when was the driving test introduced in the uk?

Answer 1

the first Driving Tests were pioneered in France in 1893 and Italy in 1901. Although the UK brought in driving licences in 1903, this country was one of the last European nations to introduce tests on 13 March 1935. There were one and a half million vehicles registered at this time and over seven thousand people were being killed on the roads every year.

Leslie Hore-Belisha was the Transport Minister at the time the driving test and various other road safety measures were brought it. He wrote the foreword to the first 'Highway Code' published in 1931 and he gave his name to the flashing orange beacons on pedestrian crossings.

Britain's first Chief Driving Examiner was Captain RSD Stuart. He retired from the Army in 1933 and since May 1934 had been employed as a driving instructor with BSM in Bristol.

The first driving examiners took a driving techniques course with the police either at their Driving Schools in Hendon, North London or Preston, Lancashire. Training in the conduct of tests occurred at the centres where they were posted. In 1959 the Ministry of Transport set up its own examiner training school at Stanmore. This was transferred to Harmondsworth in 1967 and then to a purpose built complex at Cardington, near Bedford in 1976. The first official book on driving technique was 'Roadcraft' published in the mid 1950s. The Department of the Environment published 'Driving' as a manual to accompany the 'Highway Code' in 1969.

Since the driving test was introduced, there's been a twelve fold increase in the volume of traffic. The number of road deaths is down by half proving the value of the test.

Answer 2

1935

Answer 3

March 13th 1935

Answer 4

1935 i think

Answer 5

http://www.bsm.co.uk/learning_to_drive/index.html