DVSA has announced that examiners will not conduct driving tests in vehicles that have a screen fitted between the driver and front passenger.
The reasons for this are that screens:
- Can restrict the candidate’s vision of the the road
- May prevent a quick exit from the vehicle in an emergency
- Prevent an instructor or examiner taking action in the event of an emergency, for example by using the steering wheel
- May cause injury in a crash if the air bags or other restraint systems are deployed
Screens between the driver and front passenger in vehicles provide limited benefits in protecting people from coronavirus. Key guidance from Public Health England (PHE) is that frequent handwashing with soap and water (or the use of suitable alcohol gels), coupled with an appropriate vehicle cleaning regime are the best ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Face coverings must be worn during driving tests, unless an individual is exempt and has notified DVSA of a medical reason for not wearing one.
This directive does not apply to buses and other similar vehicles where screens are routinely fitted as part of normal operations. These vehicles are subject to routine testing to ensure they are safe. For other vehicles including cars, where after-market screens are fitted, an IVA (Individual Vehicle Approval) test certificate will be required to show that the vehicle is safe.
If a vehicle (other than a bus) is presented for a driving test with a screen fitted between the driver and front passenger, examiners should allow a reasonable period time for the candidate or accompanying driver to remove the screen, especially if it is a temporary screen. If the screen cannot be readily removed the test must not go ahead and should be shown as test terminated, vehicle not suitable for test.
3 thoughts on “Cars with screens not permitted for driving tests”
I’ve noticed a large amount of instructors and pupils not wearing face masks, I think the government need to make compulsory that driving instructors and students to wear face mask due to the fact that we less than 1 meter from person
My other issue is when we go to the test centre we are no longer able to sit in the waiting area and we can not sit on test, my question is when it raining and the winter weather starts we’re can we wait ?
The test centre need to put outside shelters for instructors to be able wait for pupils to come back from the test, I’m also disabled and can not stand for very long.
On the subject of the screens, was there not a feature a few weeks back in the dia magazine endorsing these screens. Thought that thay were from shoulder to ceiling height so instructor /examiner’s would be able to reach the steering wheel as normal.
Also understood that they had full safety and insurance companies approved certificate etc. David adi from kent
“Screens between the driver and front passenger in vehicles provide limited benefits in protecting people from coronavirus. Key guidance from Public Health England (PHE) is that frequent handwashing with soap and water (or the use of suitable alcohol gels), coupled with an appropriate vehicle cleaning regime are the best ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
Really? To quote:
“Working safely during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
5. Make your workplace COVID-secure
If through your risk assessment you have identified people who cannot work from home (for example people who operate machinery or work on a construction site), then you should consider what changes you might need in your workplace to reduce risk and make it ‘COVID-secure’.
Social distancing
Where possible you should keep people 2m apart. If this is not viable, keeping 1m apart with risk mitigation is acceptable.
These are some of the things you can do:
use floor tape or paint to mark work areas
provide signage to remind people to keep a 2 m distance
USE SCREENS TO PROVIDE A PHYSICAL BARRIER BETWEEN PEOPLE”
…etc
My capitals… but this is the RIGHT NOW advice from https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/working-safely/covid-secure.htm