Interesting Facts About Driving Tests

While we mostly focus on providing additional bits of guidance and advice to our students here on The Driving Force blog, we also want to celebrate and remember the vast history that driving has. These days it is almost impossible to imagine a world without cars, but their introduction is still relatively recent on the scale of global history.

With that in mind, here we are going to share a few fun titbits of information related to driving tests and their history that will hopefully give you a quick break before you get back to learning what you need to know to pass your own.

• France has played a massive role in the development of motor vehicles as a standard form of transportation. It was in that country that the first driving test was introduced, back in 1893, thus setting the basic standard that other countries would follow in the years to come. That’s not all though, as France is also responsible for the development of such driving stalwarts as the registration plate and parking regulations, which came into force at about the same time.
• Figures released by the Department for Transport back in 2014 showed that the pass rate for the UK driving test actually falls below 50%, standing instead at 47.1%. There can be a number of reasons for this, such as nerves, unprepared test takes and a lack of quality driving lessons, so it is important to find the right driving school for your needs.
• The first British person to pass the driving test was a woman, which is all the more surprising given that she did so in an era where women still didn’t have the right to vote. Ms. Vera Hedges Butler had to travel to France to take their test in 1900, as the UK had still not developed their own test facilities by that point in time.
• It is estimated that there are more than 245,000 miles of road in the United Kingdom alone. To give you a sense of scale, that would allow you to drive past the moon if laid out in a straight line from the Earth.
• This one will sting for those who are currently paying for their theory and practical tests. The cost of the first driving tests held in the UK was a mere 37.5p. We are sure that there are more than a few drivers who wish this was still the case.
• The Highway Code was first released way back in 1931 and it is almost perpetually on best seller lists because it provides learners with all of the theoretical knowledge they need to know to pass their tests. The Highway Code had a massive impact. There were 7,000 annual deaths on British roads when it was first introduced, however, that number has been halved in the present day, despite the massive amount of cars being driven in the UK.
• We’ll end with a little bit of a sad one. Approximately 1 in every 6 British motorists has been caught speeding over the last five years. This shows that it is crucially important that you follow speed limits, for both your safety and that of those around you.