DRIVING STANDARDS
AGENCY News Release (DSA 30/08) issued by The Government News
Network on 23 June 2008
Crucial steps to
bring about a major change in driving attitudes across Great
Britain took place at a high-level meeting in Glasgow.
Police officers, road safety experts and educationalists met at
the headquarters of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) to
agree and progress a national 'Safe Road Use' programme
which forms a major part of the national Learning to Drive campaign.
The campaign has been launched by Secretary of State for
Transport, Ruth Kelly, and its principal aim is to bring about a
change in UK driving attitudes, mainly by ensuring young people
become more aware of road safety issues and cultivate better
attitudes towards driving in general.
Improved driver education lies at the core of the initiative
being handled by the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) for the
Department for Transport. In turn, the DSA has brought in the SQA,
using their expertise to design and implement educational material
for youngsters aged 14-16. The campaign specifically aims to
educate and inform young people on safe road and safe driving
techniques before they actually get behind the wheel!
The fresh approach is part of the Government's plan to
inform and educate road users towards better driver rather than
restricting and legislating. This approach lies at the heart of
the national Learning to Drive consultation from which the DSA
will extract and put forward new guidelines to reform the GB
driving test. The SQA summit is at the heart of this complex
process designed to lead to an educational qualification in safe
road use. As the educational aspects are agreed, it is hoped the
first elements will be launched in Scotland by the end of 2008,
followed by a roll-out to schools, colleges and youth training or
pre-apprenticeship colleges in the rest of the country.
Rosemary Thew, chief executive of the Driving Standards Agency,
said: "We believe we need a fresh cultural and educational
approach to improving driving standards and we have consulted with
experts to achieve this. I am confident that the end product from
SQA and the DSA will give fresh insight into the trials and
tribulations youngsters face when they first take to our busy
roads."
Roderic Gillespie, from SQA, said: "We are looking forward
to working in partnership with others to implement a Pre-Driver
Qualification which will harness young people's enthusiasm
and at the same time give them a qualification."
At the heart of the consultation is a micro-website launched by
the DSA to encourage members of the public to leave their views on
proposals. You can register your views on http://www.dsa.gov.uk/learningtodri
ve .
Notes to Editors:
Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly launched proposals on May 7 for
updating and improving the learning to drive and testing process.
She is keen to look at the way drivers are trained and tested
with the objective of ensuring newly-qualified drivers possess the
safety skills needed to drive on Britain's busy roads.
During the consultation the DSA aims to gather opinions on a
range of proposals, including;
* Changes to the theory test
* Making the practical test more realistic
* Providing a pre driver qualification in road safety
* Introducing a student workbook
* Providing more information to help choose a driving instructor
A response is invited by September.
1. The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) is an executive agency * of
the Department for Transport.
2. The DSA's vision is "Safe Driving for Life"
with an overall mission to contribute towards a Government target
of achieving a 40% reduction in riders and drivers killed or
seriously injured in road accidents, in the age group up to 24
years, by 2010.
3. Current information on road casualties is available from the
Department for Transport website: http://www.dft.gov.uk
4. The Agency's aim is to promote road safety through
setting standards for drivers, riders and trainers, testing
drivers and riders fairly and efficiently, maintaining the
registers of Approved Driving Instructors; Large Goods Vehicle
Instructors; Fleet Trainers; Driving Instructor Trainers and Post
Test Motorcycle Trainers; supervising Compulsory Basic Training
(CBT) for learner motorcyclists; and driver education and the
provision of learning resources.
5. DSA is a trading fund * with an expected turnover of around
£199 million for the year 2008/9, fully funded by fee income and
revenue from its activities. 6. DSA employs over 2,700 staff, of
which some 2,000 are driving examiners based at over 400 test
centres across mainland Great Britain. In 2007/2008 the Agency
conducted 1.8 million practical tests for car drivers, over 95,000
vocational tests and 94,000 motorcycle rider tests. A total of 1.7
million theory tests were carried out at 158 centres. At the end
of the year there were around 43,600 people on the Register of
Approved Driving Instructors.
7. DSA was one of the first Government Agencies to introduce an
online booking service. Candidates can book and manage their
theory and practical test appointments on line at http://www.direct.gov.uk/drivingtest
* Executive agency:
An executive agency is semi-detached from its parent department
and manages its own budget with freedom from ad hoc, day to day
intervention and much of central, government-wide regulation. They
are run under the organisation and direction of a Chief Executive
recruited through open competition. An executive agency has
accountability for the performance of specific operational tasks
as a corporate unit, including focused performance targets set by
the parent department and personal accountability of the chief
executive for performance.
* Trading Fund:
A trading fund is a means of financing trading activities
undertaken by Government that would previously have been financed
by annual appropriation from Parliament. A trading fund permits
the establishment of a self-accounting unit that remains under the
control and management of Ministers and accountable to Parliament
through Ministers, but has greater freedom to manage its financial
affairs. Effectively that means the trading fund body can use its
income to settle its liabilities and retain year-end cash
balances. Establishing the trading fund does not alter the
Agency's constitutional position and it remains part of the
Department for Transport.
