Information Page

This page carries snippets of useful information from the DSA (and possibly other sources) that will be relevant to your learning with me.

"What do I need to prepare for my Theory Test?"

The minimum you need for the Theory Test is the Theory Book and also "The Official DSA Guide to Hazard Perception DVD".

The DSA have released a new version of the "Official Theory Test for Car Drivers" book for 2013. There is also a SET of books i.e. the updated theory book with "The Official DSA Guide to Learning to Drive" and "The Official DSA Guide to Driving - the essential skills" at a price cheaper than buying all three separately.

To order these up-to-date books you should use the correct ISBN Numbers (9780115532313 for the single book or 9780115532405 for the set).

You can order books, ebooks, CDs and DVDs from the government's "The Stationery Office" shopping website. See the "Other Important Links" section further down this page for direct links to the webpages to order from.

For more information about the Theory Test visit www.gov.uk/driving-theory-test. For Theory test booking links see later down this page.

Driving Standards Agency News

Changes to sight test standards
New rules are now in place covering eyesight requirements but these mainly affect Category 2 driving groups (Lorries, Taxis and Buses) who have stricter eyesight standards, this category of driver must now have their "better" eye meet the standard and the lesser eye meet a much lower minimum standard.

Reading a number plate in the test is still the visual standard to meet (see here) but learners with some sorts of eye conditions have to meet requirements on visual acuity (how sharply you can see) and the available field of vision (i.e. how widely each individual eye can see) and what any visual difficulties are. The document concerned can be found here if you need to know what the details of the standards actually are.

Changes to Epilepsy rules
New rules are now in place covering epilepsy. Should you be prone to epileptic fits then this normally bars you from driving if your fits happen when you are conscious. However if they ONLY occur when you are asleep then you can now re-apply for your license 12 months after your first fit (was 3 years).
The same period now also applies for epileptic people who don't lose consciousness or the ability to act when they fit (the existing criteria for these epileptics was 12 months free of seizures).

Driving Standards Agency (DSA) videos

 

DSA Independent Driving tips

Other Important Links

Here are some links to sites for booking your Theory and Practical tests as well as to an online version of the Highway Code and some theory test practice.

• DSA Theory Test Booking
• Changing a DSA Theory Test Booking
• Cancelling a DSA Theory Test Booking
   
• DSA Practical Test Booking
• Changing a DSA Practical Test Booking
• Cancelling a DSA Practical Test Booking
   
• The Highway Code (online)
• Know Your Road Signs (2007 edition)
  The DSA produced this booklet to help you learn road signs. A printed version is available from retailers. It is large (approx 9 Mbytes) so may take a few minutes to download.
  Clicking on that link will load the document into your browser - click on the "disc" icon in Adobe Reader to save a copy locally. This version, originally on the direct.gov.uk website, claims to be freely redistributable.
   
• The Official DSA Theory Test for Car Drivers 2013 Edition (Book)
  This is the new edition of the Theory Test book.
• The Official DSA Theory Test for Car Drivers 2013 Edition (Downloadable PDF file)
  This is the new edition of the Theory Test book in pdf Form.
• The Official DSA Complete Learner Driver Pack 2013 Edition (Books)
  This is the set of three books described above and is the new edition.
• The Official DSA Guide to Hazard Perception (DVD)
  This DVD provides information about the Hazard Perception part of the Theory Test and practice clips.
• The Official DSA Theory Test for Car Drivers Interactive Download
  This is the downloadable version of the Theory Test DVD ROM which has been brought up to date to the 2013 edition. At £ 9.99 it's relatively cheap but is approaching a 650Mbyte download size so the download could take a LONG time unless you have a very fast internet connection.
• The Official DSA Complete Learner Driver Pack 2012 Edition - Electronic
  This set of CD and DVDs covers Theory Test practice, the Hazard Perception DVD and a DVD called "Prepare for your Practical Driving Test - the official DSA guide" provides information about the Hazard Perception part of the Theory Test and practice clips. NOTE: This is the 2012 edition and doesn't yet have the updates in the new Theory book.
   
• DSA Theory Test iPhone apps for practice (DSA)
  This page on the governments "The Stationary Office" site - www.tsoshop.co.uk - has links to the iPhone applications avialable via iTunes. The Theory Test Lite app lets you try example theory tests for free (questions are randomised but only using 5 out of 14 subject areas) in a 57 minute test as in the real thing. The Theory Test app covers the full range of test topics in its mock tests and includes an eBook copy of the Highway Code (which at it's current [special offer] price of £ 2.99 makes it a steal). The third part of this set of apps is the Theory Test Kit app which not only includes the Theory test app in full but also adds in official theory test clips etc. (at a current price of 3.99 it's much cheaper than the PC version). These are meant to be used with other media (books etc) to help you learn.
• Theory Test practice (DSA)
  The DSA site, now on gov.uk, lets you try two example theory tests for free.
• Online Theory Test practice website (subscription needed)
  This site uses the earlier version of the "Official" DSA question bank so you pay a subscription fee and can practice regularly with each test using different questions selected from the question bank.

Other Off-site Links

I keep links to non-driving sites on a separate page - here or click on the "off site links" in the menu bar on the left hand side of this page.

Page last updated: 15 March 2013