7. Particular types of vehicle and adaptations
Guidance for driving examiners on particular types of vehicle and adaptations.
The vast majority of hatchbacks, saloons, and estate cars are suitable for tests, but increasingly, the designers of cars are producing models with sweeping lines which have good forward vision but have large blind spots to the rear and present examiners with problems of observation.
Other examples of vehicles not suitable for tests include:
- a vehicle with a gear that will not remain engaged
- a seat from which the examiner does not have a proper view
- ii one or more external lights are not working - but this does not include the high-level brake light if both obligatory stop lamps are working
- airbag warning light displayed
- passenger airbag, where fitted, switched off
- reversing lights are not working (vehicles first used after 1st September 2009 only)
- a draw-bar vehicle more than 18.75 metres long
- a vehicle running on a space saver tyre or any wheel/tyre of a different size on the same axle
- an engine MIL that shows there鈥檚 a malfunction is a major defect and applies to;
- petrol vehicles with 4 or more wheels, not more than 8 passenger seats and first used on or after 1 July 2003
- more than 8 passenger seats and first used on or after 1 July 2008
- gas and bi-fuel vehicles with not more than 8 passenger seats and first used on or after 1 July 2008
- diesel vehicles with 4 or more wheels and first used on or after 1 July 2008
Panel vans also present problems with vision and are unsuitable for tests. Vehicles supplied by motor manufacturers have obviously been through the type approval process, but this approval concentrates on vehicles from a driver鈥檚 point of view and such a process does not make the vehicle suitable for the purposes of the test.
Examiners should bear in mind that a candidate driving a left-hand drive vehicle should exercise special care, and make full use of the mirrors when about to overtake other vehicles or change direction to the right.
It鈥檚 the customer鈥檚 responsibility to ensure that the vehicle presented is insured for the purposes of the test.
Arnold Clark, who operates in Scotland and Northern England, has confirmed their dual-controlled cars are fully insured for the purposes of practical testing; their vehicles are easily identified by the livery.
Generally, other hire car companies make it clear in their terms and conditions that their vehicles mustn鈥檛 be used for training or testing and that their vehicles aren鈥檛 covered by insurance for these purposes.
Examiners should be aware that these other hired vehicles aren鈥檛 always easy to identify.
Category B - licence acquisition tests and ADI part 2 tests
If it is clear that the vehicle presented for test is a hire car without dual controls, the test must be terminated.
If it is clear that the vehicle presented for test is a hire car with dual controls, the test can go ahead.
If the examiner discovers it was a hire vehicle (non-dual controlled), when the test is completed, the examiner will be considered to have acted in good faith. Therefore, any subsequent claims can be managed under the Motor Insurance Bureau procedure.
Lorry and bus
Training companies hiring commercial vehicles will do so under their existing insurance policies and therefore hire vehicles are suitable for lorry and bus tests.
Contact: technicalstandards@dvsa.gov.uk with any enquiries.
Each time an updated list of recalls is produced, it should be printed off for the use of examiners in the office.
There is a separate poster for the test centre notice board which provides general information about recalls, signposts customers to the up-to-date information on 188体育, and encourages ADIs to sign up for email alerts for news about new recalls.
The poster won鈥檛 need to be updated each time there is a new recall and should be placed in space 7 of the test centre notice board.
When a candidate presents for a test in a vehicle covered by a recall/safety notice requiring remedial action, no free re-test should be offered unless the information has been placed on 188体育 up to three days before the test date.
A vehicle with automatic transmission is defined in regulations as:
A vehicle in which the gear ratio between the engine and the wheels can be varied only by the use of the accelerator or brakes.
In general, a vehicle without a manual clutch is regarded as an automatic. The following points of driving technique are common to all automatic systems:
- the parking brake should be applied for temporary stops, for example, waiting at a red traffic light, a junction, or in a traffic hold-up, if they are likely to be of a long duration
- short stops may not require the application of the handbrake
- the handbrake may need to be applied to prevent 鈥榗reep鈥�. Faults committed in these cases should be recorded at handbrake
- the use of the right foot for both brake and accelerator pedals has considerable safety advantages. It is therefore recommended practice for normal driving, but is not necessarily applicable to disabled drivers. The use of the left foot on the brake pedal should not however be marked as a fault unless it involves the use of the footbrake against the accelerator
- the use of both feet when manoeuvring in a confined space is acceptable if carried out correctly, i.e., speed is properly adjusted so that no large throttle opening or heavy braking pressures are involved
- any fault should be recorded at footbrake and/or accelerator or in the 鈥榗ontrol鈥� box if it occurs in the reversing, reverse parking, or turn in the road exercise
Fully automatic system
This type has selector settings for forward and reverse, neutral and/or park. It also has settings which enable the driver to select and retain a particular gear ratio or range of gear ratios, for example, to obtain engine braking when descending a steep hill, although gear changes are normally made automatically. Most automatics of this type enable the driver to make an immediate change into the lower gear, to obtain extra acceleration, by means of `kick down鈥� or part throttle operation actuated by the accelerator pedal. In nearly all cases, the selector lever is mounted on the floor or the steering column in the position normally occupied by the gear lever, but there are exceptions, for example, a panel of press buttons on the facia.
Semi-automatic systems
With these, the driver has to select the gear required by movement of the gear lever as with a manually controlled gearbox, but there is no clutch pedal. For driving test and licensing purposes these vehicles are regarded as automatics.
Pre-selector systems
In these, the gear is selected before it is required by manual movement of a selector lever, which is normally mounted on the steering column. When required, the gear is engaged by a single depression and release of the gear-change pedal, which is situated where the clutch pedal would be on an orthodox transmission.
These adaptations enable a vehicle to be driven in manual or automatic mode. The candidate can choose which mode to drive the vehicle in and if successful should be issued with the appropriate DVSA10.
Disabled candidates may use the vehicle for a test in automatic mode as a means of overcoming their disability. If successful, the candidate should be issued with a restricted licence in the usual way.
Vehicles fitted with these devices do not fall within the definition of vehicles with automatic transmission. The use of a free-wheel device or centrifugal clutch in addition to a pedal-operated clutch is at the discretion of the candidate.
A wide range of electric vehicles are now on our roads, from motorcycles to cars, buses, and commercial vehicles. Any vehicle presented for test must meet the Minimum Test Vehicle (MTV) requirements. This applies equally to electric vehicles.
These vehicles do not have a conventional gearbox or means by which the driver can disengage the engine from the transmission (clutch). They are therefore categorised as automatic transmission and are perfectly acceptable for test provided they meet the MTV for the category of test they are presented for.
A Hill Assist system allows a driver, when moving off on an uphill or downhill gradient, a couple of seconds to move their foot from the footbrake to the accelerator before the device releases the footbrake automatically. If this device is fitted drivers still have to co-ordinate the controls and take the correct observation when moving off; consequently, vehicles fitted with such a device are suitable for the practical driving test.
Vehicles fitted with an electronically operated parking brake are suitable for use during a practical driving test. There are usually two ways of releasing an electronically operated parking brake:
- by depressing the footbrake whilst releasing the parking brake, then coordinating the accelerator and clutch to move away.
- coordinating the accelerator and clutch and when the electronics sense the clutch is at biting point, the parking brake releases automatically. The parking brake will not usually release automatically if the accelerator is not used or the controls are not coordinated correctly.
Providing there is no loss of control either method is acceptable. If an examiner needs to take action to stop the vehicle, if the electrically operated parking brake is applied and held on when the vehicle is in motion, it will bring the vehicle to a controlled stop.
Car manufacturers are now producing vehicles with 鈥榮elf-parking鈥� features, which when activated, automatically steer the vehicle into a parking bay or space by the kerb. This technology is becoming more common and it is likely that some of these vehicles will eventually be presented for test.
If any vehicle fitted with a 鈥榮elf-parking鈥� feature is presented for test, the test should be conducted in the normal way. However, vehicles fitted with these electronic devices must be capable of being switched off/de-activated when carrying out manoeuvres. Candidates must complete their manoeuvres manually. Vehicles with parking distance sensors are acceptable as this is merely a safety feature.
ABS is fitted to most vehicles. Examiners should not enquire if a vehicle presented for a test is fitted with ABS. Most ABS systems require the clutch and footbrake to be depressed harshly at the same time to brake in an emergency situation; therefore, a fault should not be recorded purely for using this technique with a vehicle fitted with ABS on the emergency stop exercise. On the emergency stop exercise, under severe braking, tyre or other noise may be heard. This does not necessarily mean the wheels have locked and are skidding. Examiners should bear these points in mind when assessing the candidate鈥檚 control during this exercise. Further advice regarding ABS is given in the DVSA publication 鈥樷€橳he Official DVSA Guide to Driving 鈥� The Essential Skills鈥欌€�.
聽Examiners can make the decision not to take the test if it is on at the start of the test; however, if it comes on during the test, they should continue and the ADI or accompanying driver informed upon return.
If the MIL illuminates part way through a test and the vehicle appears to be performing normally with no obvious signs of malfunction, then the test should continue and the ADI or accompanying driver informed upon return. If the MIL light becomes flashing amber or red during the test, the test should be terminated at the next safe opportunity.
Note: A defective MIL is not applicable to motorcycles. Kit cars, amateur-built vehicles, and American pickups are not required to be fitted with an engine MIL.
Many vehicles are fitted with warning lights to indicate that a service is due and so on. These warning lights are purely to remind the driver/ rider of the need to book their vehicle in for service and so on. Examiners must not terminate a test purely because this type of warning light is displayed.
Some vehicles have a warning system which indicates tyre pressure may be low. If the warning light is showing, examiners should carry out a brief visual inspection of the tyre and give the candidate or accompanying driver every opportunity to rectify any problems, they should bear in mind the principle that no test should be turned away that could reasonably go ahead. A test must not be terminated just because the tyre pressure warning light is showing.
Drivers are required by regulation to switch on their lights in conditions of poor daytime visibility. These are defined as 鈥榮uch conditions adversely affecting visibility (whether consisting of, or including, fog, smoke, heavy rain or spray, snow, dense cloud, or any similar condition) as seriously reduce the ability of the driver (after the appropriate use by them of any windscreen wiper and washer) to see other vehicles or persons on the road, or the ability of other users of the road to see the vehicle.鈥�
If candidates are uncertain about switching lights on in conditions of poor visibility, or at lighting up times, examiners should remind them about this and, if necessary, advise them on how to operate the appropriate controls. If the examiner operates a switch, care should be taken to avoid physical contact with the candidate. An assessment will need to be made of whether to mark `ancillary controls鈥�. If a candidate switches on lights in conditions which do not seem to require them, the examiner should not comment.
Before these devices are allowed to be fitted to vehicles, they must have 鈥渢ype approval.鈥� Part of the approval is that the mechanisms unlock automatically in the event of a severe accident. The emergency services state that they can easily enter a car to rescue the passengers whether or not the doors are locked.
All vehicles fitted with automatic door locks can have the mechanism disengaged by a switch.
Examiners need to be sensitive when dealing with drivers who prefer to drive with the doors locked.
The police often advise that drivers, particularly females, should drive in town with the doors locked.