COVID-19 The New Normal

We shall, if possible, allow time on arrival at the test centre to wipe down the examiners side of the vehicle. At present we are advised to arrive no more than 5 minutes before test.

Under present guidelines pupils may not enter the test centre building, unless to visit the toilet, and only then under supervision through the building.

In light of the increased transmissability of the Omicron varient, I would ask that you complete a lateral flow test before, and on the day of, your test.

The following information is from the DVSA Standard Operating Procedure Coronavirus (COVID-19): conducting driving tests (Car) from 4 July 2020 outlining the procedures the examiner should follow in conducting a driving test.

To allow the examiner to take all additional precautions as outlined in this standard operating procedure, extra time will be made for each test.

Examiners must wear suitable clothing providing as much covering as reasonable. Short sleeved shirts can be worn. They will:

• wash their hands and put a face covering on before leaving the office.
• wear gloves, if they choose to, as soon as their face covering is fitted and for the duration of the test.

Waiting rooms will remain closed until further notice, candidates will not be able to use the facilities, unless as stated earlier, at the test centre.

On leaving the building the test centre door will be locked to prevent candidates / members of the public entering the building.

Meeting and greeting will now take place in the car park. The examiner should politely remind the candidate and accompanying driver of the requirement for social distancing.

Wearing a face covering

You must bring and wear a face covering when you come for your test, unless you have a good reason not to. This includes if:

• you have a physical or mental illness or impairment, or a disability that means you cannot put on, wear or remove a face covering
• putting on, wearing or removing a face covering would cause you severe distress
• you need to remove it during your test to avoid harm or injury or the risk of harm or injury to yourself or others

You need to say if you have a good reason not to wear a face covering when you arrange your test.

Your test will be cancelled if you come for your test without a face covering and you did not declare you could not wear one when you arranged your test.

You will need to remove your face covering briefly so your driving examiner can check your ID.

Should the candidate be wearing a niqab (full face veil worn for religious purposes), the examiner should be sensitive in ensuring the privacy of the candidate when carrying out the identity check. The examiner must consider the candidates wishes of their face not being seen by others during the identity check. This may mean just asking the candidate to position with their back towards others present before removing their niqab.

In some circumstances, it may be necessary to wait for other candidates to leave the car park before the identity can be checked.

Where candidates present for test wearing glasses and a face covering, please be aware of the increased possibility of glasses/eye protection fogging up. Where issues arise with this on test, the examiner should offer advice and guidance to help resolve the problem. If the issues continue to interfere with the safety of the test, the examiner may terminate/stop the test on safety grounds.

Official DVSA and government advice is that visors should not be worn as they increase the risk of injury in the event of an airbag being deployed. If one is worn it should be in addition to a face mask and not as an alternative. When attending for test examiners will not prevent you from wearing a visor but they will only conduct the test if you are also wearing a face mask, unless you are in an exemption group.

Please remember the requirement for social distancing.

The Examiner will:

• Provide the candidate with an insurance and residency declaration form (Word) and a pen if they don't have their own. The candidate must keep this form.
• Ask the candidate to:
  • read the insurance and residency declaration form
  • tick the boxes if they agree with the statements
  • sign it

Without handling the licence, the examiner will then compare your signature on the form to the one on your licence. A UV check should then be carried out, also without physically handling the licence. This will be a part of the usual identity check.

The examiner will then mark a cross X in the signature box on either the iPad or the paper DL25 to confirm that the candidate has agreed with the statements and has satisfied the identity checks.

Examiners at the Dundee MPTC now use electronic tablets for the tests. They will ask if your email address is where you wish the result to be sent. In cases where the candidate wishes the email address to be changed, they will ask for the new email address to be written down on a separate piece of paper.

The candidate will keep the insurance and residency declaration form (Word), it must not be left on site.

ADI's / accompanying drivers will not be able to accompany the test.

The examiner will explain to the candidate that a debrief will be offered at the end of the test. In order to maintain social distancing, the ADI/accompanying driver will not be invited to listen in unless social distancing can be maintained.

If the candidate comes to the test with clear symptoms the test must not go ahead. If the candidate becomes unwell or starts to cough continuously during the test, the test will be stopped. In either of these scenarios the normal government advice should be followed regarding self-isolation and testing and tracing. Full details can be found at the NHS Inform Coronavirus (COVID-19): Contact tracing website.

The examiner must make sure the test vehicle is well ventilated. This may mean asking the candidate to open their window, as well as their window being opened at the start of the test.

If you have a problem with your face covering during the test, your driving examiner will ask you to stop so you can adjust it. Your driving examiner will end the test early if it becomes a safety issue.

If you make a mistake

You can carry on if you make a mistake during your driving test.

The examiner will conduct the test as normal, as per DT1 guidance with the following exception:

• Where a candidate fails the test either by:
  • committing a serious or dangerous fault or
  • by making 16 driving faults

They will direct the candidate back to the test centre taking the most convenient route and will not carry out any additional test requirements. This is to minimise the amount of time you need to spend in the vehicle.

Any faults identified on the route back to the test centre will continue to be assessed and recorded in the usual way. In many cases it's likely this will mean arriving back at the test centre having not fully completed the test. In this case, the test will be terminated in the interest of public safety at the test centre.

You will not be alerted to the outcome of the test until arriving back at the test centre. During the debrief it will be explained that the test has been curtailed following the point at which the test had been failed, and that continuing the test would have made no difference to the outcome.

At the end of your test

Your driving examiner will:

• ask you to get out of your vehicle before they give you your test result feedback
• ask if you want your instructor to come over to listen to the feedback if it's safe to do so

This is to minimise the amount of time you need to spend in the vehicle.

At the end of the test, if the candidate has passed, The examiner will read the health declaration to candidate and ask if the statement is true. If the candidate agrees, the examiner will mark a cross X in the signature box on either the iPad or the paper DL25 to confirm that the candidate has agreed with the statement. The examiner will then take the candidate's licence in the usual way for ADLI issue, ensuring it's only handled with gloves on.

When you must not come for your test

You must not come for your driving test test if:

• you or someone you live with has coronavirus symptoms
• you've been told by the NHS Test and Trace service that you've been in contact with a person who has coronavirus
• if you have returned to the UK in the last 14 days, unless you travelled from certain countries or territories, or are in other very limited situations

You have to stay at home (self-isolate).

Change your driving test appointment if you need to self-isolate on the day of your driving test.

You can do this free of charge if you're self-isolating, including if you do it at short notice (within 3 clear working days of the test).

If you're classed as clinically extremely vulnerable from coronavirus

If you're clinically extremely vulnerable, you should have received a letter telling you that you're in this group or have been told by your GP.