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ADI View - Theory Test

Special needs instructor and regular contributor John Brown puts the DSA’s rationale behind a recently expanded Theory Question Bank to the test and finds its sadly wanting and potentially discriminatory

Rosemary Thew’s letter stating that the increased number of MCQs in the Theory Test “will broaden candidate’s knowledge and lead to higher standards and improve road safety”, and “The longer test does not mean a harder test”, shows such a lack of understanding of the issues which are faced daily by our candidates that I feel compelled to look at a few of the facts. We are actually dealing with people and not pass ratios.

As an educationalist, I am a keen supporter of the test as a teaching tool to be used by the instructor, but sadly it has become a money making scam which discriminates against the most vulnerable in our society who are good drivers, but just need to pass the Theory Test to enable them to be the valuable members of society they would have been able to become as little as ten years ago. This non-differentiated test is a disgrace and we should call for a complete reappraisal of both its purpose and its execution to ascertain if the questioner is conveying the correct information and asking the correct questions, or just expecting the candidate to respond in the manner of a Pavlovian robot to a trigger, without thought or understanding.

I will look at a selection of actual examples to illustrate the point which shows that every time a candidate thinks for themselves and chooses a ‘wrong’ answer it is more money into the DSA coffers.

The Intellectual

Question: Super-trams or Rapid Transit Systems are environmentally friendly because:
a) They use diesel power
b) They use quieter roads
c) They use electric power
d) They do not operate during rush hour.

Now, the primary aim of this question is to test the candidate’s ability to understand green issues and to minimise the use of fossil fuel, which of course is soon to be part of the Practical Driving Test.

Sample Answer from a candidate with Aspergers:
a) Diesel cars use less fuel than petrol cars and economy is what we are aiming for and diesel cars are now very efficient, so bio-diesel trams using vegetable oil must be the obvious choice.
b) Although I have never seen a tram I believe they don’t run on roads, but on tracks, so that is a red herring.
c) There are many television campaigns to help us cut our use of electric power since it is either produced by burning fossil fuels, or even worse by using atomic power and we cannot get rid of the spent fuel rods in an environmentally green way.
d) I am sure they will operate during rush hour, so it will not be that one. Therefore it must be a).
Who has the deeper understanding of green issues? The candidate who thinks for himself, or the DSA which believes ‘c’ is the answer and produces questions out of doctrine, rather than rational thought. Is there a subtle political message here that they should not actually be learning to drive or they should be pro-nuclear?

The Personal

Question: You are most likely to lose concentration when driving if you:
a) Use a mobile phone
b) Listen to very loud music
c) Switch on the heated rear window
d) Look at the door mirrors

Sample answer from a candidate with dyspraxia:
a) I would never use my mobile phone and I think it is most irresponsible of anyone who does, so it would not be that one.
b) I do not like loud music as I find it distracting, so it would not be that one.
c) I don’t know where the switch for the rear window heater is, so it would not be that one.
d) Yes it is most definitely the door mirrors. Whenever I look at those, I move towards them and wander across the road. I am glad they put that one in as it is most definitely the one that causes me to lose concentration and it is so dangerous.
How do I explain to someone who had made such a reasoned answer that they are wrong and it is a generic ‘you’ and not a specific ‘you’ to which they are referring? Of course I believe she was right, because she had thought it through, but the DSA wanted the robotic answer (a).

The Obscure

Question:You are on a dual carriageway. Ahead you see a vehicle with an amber flashing light. What will this be?
a) An ambulance
b) A fire engine
c) A doctor on call
d) A disabled person’s vehicle

Sample answer from a candidate with cerebral palsy:
a) An ambulance is an emergency vehicle and uses blue lights.
b) A fire engine is also an emergency vehicle and uses blue lights.
c) A doctor on call uses a green light, although I have never seen one.
d) Disabled people now get ordinary vehicles under the Motability scheme and they do not use flashing lights. No it is none of those and will be a road sweeper, so I have written that in because it is a slow moving vehicle.”
Does this display ignorance that is worth failing a driving test for or is it just an obscure question that hardly anyone would know that d) is the correct answer? I certainly have never seen a disabled vehicle on a dual carriageway with a flashing amber light. The option provided should have been a ‘slow moving vehicle, such as a battery powered mobility buggy.’

The Confusing

Question: Before entering a tunnel it is good advice to
a) Put your sunglasses on
b) Check your tyre pressures
c) Change to a lower gear
d) Tune your radio to a local channel.
Sample answer from various candidates:

a) It would not be the sunglasses, although it would make sense to put them on before leaving the tunnel as you could get blinded by the sun after being in the dark.
b) I don’t think it is tyre pressures unless you had extra passengers in.
c) Yes it is c) because you would change to a lower gear as you are going down hill into the tunnel and a lower gear gives greater control and better braking.
d) Never mess around with your radio when coming up to a hazard because it distracts and can be very dangerous. It is as bad as using mobile phone. Does this answer show less reasoning and understanding than selecting d) which is the required answer?

The Incredulous

Question: You are on a busy main road, and find that you are travelling in the WRONG direction. What should you do?”
a) Turn into a side road on the right and reverse into the main road
b) Make a U-turn in the main road.
c) Make a ‘three-point’ turn in the road. (they use this colloquial term which examiners do not use)
d) Turn around in a side road.

Sample answer from a candidate having lived in the USA where wrong means illegal:
As I am going the Wrong–Way, I would have to get out of it as soon as possible to prevent hitting the cars coming towards me. Any of the options would be preferable to continuing in the wrong direction, so if the road was clear and I could get round, I would do a U turn and make sure I was going the correct way. I hope I never have to do that as it would be so frightening.
I explained that the correct answer was a) at which incredulous suggestion she exclaimed: “What if there are no side roads around? You mean I have to carry driving in the wrong direction on a busy main road for god knows how much longer; surely that is more dangerous than doing a three second U-turn. The sooner you turn around the better.”

The Pointless

Question: You are in an accident on a two way road. You have a warning triangle with you. At what distance before the obstruction should you place the warning triangle?
a) 25 metres (82 feet)
b) 45 metres (147 feet)
c)100 metres (328 feet)
d)150 metres (492 feet)

Answer from a candidate who is dysnumerate:
I can never remember numbers, they make me panic and I don’t know what they mean. I would put the triangle where it will be easily seen by traffic, either before a hump or a bend. It is a stupid question.

The Mathematician

Question: To reduce the volume of traffic on the roads you could:
a) Use public transport more often
b) Use a car with a smaller engine
c) Drive in a bus lane.
Sample answer from a candidate with autism:
Well it would be no use using a bus as they are very big and have a big volume with just one driver and as they are always empty they take up much more space than a few cars. It must be ‘use a car with a smaller engine’, because if it has a smaller engine it will be a smaller car and so will have much less volume than a bus. The answer is use a car with a smaller engine.
Who am I to doubt her logic, understanding and observations?

The Ancient

Question: How can you plan your journey before starting a long journey?
a) Check your vehicle’s workshop manual
b) Ask your local garage
c) Use a route planner on the internet
d) Consult your travel agent
Sample answer from an older lady:
Can you imagine me using the internet, when we don’t even have a video recorder? It must be b) as that is where they sell maps and I have always planned all our routes with a map.

The Modern

Question: Which of the following may help to deter a thief from steeling your car?
a) Always keeping the headlights on
b) Fitting reflective glass window
c) Always keeping the interior light on
d) Etching the car number on the window.
Sample answer from a young man:
Well the correct answer is not there. As cars have immobilisers, the thief has to get hold of the key and the best way to do this is to rob the driver when the engine is running and stationary at traffic lights. So you would lock your doors. I suppose it is b) so they cannot see who is inside. I don’t know what etching has to do with it.

Bad attitude

Now, to help these thinking ‘failures’ to study the areas of weakness that they and their instructors ‘should pay particular attention to’, they are not given the questions they were failed on, but instead are advised on ‘topics of weakness’ to study by the DSA. For example, if they don’t know that ‘diamond shaped signs give instructions to tram drivers, then it is “their ATTITUDE” (section 2) which needs attention. That is such a great help to them!

This theory test is turning the learner into an unthinking memory puppet and has increasingly discriminated against those who do not think in the same way as the educated bureaucrats, so I am concerned about the detriment on road safety that this test is having on our less educated drivers. Just because they do not meet the standard norm, does not mean they are failures, but rather the test was not applicable to their strengths. We would consider it cruel to expect someone without legs to achieve the same standard in running as someone who is able bodied. Obviously if one needs to drive and academia prevents this, many will decide to either skimp on lessons and Pass Plus because they have had to spend so much on Theory, or just give up and drive illegally. I am not condoning this at all, but if impossible restrictions are imposed, it is human nature to circumvent them. The harder the test is made, the worse our road safety will be. Come on DSA. Come into the real world in which we work.

The Editor

Editor's note: Since I enjoyed this article so much and wholeheartedly agree with its sentiments, I thought I would join in with the 'game'. The Theory Test question bank used to include a question (it may not any more I'm afraid – it's a little while since I took my motorbike test) that has always bothered me and which went something like the following (I may be paraphrasing three of the options but (c) is definitely accurate.

Question: What does it mean if a motorist flashes their headlights at you?
a) They are letting you go first
b) They are are warning you of danger ahead
c) They are letting you know they are there
d) They are trying to intimidate you

Sample answer from Editor challenged by the Special Educational needs of 'real life' in a DSA theoretical view of the world:
As every British road user knows, the answer is usually
(a), but sometimes
(b), or even on occasions
(d). Of course the DSA was looking for
(c), as this is the only reason to flash your headlights as defined by the Highway Code.
Notwithstanding this fact, I have never, in 23 years of driving, encountered anybody flashing their headlights for this reason alone. Just because it is, in theory, the 'right thing' for motorists to do doesn't make it any less dishonest as an answer to a question designed to help test if people are equipped to survive in a dangerous real life environment. But then that's probably why they call it the Theory Test.

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