saturday 31 December, and Tuesday 3 January, this could now also affect Coventry, Grantham (Somerby) and Stevenage.
For the strike action from Wednesday 4 January to Tuesday 10 January, this could now also affect Aberystwyth (Park Avenue), Basingstoke, Cardigan and Yeovil.
Our chairman in the Western Area is looking to make contact with more local groups, the details are below:
After a successful Area Conference held down here in the Western Area last month, I would like to try to meet a lot more of our members in this area and I was wondering if any of your local Instructor Associations would like me to come along to one of your meetings and introduce myself on behalf of the MSA GB? I could give a short presentation and explain what the benefits of belonging to a national association may be and how we could together.
Please let me know if you would be interested in this and if so, then we can arrange a date.
Wishing you a Very Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.
Arthur Mynott. Chairman. MSA GB Western Area. Tel 07989852274 email: clickhere
DVSA will be closed at times during Christmas 2022 and New Year 2023, but our online services and information will still be available.
Find out about our Christmas and New Year opening hours, including opening times for: • driving test centres • DVSA vehicle test stations • customer service centres You can also check the last date to change or cancel a theory test or driving test. click here
On 9 January, we will be making changes to terms and conditions for using our Online Business Service (OBS). Our updated terms and conditions will require users of the service to: • agree to appropriate use of the service and not using it to sell tests on for a profit • confirm that they meet our eligibility criteria for the service • make it clear to pupils if they charge (or have plans to charge) any additional administrative fees when booking tests for pupils • agree not to use candidate details for reserving tests without their permission We have published the terms and conditions on clickhere to give you time to prepare for the changes. Why we made these updates The updated terms and conditions make it clear what is appropriate behaviour for those using the OBS service. These changes will mean that legitimate businesses not linked to an ADI will also be able to access and use the system. When the updates will go live The new terms and conditions will come into effect at 2pm on 9 January. We want to give you time to make any adjustments to your business that may be impacted by the changes.
DVSA is committed to creating a modern, flexible and efficient driving test service that is less dependent upon fixed estate and takes advantage of the investment and development of new technology. We set this out in the 2022/23 business plan that was published in May of this year. Creating a more flexible driving test centre estate allows us to react where the road and traffic conditions near a centre have evolved and no longer provide the best environment in which to assess a candidate's ability to drive. Proof of concept In January 2023 we are running trials at two driving test centres (Doncaster and Birmingham (Kings Heath)). We are exploring extending the trial to other sites and will update you if we do. During the trials 50% of the tests at the centres taking part will be done from an alternative site close to the existing driving test centre such as community buildings or sports and retail centres. We will contact your pupils if their tests will be moved to take place from one of the alternative sites. If you made the booking for your pupil and you receive the email you must let them know. Keeping you updated At the end of the trial we will evaluate how successful the different approaches have been. To do this we will talk to driving examiners, your pupils and ADIs who were involved in tests from a trial site. We will keep you up-to-date on progress and on the next steps for the work.
The Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) theory booking service are looking for individuals with access needs to take part in some research to test the accessibility of their Non-standard accommodations booking service. This is the service that drivers can use to request adjustments and support to enable them to access the theory test.
If you are interested in taking part you will need to be available for a 60 min remote research session, conducted over Zoom on desktop/laptop or mobile. As a thank you for your time, participants will be given a £40 online gift card.
Your input will help shape an inclusively designed service that impacts millions of prospective drivers every year.
Please note, you do not need to disclose the detailed nature of your access needs to take part in research. You will not be personally identified in any findings.
To participate, please enter your details on the following form, and we will be in touch when we have research opportunities in the near future: link
If you have any questions, please get in touch with Andy Swidenbank directly: clickhere
Latest version of the Highway Code now available in Welsh online for first time The Highway Code in Welsh is now available digitally for the first time. You can read it for free on GOV.UK. The new printed version of The Highway Code in Welsh is also available to pre-order in shops and online, or from our official supplier on the Safe Driving for Life website.
Rheolau'r Ffordd Fawr nawr ar gael yn yr iaith Gymraeg ar-lein am y tro cyntaf Mae Rheolau'r Ffordd Fawr yn Gymraeg nawr ar gael yn ddigidol am y tro cyntaf. Gallwch ei ddarllen am ddim ar GOV.UK. Mae’r fersiwn printiedig newydd o Rheolau’r Ffordd Fawr yn Gymraeg hefyd ar gael i’w archebu o flaen llaw mewn siopau ac ar-lein, neu gan ein cyflenwr swyddogol ar wefan Gyrru Diogel am Oes.
We are unable to confirm what level of impact this action might have on our services. Not all DVSA staff are PCS members and, even if they are, they might choose not to go on strike. So, we will not know which staff are participating in strike action until it takes place.
Tests might also be affected at other driving test centres that are not listed. DVSA will not know this until the strike action takes place.
If you pupil has booked a test themselves
We’re contacting all pupils who have a test booked on one of the strike dates in an affected region. This will tell them that they them should attend their test as planned unless DVSA contacts them. Or they can also choose to change the date of their test if they want to.
If you have booked a test for your pupil
Talk to your pupil to tell them that their test may be affected by the strike action.
If they want you to, you can change the date of their test now through your normal online booking system. You must give at least 3 clear working days’ notice to change the test date, or you’ll have to pay again.
If they do not want to change the date, they should turn up for their appointment as planned. If the test cannot go ahead, they’ll be able to claim out-of-pocket expenses. They must have turned up for their test to be able to do this.
Rescheduling some tests in advance
To help us understand the extent of strike action on our testing services, we are rescheduling a small number of tests in advance. These tests are at the start of the first day of strike action in each region.
We will email candidates who this will affect ahead of the strike action. If you have booked a test for your pupil that is affected and you receive the message, you must let them know.
Report of joint meeting with DVSA held on Monday 21 November 2022
The meeting was attended by several senior members of DVSA and all the NASP associations
DVSA updated on driving test waiting times.
• 14.61% of all car test appointment are available for booking, • The number of test centres with waiting times of 24 weeks now reduced to 5 • Should be back to single figure times in 2023 • Difficult to know how many learners are wanting tests, or wanting to get an ADI so they can start their lessons • 596,000 additional tests have been created since April 2021 by – o 245,000 new examiners o 165,000 from overtime o 105,000 from those not normally conducting tests o 55,000 from converting m/cycle and vocational tests to car tests o 20,000 from buying back annual leave o 6,500 from bringing back recently retired examiners
DVSA’s policy team provided an update on BOTs and test swapping.
• Advanced Bot Protection (ABP) for all booking services introduced late 2021 and has reduced the traffic to booking sites. • During summer there was a gradual increase in OBS use. • DVSA has done a deep dive to collect more data analysis about this and consider what measures can be put in place to prevent abusers • Number of registered users of OBS has increased and are doing lots of swaps. • DVSA has received complaints about companies and Individual’s offering a premium service. DVSA has sought legal advice about these services. But whilst these services are not illegal, there is an impact on other customers booking tests. • DVSA has carried out work to look at the profile of swapping and the impact, numbers of tests and the numbers of swaps. • DVSA explained that it is working on drafting the update terms and conditions for OBS and will share them with NASP and ADIs in the coming weeks ahead of them going live to give ADIs and businesses time to prepare for the changes
NASP will be given an opportunity to review and feedback on terms and conditions before they are shared with ADIs.
DVSA’s ADI registrar provided an update on the following:
• ORDIT and what the future will bring to make ORDIT fit for purpose. Comms will be released in the near future regarding these amendments. NASP raised some concerns regarding ORDIT, Concerns were raised on how and what should be recorded in the training records. • A brief update was given on the TIP and the review of parameters in the near future checking they are still fit for purpose. • A detailed discussion was held around abusive pupils and what DVSA could do to help in this area. • The topic of reasonable adjustments regarding PDIs with special circumstances was discussed, although there is no specific policy that covers this, it can be flagged to the team so these adjustments can be made on a case-by-case basis.
DVSA said that they had were increasing the number of standards checks they carry out every month, with 1,800 bookings within in the next 12 weeks.
Over 3,400 engagement calls have been carried out in 12 months, with good feedback. 340 ADIs ‘on hold’ list, for a 12-week window.
DVSA is in the process of recruiting another 13 ADI examiners.
NASP asked whether DVSA is making calls to ADIs who are performing well. DVSA said they do this occasionally but due to resources are focusing on part 2 and 3 tests and standards checks.
Working as driving instructor research
DVSA shared some of findings of the ‘working as driving instructor’ surveys with NASP.
• 3,286 responses to recent ADI survey • 68% no availability for new pupils • 65% have waiting list for new pupils • 11% plan to leave industry in next 12 months • 25% teaching automatic or semi-automatic • 90.5% have increased price in last 2 years • 49.8% now charge £31 – 35 per hour
DVSA also talked about the early results of working with pupils' parents survey and agreed that follow up research was needed. NASP offered to lead on this and DVSA agreed to share the full findings with NASP ahead of it being published to help develop the follow up questions.
Ready to Pass? campaign
DVSA confirmed they are working on building a new multi-page website for the Ready to Pass? Campaign. DVSA will arrange a separate meeting with NASP to show them the new site and review it ahead of it going live.
AOB
DVSA confirmed they are drafting a blog post for ADIs about reasons why DVSA is holding driving test centre open days and how these can benefit ADIs pupils.
DVSA to confirm who at DVSA will be the relationship manager for NASP.
NASP asked if the Registrar had powers to sanction pupils putting in malicious complaints about ADIs or to warn them about false accusations. DVSA replied, anyone behaving badly on test is reported, and the next test would be accompanied by LDTM. Higher level incidents of abuse are reported to the police. NASP stated, they felt there is little protection from DVSA for ADIs and that pupils should be told they have to produce evidence and that it was serious to make malicious complaints. DVSA felt things were running more smoothly now there is a dedicated team with a lot of knowledge and experience. If incidents are isolated there is no action at the lower level and there would need to be cumulative incidents for further action to be taken.
Marking Approved Driving Instructor Part 3 tests digitally
From today (30 November) Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) Part 3 tests will be marked digitally. The content of the Part 3 test will not change, just the way our examiners will record your pupils test, using tablets and the Driver Examiner Service (DES) app.
The test results will be emailed to your pupils once their test has finished to the email address used for their registration.
This is the latest step in DVSA’s programme of digitising examiner services to provide a better experience for both examiners and candidates.
DVSA services – industrial action by the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union Today (29 November 2022), the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union has formally served notice that a programme of industrial action involving DVSA members will take place over a 6 week period from Tuesday 13 December 2022. For the latest information on when and how our services will be affected, please visit our dedicated GOV.UK page. link PCS members voted in favour of industrial action during a recent ballot. It’s part of national industrial action by the PCS union over pay, pensions, jobs and redundancy terms. Driving test candidates who have an appointment on a strike day If you or a pupil have a booking with us on the day of industrial action, you or your pupil do not need to contact us now. We will get in touch with you and your pupil again with updates before the industrial action. Other DVSA services during industrial action We know that you may have concerns about how this might affect our other services. Not all our staff are union members, and even if they are, they might choose not to go on strike. The strike action will affect some:
• driving instructor tests and checks • MOT tester demonstration tests • DVSA’s customer service centre • MOTs for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), buses and trailers • vehicle approvals examinations The strike action will not affect: • theory tests • MOTs for cars, vans and motorcycles Staying in touch Please look out for updates to GOV.UK and further emails or text messages regarding your appointments.
From 28 November, car, instructor and examiner theory test candidates will start to receive their theory test results digitally by email.
The digital results are not a test pass certificate and cannot be used to evidence a theory test pass.
Digital results will start to be issued for motorcycle and vocational theory test as well in early 2023.
This is part of work DVSA is doing to consider how it can make the theory test paperless.
Candidates will still get a paper certificate
Candidates will continue to be given a paper test pass certificate, or statement of failure, at the end of their test while a digital solution is being explored.
It is currently a legal requirement to issue candidates with a paper test pass certificate or statement of failure after their test.
In January 2022 a consultation on improving availability and processes for driving tests asked about replacing paper pass certificates for theory and practical tests. The outcome of this consultation has not yet been published.
This change is independent to the consultation as it deals with the digitising the exam results, not the pass certificate.
In October 2022, the DVSA ran a survey to find out more about how you are using their 'book and manage your pupils test' service. They wanted to hear more information about how you use the service now and ways they could improve it.
The main findings
• 73.8% of you told them that on average you book up to 100 driving tests every month • 52.7% said that you swap one booked test for another up to 100 times a month • 44.9% of you told them that it would be an effective method to set a test swap limit for each organisation based on their monthly use
We are pleased to share the full results of this survey on GOV.UK
Next steps and updating Online Business Service terms and conditions
The information you have provided in the survey has been extremely helpful for understanding how you are using the ‘book and manage your pupils driving test’ service.
The DVSA are currently in the process of updating their terms and conditions for using their ‘book and manage your pupils driving test’ service and they will use the information from this survey to inform these decisions. They plan to share their updated terms and conditions with you in the next few weeks.
DVSA has a new Nottingham address DVSA are moving their Nottingham office to a new Government hub in the city centre.
This means that you will need to change your records from their old address (The Axis, 112 Upper Parliament Street, Nottingham, NG1 6LP) to the new address for any postal correspondence.
DVSA's new home at Unity Square DVSA's new address is as follows:
Redirected mail Please rest assured that post sent to the old address will be redirected to Unity Square, but this will only be for a short period of time.
However, to ensure future mail arrives at the correct location, please use their new address from now on.
Altering your records Please also make sure that, if you reference the Nottingham address online or in any printed materials, that these are also altered.
Why is this happening? The DVSA has a responsibility to the public to continually review how they deliver their services and make efficiency savings wherever and whenever possible. This move is part of their longer-term strategy to improve their buildings and align with government property directives.
By moving to Unity Square, the DVSA will be able to improve space utilisation and introduce smarter working practices. The change of location will also ensure DVSA has the right size of estate for its needs.
DVSA other addresses The other administrative offices and building addresses will remain the same.
Thank you Thank you for taking the time to change your records. The new addresses can also be found on relevant GOV.UK pages for future reference.
Volunteers needed! Research volunteers for the DVSA DSP Online Booking Service
Hello all,
DVSA are updating the system used to book and schedule practical driving tests, and we would be very keen to learn how you use the current booking system. We are looking for Business bookers (or ADI’s) who would be willing to participate in a research session in the next week (21st-25th November). We want to understand your unique position and requirements as a business. Your opinion can greatly impact the current, and future service DVSA provides for professionals.
This session would be remote via MS Teams or Zoom and scheduled for 60 minutes, though could be less time on the day. We are very flexible and can accommodate most times that suit best those interested in this opportunity. We are hoping to get as many responses as possible in the next week but will continue with research after this.
I appreciate the time scales are tight – your knowledge and insight will help us understand what’s useful about the current service, and what you need to make things better. Anyone who participates will not be personally identified in any findings.
Some of our online services will not be available from 6pm tonight (15 November) until 12am (16 November).
On GOV.UK you will not be able to:
• book and manage driving tests • find driving schools, lessons and instructors • use ADI services (such as renewing or updating your registration) • check, or register to check, your Driver CPC training hours • record any Driver CPC training you provide • record delegated driving test details
We’re sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. Please note that you will still be able to book and manage theory tests.
On 9 November the Department for Transport (DfT) published the official driving test statistics for 1 April to 31 October 2022.
The latest driving test data reveals the pass rate for October has dropped to 47.9% in October. We have also seen an increase in how often driving examiners need to physically intervene to avoid a dangerous incident to every 1 in 8 tests.
Following the last lockdown in 2021, the driving test service was not at full capacity and needed re-establishing. Since then DVSA has taken unprecedented action to boost test availability, including out of hours testing and examiner recruitment campaigns. As a result of DVSA measures to provide more tests, the provisional data shows that 836,952 driving tests were carried out between May and October 2022 – an increase of 49,647 compared to the same period in 2021.
Publishing monthly car driving test data to help us show you the impact our measures are having, DfT have agreed to publish our monthly national car test driving data until driving test waiting times return to less than 6 weeks. This data will include:
• number of driving tests carried out
• number of car driving test passes
• percentage of passes
• number of car driving tests booked
From December, DfT will publish this data on a monthly basis.
Helping learners to check if they are ready
As result of the drop in the driving test pass rate we are making an announcement today (15 November) to reminder learner drivers of the importance of them only taking their test when they are ready.
To help learner drivers understand when they’re ready to take their test, and to reinforce the messages you are giving to your pupils, DVSA has launched the ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign at www.gov.uk/ready-to-pass.
In response to the recent survey on the demand you face for lessons and other challenges you face. You told us that:
• 72.5% of you are aware of the campaign • 45% of you share the campaign resources with your pupils with upcoming tests • 28% of you share them with all your pupils • 85% of you found the ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign resources useful.
Encouraging parents to support learners with private practice
As part of this announcement, we are also encouraging parents to take a more active role in their learners' learning to drive process - by reading the newly published ‘supervising learner drivers’ guide on GOV.UK and supporting them with private practice.
To help you promote ‘Ready to Pass?’ to your pupils we have also published a communications toolkit for you that includes videos, images and GIFs for you to promote the campaign on your website and social media channels.
Thank you for your support
DVSA would not have been able to increase the number of tests without the support and help of you and our driving test examiners.
Thank you for continuing to provide high quality training to your pupils, preparing them for their tests and encouraging them to delay it if they are not ready.
The work is not finished yet and we will continue to work with you to help get more new qualified drivers on the road, helping them to have access to employment, education and the economic and social opportunities that will help support the country’s recovery.
Hi Everyone Our colleagues at RoadSafe have asked us to forward a short survey about driver assistance and safety, it will only take a few minutes if you have time.
ADAS Survey As driver assistance and safety technologies become commonplace in our vehicles, it is increasingly important that drivers understand what they do and how they will benefit from them. RoadSafe has created this short survey to help gauge the current level of knowledge and adoption within the driver and rider training industry. This will help us design future learning resources for trainers to share with their students to ensure tomorrow’s drivers are well equipped, confident, and competent when using safety technologies in their vehicles.
Please take a few moments to complete this short survey, your input is valued by us and will help shape future learning for new students. Microsoft advises that the survey takes around 6 minutes to complete, and the survey will remain available to complete until Monday 5th December.
Earlier this year we launched the ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign to improve learners’ and their parents’ understanding of what it means to be test ready and how they can assess their readiness.
As part of our campaign research, 71% of parents agreed more information is needed on the knowledge, skills, and practice needed to be a good driver. So, we’ve published a new supervising learner drivers guide on GOV.UK which offers guidance and advice to parents who decide to take their learner out for private practice.
As many you know, learners who have a combination of professional driving lesson and private practice are 1.5 times more likely to pass their driving test than those have no private practice.
So, we are asking you to do these 5 things to help support your pupils and their parents with private practice:
• proactively encourage and promote the benefits of private practice and observing a lesson to your pupils and their parents
• encourage the parents of your pupils to read the new supervising learner driver guide on GOV.UK
• invite parents to observe a lesson before starting private practice when you feel that your pupil is at an advanced level to take on an additional passenger without it affecting their ability to drive safely
• advise parents when their son or daughter is ready to drive under their supervision and help them to plan a practice session
• explain to your pupils and their parents how they can record their private practice using the record of pupil’s progress sheet on GOV.UK
Keep a record of this professional development
And remember, reading Amanda Lane’s blog post about ‘How we plan to improve parents understanding of the learning to drive process’ and the new supervising learner driver guide counts as continuing professional development. So, keep a record of what you do.
Thank you to those of you who responded to our recent driving instructor survey. The survey was to hear from you about the changing demands and challenges you are facing.
We are still busy analysing the results, but we wanted to share some of the top-line results and your thoughts about the ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign resources with you.
• 72.5% of you are aware of the ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign
• 45% of you who are aware of the campaign have shared its resources with your pupils when they’re close to taking their test, and 28% shared them with all your pupils
• 85% of ADIs who have used the campaign resources said they are useful
• 49.5% of you who used our new mock test guidance said it helped you to encourage your pupils who were not ready to postpone their test.
These are really promising results and we want to work with you to share these messages with as many learners as possible.
The full results of this survey will be publish in the coming weeks, we will let you know when that happens.
We sincerely appreciate the time you take to complete these surveys, the information you provide is extremely valuable to us.
From 9 November we will start to publish additional driving test data to update on the effectiveness of our measures to reduce car driving test waiting times.
As a result, we plan to send you monthly updates on the effectiveness of our measures to reduce car driving test waiting times.
DfT will publish national monthly car test driving data until driving test waiting times return to less than 6 weeks. This data will include:
• number of driving tests carried out • number of car driving test passes • percentage of passes • number of car driving tests booked
The first data we’ll publish will cover April to October 2022. Then from the second week in December, this data will be published on a monthly basis.
Changes to the booking window:
The current national average car driving test waiting time is 15.0 weeks. This has increased slightly because we needed to reschedule a significant number of driving tests on 19 September due to the funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth II.
We know some of you are frustrated about not being able to book driving tests at test centres with waiting times of 24 weeks. You have told us that you and your pupils are having to regularly check the booking service for tests, and you would like us to open the booking window beyond 24 weeks.
We have explored this option and we want to explain why we will not be opening tests beyond 24 weeks.
Our data shows that nationally there are many more available tests in the booking service and around a third of driving test centres now have waiting times of 9 weeks or less.
The number of driving test centres with a waiting time of 24 weeks has reduced from over 100 centres at its highest to 55. We are also continuing to do everything we can to make more tests available at test centres with a 24 week waiting time. This includes:
• local test centre managers carrying out 2 days of testing each week • recruiting more driving examiners in these areas • deploying driving examiners to areas where the demand is highest • introducing a text messaging service to remind candidates about their test, which has reduced the number of candidates who fail to attend for their test by a third; we plan to promote these messages where we have the highest fail to attend rates • doing more to encourage your pupils in these areas to only take their tests when they are ready as part of the ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign and at driving test centre open days – we’ll be blogging about the success of these in the coming weeks.
When we have reduced the number of driving test centres with waiting times of 24 weeks, we will gradually reduce the booking window and go back to an 18-week booking window. This is because:
• planning resources 6 months or more in advance is challenging for any organisation - we want to make sure we have the driving examiners needed to carry out these tests and we build in a certain level of flexibility across the service so we can cover tests as and when required • when booking a test, most of your pupils want an appointment within the next 6 weeks. As waiting times reduce, it's unlikely they will want to book a test 24 weeks or more away • as waiting times reduce, we intend to change the focus of the ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign to being ‘Ready for your Test?’ at the point that a learner driver books their test.
Working with your pupils’ family or friends and test-readiness survey We know that sometimes you have challenging conversations with your pupils’ parents and families when discussing their readiness to take the driving test.
We want to create some resources to help you when having these conversations. This will complement the new guidance we recently published for people who want to supervise someone who is learning to drive.
To do this we need your help and have created a short online survey with no more than 10 questions to ask you how you handle these situations.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is currently investigating and taking action against unscrupulous sellers of a fake version of The Highway Code.
The errors in the fake versions could potentially put road users at risk of breaking the law or, even worse, having an accident. As well as this, it could cause failure in both theory and practical tests.
The selling of counterfeit books containing unlicensed intellectual property breaks copyright laws.
How to spot a fake
The easiest way to decide whether you have an official copy of The Highway Code or a fake version, is to look for these key differences:
Compare the bar code numbers; the official copy has an ISBN number above its barcode.
On the fake version, the logos on the front cover of the book are slightly pixelated.
The official version of The Highway Code has a matte cover, the fake version has a glossy cover.
Please let your pupils know that fake versions are being sold online and make them aware of how to spot the differences. To make sure your pupils get an official copy of The Highway Code they can buy one from our official publisher at Safe Driving for Life
They can also view an up-to-date version of The Highway Code for free on GOV.UK
In our latest blog Amanda Lane, Head of Driver Testing and Training Policy, explains why we are developing content and messages for parents, updates you on our plans in the coming months and how you can help us to share these messages.
Like most people, learner drivers lead busy lives and juggle learning to drive with many other things. This means we are competing for their attention on social media alongside any number of other interests they have.
In her latest blog post, Abigail Britten (Head of Recovery Communications) talks about how the ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign has been meeting the challenge of creating social media content that will grab the attention of learner drivers.
This is important to help make sure that learners see our messages and act on them. You can also help us with this by sharing your ideas for new social media content in the comments of the blog.
We have also added more content to Ready to Pass? toolkit for you to use to help promote the ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign to your pupils. It includes videos, images and GIFs that you can use on your website and social media channels.
This is a reminder that bookings for the MSA GB Western Area Conference have to be made by this weekend to enable the hotel to make the necessary catering arrangements.
This event is on Monday November 7th and is being held at the Hampton by Hilton Hotel, Exeter Airport, EX5 2LJ. Doors open at 9.00am and will finish around 4.00pm.
Guest speakers are; DVSA Chief Executive, Loveday Ryder DVSA Policy Manager, Amanda Lane DVSA Operations Manager, Linda Gisbey
Ollie Tayler from “The Honest Truth”, a road safety campaign in collaboration with the emergency services, road safety organisations and driving instructors across the UK.
Ruediger Preiss, teaching in electric cars.
Peter Harvey MBE, MSA GB National Chairman who will tell us about future changers within the MSA and also answer any questions about our industry that may not have been answered earlier in the day.
We are very fortunate that Loveday Ryder has agreed to travel all the way down to the West Country to address our Conference so do not miss this excellent opportunity to meet her face to face and express any concerns you may have. It is also an ideal time to catch-up with other ADI’s after what has been a difficult two and a half years.
Looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible.
Arthur Mynott. Area Chairman, Motor Schools Association Great Britain, Western. Tel. 07989852274 chair.ow@msagb.com
A quick reminder of all the area events we have planned for you over the next couple of months, the list below gives you all the dates and times, you can view all the details for each event and how to book at: msagb.com/events however if you have further questions or need further information, please feel free to contact your local event contact on the list below. Apologies if you have already booked, no need to do it again, your space will be reserved for you.
Hope to see you with our guest speakers at an event near you.
Peter
Date & Time Area Contact
30th October @ 10.00am North East Mike Yeomans – chair.ne@msagb.com
6th November@ 4pm Greater London Tom Kwok – chair.gl@msagb.com
7th November @ 9.30am Western Arthur Mynott – chair.ow@msagb.com
13th November @ 2pm East Midlands Kate fennelly – info@msagb.com
14th November @ 6pm South East Terry Cummins – chair.se@msagb.com
14th November @ 7pm North West Graham Clayton – chair.nw@msagb.com
20th November @ 08.45am Scotland Steven Porter – chair.os@msagb.com
21st November @ 7.30pm West Midlands Peter Harvey – info@msagb.com
27th November @ 6.30pm Eastern Paul Harmes – chair.oe@msagb.com
Gateshead driving test centre is being refurbished from Monday 17 October 2022 until Sunday 6 November 2022.
Driving tests
During the refurbishment, all practical car driving tests will instead take place at Gosforth driving test centre.
The address for the test centre is: Sandy Lane Gosforth NE3 5HB View on a map
Driving tests will recommence from the Gateshead test centre on Monday 7 November. We have written to affected driving test candidates, but please do remind them nearer the time if you can.
ADI and motorcycle tests
During the work, ADI part 2, 3 and standards checks and mod 1 and 2 motorcycle test will take place at Gateshead driving test centre as planned.
During the work no toilet facilities will be available at the centre but there are public toilets you can use at the Metro Centre.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this change, and thank you for your patience and understanding.
MSA GB is once again throwing its support behind Children in Need’s Big Learner Relay
What is The Big Learner Relay?
In brief, The Big Learner Relay is an annual event involving 100’s of Driving instructors and pupils raising money for BBC Children in Need, transporting a Pudsey top box from one driving lesson to the next, 3,000 miles around the country in 12 days.
As well as donating there are plenty of ways that MSA GB members can get involved in the fun, from fundraising to going spotty, and even joining a convoy near you.
So, to donate and to find out more about how you can support this amazing cause, click on the link. link
