50 Fun Facts About Driving Test

France introduced the world's first mandatory national driving test in which year?

Most tests today still split into a theory part and a practical road test, and many countries require the theory pass first.

Carl Benz got a permit to drive his Motorwagen in 1888 after neighbours complained about what?

The Grand Ducal authorities issued it; European permits stayed ad hoc until the early 20th century.

Prussia's compulsory 1903 driving tests were run by a body that supervised what?

The Dampfkesselüberwachungsverein tested mechanical aptitude. Germany went national in 1910 with a model copied by other countries.

Which European country let people buy a permit without a driving test until 1977?

It was the last in Europe to introduce testing.

Which US state was first to require all drivers to pass an exam, in July 1913?

New York's 1910 law, North America's first, had covered only professional chauffeurs.

North America's first licensing law, New York's in 1910, applied only to whom?

Legislators had studied the French and German statutes after traffic deaths soared.

The 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic said national driving permits should be which colour?

International Driving Permits were to have grey covers with white pages.

The entire last page of an International Driving Permit must be drawn up in which language?

The preceding pages repeat it in several languages that must include English, Russian and Spanish.

The idea of an International Driving Permit was first mooted at a 1926 convention in which city?

The term translates the French 'permis de conduire international'. The document is A6, slightly larger than a passport.

In which year did the UK introduce compulsory driving tests?

Mandatory licences had arrived in 1904 at a minimum age of 17 with a 20 mph limit; the Road Traffic Act added testing three decades later.

UK driving tests were suspended for a year in 1956 because of what?

They had also stopped for seven years from 1939 for the Second World War.

Who is the only person not required to hold a licence to drive on Britain's roads?

Everyone else needs one on any 'road' as defined in the Road Traffic Act 1988, whoever owns the land beneath it.

From what age can someone in Great Britain apply for a provisional driving licence?

Northern Ireland waits until 16 years and 10 months. Car driving itself starts at 17, or 16 for some disability benefit recipients.

Learner drivers in Wales may display plates bearing which letter instead of L?

D for Dysgwr, Welsh for 'learner'. Supervisors must be 21 or over and have held a full licence for three years.

New drivers in Northern Ireland must show R plates for a year and keep below what speed?

Failing to display the orange R costs two penalty points and a fine. The Isle of Man uses red R plates and a 50 mph cap.

What colour are the optional 'probationary' P plates some new drivers display in Great Britain?

They are not a legal requirement and can stay on as long as the driver likes; they are rarely seen in Northern Ireland.

A new UK driver's licence is revoked on reaching how many penalty points within two years?

The driver must then pass the full test again, and the points stay on the new licence until they expire.

In which year was the hazard perception test added to the UK driving test?

Live-action clips were replaced with computer-generated ones in 2015. New South Wales uses an almost identical test.

What is the maximum score for spotting a single hazard in the UK hazard perception test?

The earlier you click, the more you score, but repeated clicking on one clip scores zero.

What is the hazard perception pass mark for car drivers?

Across 14 clips. Approved instructors need 57 and lorry drivers 67 of 100; fail either theory part and you resit both.

In which year was the first edition of The Highway Code published?

It cost a penny and ran to 21 pages, mostly arm signals. Illustrated road signs arrived with the 1934 second edition.

What did the 2022 edition of The Highway Code introduce?

Road users are ranked by their risk in a collision, with pedestrians and cyclists at the top.

What is the official UK name for the three-point turn?

The full phrase adds 'using forward and reverse gears'. Ireland calls it a turnabout, since it may take more than three points.

In Ireland, what is the three-point turn officially called?

Because an acceptable manoeuvre may need more than three movements. Elsewhere it is a Y-turn, K-turn or broken U-turn.

In Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, the manoeuvrability tests are unusual in being what?

Candidates must finish each task within an expected time so they do not hold up traffic.

In most EU countries, passing the test in a car with no clutch pedal restricts the licence to what?

The same rule applies in Australia and New Zealand; a later manual test lifts the restriction.

What is the 'Young Leaf' sign that Japanese drivers must display in their first year called?

It applies again whenever a driver gains a licence for a new vehicle class, however long they have driven.

The Gold licence for 'superior drivers', marked by a gold band, needs how many clean years?

Holders get a shorter, cheaper renewal, sometimes at a separate Superior Drivers renewal centre.

Applying for a German driving licence requires a first aid course of how many 45-minute units?

Plus proof of an eye test, which optometrists are legally bound to offer cheaply. Theory lessons can even be repeated to make up the count.

Norway's compulsory 'trafikalt grunnkurs' basic traffic course lasts how long?

It covers road rules and accident first aid; students over 25 are exempt from most of it.

Norwegian learners over 25 skipping the basic course still need which module to drive at night?

It is called mørkekjøring. Drivers over 80 need a health certificate to renew.

What is the minimum age to obtain a car driving licence in France?

Motorcycles start at 16 and buses and lorries at 21. The test has two stages: the written code de la route and the practical.

France swapped its booklet-style driving licence for a credit-card-sized one in which year?

Wallis and Futuna was still issuing the old non-card format as of 2024.

Since 2009, how much theory class time does a Brazilian licence require?

Then 25 hours of practical lessons, 4 at night and 5 in a simulator, plus a 30-question test needing 21 right.

What is the minimum age for a large bus licence in China?

Cars start at 18. Drivers with under a year's licence are 'intern drivers' and must carry a label on the car.

Which of these countries does not recognise the International Driving Permit at all?

It is party to none of the three IDP conventions; foreign drivers must obtain a Chinese licence, with some requirements waived.

What colour is a New Zealand learner licence?

Restricted licences are orange and full ones green. New Zealand drivers sit two practical tests, the second at least six months after the first.

A New Zealand restricted licence allows driving alone between which hours?

Holders must be at least 16 years 6 months old; outside those hours they need a supervisor.

Learner drivers in New South Wales must log how much supervised driving before their test?

Including 20 at night, over at least 12 months. Queensland asks for 100, with professional lessons counting triple.

Graduated driver licensing began in Australia when New South Wales introduced it in which year?

Learner and provisional licences arrived on 4 January. Red P-plates now mark the first year and green the next two or three.

Learner drivers in Australia's Northern Territory are limited to what top speed?

New South Wales and Tasmanian learners get 90 km/h; Queensland, Victoria and the ACT impose no extra limit.

Egypt's old driving test famously required driving forward how far, then reversing the same distance?

It has since been toughened with a computer test, an S-track in both directions and a parking assessment.

In which year did Saudi Arabia lift the world's last ban on women driving?

King Salman's order came in September 2017 and took effect on 24 June 2018; several campaigners were detained weeks before.

Which US state lets drivers get a first licence youngest, at 14 years and three months?

New Jersey, at 17, is the oldest; most states allow unsupervised driving by 16.

How is a Real ID-compliant US driver's license identified?

In the top right third of the card. Every state and territory was certified compliant by February 2024, American Samoa last.

In 1895 the mayor of Saint Petersburg issued Russia's first driving permits for what?

Baron von Wahl signed them; the first car licences followed in 1900 and Russia joined an international convention in 1909.

Russia's extra licence categories Tm and Tb cover which vehicles?

They sit alongside 14 EU-style main categories. Off-road machinery needs a separate tractorist-machinist's licence.

Zimbabwe's 25-question learner theory test must be finished in under how long?

Passing brings a provisional licence to drive under supervision; public transport licences require a minimum age of 25.

What is the minimum age for a provisional driving licence in Singapore?

It follows the basic theory test; a final theory test must be passed before the practical.

Which manoeuvre, once standard, have several US states dropped from their road tests?

It is rated one of the most stressful skills for new drivers, and lets a car fit a space only about one and a half car-lengths long.