The Driving Licence Before you can learn to drive a car, moped or motorcycle, you must apply for a provisional driving licence from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) which currently costs £50. To obtain a provisional driving licence for a car, you must be 17 years of age, be resident in the UK for more than 185 days and if you need to wear glasses or corrective lenses, you must wear them every time you drive. For your practical driving test, you will need to be able to read a new style number plate from 20 metres. Driver registration was introduced in 1903 with the Motor Car Act, and holders of the document were entitled to "drive a motor car or motor cycle" but there wasn't a driving test. Originally, driving licences were issued by local authorities and had to be renewed every three years; but in 1971, the licensing system was computerised and linked to the Police National Computers, as well as extending the licence to be valid up to the age of 70 and extendable at set periods after. In July 1998, the photo card licence was introduced which consists of a two-part document, a plastic photo card which has to be renewed every ten years and a paper sheet known as the counterpart driving licence which is valid until the holder's seventieth birthday. The Counterpart details the individual's driving entitlements and convictions. The Driving Test In 1935, a voluntary driving test was introduced in England costing 37½ pence, and the first test was passed by Mr Been, honestly it was. Today the practical test costs £62 and since 1996, we also have the theory test which costs £31. The compulsory driving test wasn't introduced until 1st June 1935, and there wasn't any test centres; the driving examiners would meet candidates at a pre-arranged place, like a park or railway station. When announcing the introduction of the driving test in 1935, the Transport Minister, Leslie Hore-Belisha said, "Driving is an art in which those who are engaged should, in the interest of their own and of the public's safety; take the greatest pains to make themselves proficient". The only times that the tests were suspended was in 1939 for seven years because of the Second World War, and in 1956 for one year due to the Suez crisis. The only person in the United Kingdom who is not required to have a driving licence in order to drive is the Queen. In 1990, the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) was created as an executive agency of the Department for Transport who are responsible for setting standards and conducting practical driving tests and in 1996, introduced the written theory test. From May 1999, the length of the test was extended from 35 to 45 minutes, and a candidate would fail for committing 16 or more driving faults and then in 2002, a hazard perception test was included in the theory test. On October 4th 2010, independent driving became part of the practical driving test where candidates have to drive for 10 minutes making their own decisions without verbal directions from the driving examiner. The examiner will ask you to drive by either following a series of directions, traffic signs or a combination of both. If the examiner shows you a diagram, it doesn't matter if you don't remember every direction or go the wrong way - that can happen to the most experienced drivers. Driving independently means making your own decisions, so don't be worried if you have to ask for confirmation about where you're going.
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