22/11/2025
We’re making some subtle but meaningful changes to the practical driving test. 🚗
You may have seen that we have been trialling changes to the driving test at 20 driving test centres.
As part of the trial, learners drove on routes containing more high-speed, rural roads during their driving test, where location allowed. Now, we are rolling out the changes to all driving test centres in Great Britain from 24 November 2025.
As well as increasing the amount of time spent on higher-speed roads, we are:
✅ reducing the number of stops during the test from 4 to 3
✅ lowering the frequency of emergency stop exercises from 1 in 3 tests to 1 in 7
✅ adding flexibility to the independent driving segment, allowing it to run for the full duration of the test
These changes are designed to help improve road safety by better replicating the conditions motorists face in the real world. They won’t affect the skills needed to take a driving test.
Find out more about the changes 👉
https://despatch.blog.gov.uk/2025/11/19/making-adjustments-to-the-driving-test/
