Imagine not having to pass a driving test at all!
OK, here’s a question for you. It’s multiple choice. Ready? Which one of the following is true: (a) the Toyota Mirai is a slick looking car, (b) there’s not enough about Brexit in the news, (c) you’re equally likely to pass your driving test wherever you take it in the UK.
If, as is likely, your answer was (c), then…doh! Award yourself, as they say in Eurovision, nil pwah. Why? Because, while (a) and (b) are 100% true, (c) is a total fiction. And, if you don’t believe it, consider the facts - in 2017, the national average pass rate was 52%, but (according to the Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency) the regional pass rate varied from as low as 28% (Belvedere, Greater London) to as high as 80% (Golspie, Scotland). Similar variations exist for the years before and since.
But before we slam the UK too hard for having an apparently variable driving test standard, it’s worth noting that we’re really just implementing a regionalised version of a global phenomenon. Because, believe it or not, the ease with which drivers qualify for a license varies (widely) from country to country.
And it doesn’t come much easier than in Mexico City. That’s because, in Mexico City, you don’t take a test at all. As long as you’re over 18, you can get a license simply by obtaining a document declaring you can drive. This costs about £30. Now, it’s only a wild guess, but could this unrestricted self-certification be at the heart of Mexico’s huge driving-related death tally (16,714 people were killed on Mexico’s roads in 2010)?
Not that Mexico City’s the only place where getting a driving licence isn’t exactly a major challenge. In Pakistan, for example, you have to prove you can read a number plate from 20m, but – after that – you only need to take a short theory and practical test (both of which can be taken on the same day). The practical exam consists of driving through a short track marked out by cones, then reversing back. Knowing this, it probably won’t come as a total surprise that there was almost twice as many deaths (30,131) on Pakistan’s roads than in Mexico City’s over the same period (2010).
We could fill this whole post with similar examples of where passing the driving test makes criticising the Dacia Duster look difficult. But we won’t, because we want to leave room for a couple of countries which go to the other extent, and make getting a driving license the kind of task which Hercules would have balked at. Places, for example, such as Singapore.
In Singapore, to get a licence, residents have to register with one of the three designated driving schools and pass the Basic Theory Test (the pass mark is 45 out of 50). They can then apply for the advanced Final Theory Test. After passing the FTT, threy get a PDL (Provisional Driving License), which is valid for six months, and which allows them to take driving lessons. They have to pass the driving test within two years of passing the FTT.
But if you think this is bit long-winded, spare a thought for the residents of South Africa. Here, you first need to obtain a learner’s license from a certified Driving License Testing Centre. This requires a set of ID checks that would make MI6 look sloppy, as well as an eye-test. This is followed by a written examination, after which (if you pass), you need to apply for the full driver’s license, which requires you to go through the ID checks a second time. Finally, you take the K53 driving test, which – if you pass – rewards you with a temporary license until the permanent one arrives six months later.
As with countries that like to make things easy, there are lots of examples of countries with a tendency to toughen things up a bit. But, except to note that the UK comes towards the tougher end of the spectrum, we’ll leave it there. However, we can’t sign off without mentioning a couple of the weirder aspects of driving tests that we came across while researching this post. Like, for instance, the fact that, in Peru, candidates must be able to touch their nose with their eyes closed, while those in Taiwan have be able to wiggle all 10 fingers in order to pass the medical component of the test. And, in Sierra Leone, instead of reading the Highway Code, candidates must buy and play a board game testing them on the country’s driving laws.
It is, as we’ve noted on more than one occasion, in these Desperateller.co.uk articles, a strange old world. If you’re one of the many that will have to sit a driving test then remember to check out our used cars for sale when you need your first set of wheels!
