Delay in automatic driving test reform

Reforms to the truck and bus driving test regime, which were due to come into force in January, have been subject to a slight delay. Legislation will now come into effect “some time in February,” according to the website of the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency, which now incorporates the DSA.

The changes will remove the requirement for drivers taking a Category C test to use a truck with at least eight forward gears, and allow candidates with a manual car licence to obtain a manual entitlement on trucks and buses even if they took the Category C or D test in an automatic.

However, DVSA says that drivers currently holding an automatics-only Category C or D licence will be able to upgrade it to a manual licence by exchange or at renewal.

The changes reflect the increasing standardisation of automated transmissions cross both the freight and passenger sectors.