DRIVING STANDARDS
AGENCY News Release (42/08) issued by COI News Distribution Service.
11 September 2008
The Driving
Standards Agency (DSA) has announced a delay of six months to the
introduction of the new practical motorcycle test, originally
scheduled for September 29, 2008.
The move comes after the Agency considered representations from
the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA), the Motorcycle Rider
Training Association (MRTA) and other motorcycle interests.
The new implementation date will now be Monday, March 30, 2009.
The decision to defer implementation will allow the DSA to carry
on delivering motorcycle tests from a wider range of centres
whilst working with motorcycle groups and to find a suitable
solution for providing the new test service in problem locations.
Driving Standards Agency chief executive Rosemary Thew said:
"Increasing road safety for motorcyclists has always been a
top priority and it remains so. We listened carefully to the
concerns put to us and this deferment acknowledges those concerns.
"None of us has lost sight of the fact that the aim of the
new motorcycle test is to improve road safety for this important
group of road users. This extra six months will give additional
opportunity to find extra locations that we need to deliver the
new test and potentially address gaps in service provision which
have been highlighted to us."
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
1. The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) is an executive agency of
the Department for Transport.
2. Information on road casualties is available on the Department
for Transport website http://www.dft.gov.uk
3. The Agency's aim is to promote road safety through
improving driving standards, testing drivers and riders fairly and
efficiently, maintaining the registers of Approved Driving
Instructors and Large Goods Vehicle Instructors and Post Test
Motorcycle Trainers as well as supervising basic training for
learner motorcyclists.
4. DSA is a trading fund with an expected turnover of around £164
million for the year 2007/8, fully funded by fee income and
revenue from its activities.
5. DSA employs 2657 (2,585 full time equivalent), of which some
2,020 are driving examiners (1945 full time equivalent) based at
over 432 test centres across mainland Great Britain. In 2006/2007
the Agency conducted 1.8 million practical tests for car drivers,
89,000 vocational tests and 78,000 motorcycle rider tests. A total
of 1.5 million theory tests were carried out at 158 centres. At
the end of the year there were 39,001 people on the Register of
Approved Driving Instructors.
6. DSA is 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