Driving examiner strike: December 2017

Published: 15 November 2017
By Chris Haycock

Some driving examiners who are members of the Public and Commercial Service (PCS) union are planning to take strike action on Monday 4 December and Tuesday 5 December 2017.

You can either:

• change your test appointment to a later date
• turn up for your test as planned, but your examiner might be unavailable

Not all driving examiners are union members, and even if they are, they might choose not to go on strike.

The way the car driving test works is changing on Monday 4 December 2017. These changes will still go ahead as planned.

You won’t have to contact the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) to rebook your appointment if you can’t take your test because of strike action.

DVSA will contact you with a new test appointment within 5 to 10 working days.

You can claim out of pocket expenses if your test is cancelled, but you must have turned up for your test to be able to do this. If you don’t turn up, you’ll have to rebook your own test and won’t be able to claim expenses.

Find out how to claim out-of-pocket expenses

Theory tests aren’t affected by the strike action and will be taking place as planned.

The strike action is about a new standard employment contract that DVSA staff signed up to in 2014. In return for changes to their terms and conditions, they received a buy-out and a 3-year pay deal.

This contract was negotiated with the unions and agreed by staff in a ballot. Since then, PCS has opposed some aspects of the contract

PCS is now trying to link the dispute with health and safety risks of changes to the driving test. The new driving test has been designed to make sure drivers are better prepared for a lifetime of safe driving.

The changes have been developed and trialled extensively with input from DVSA staff, learner drivers, their instructors and other road safety professionals.

DVSA carried out risk assessments and commissioned the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) to carry out an independent assessment. These show that the new test manoeuvres were low risk.

Gareth Llewellyn, DVSA Chief Executive, said:

The fact PCS is trying to undermine the launch of the new test by calling for strike action shows a shameful disregard for both road safety and learner drivers who have worked so hard to be ready to take their test.

The new driving test has been designed to make sure new drivers have the skills they need to help them through a lifetime of safe driving. It is one step in helping reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on Britain’s roads.

During the last 3 years the changes - which are welcomed by most examiners, road safety experts, disability groups and instructors - have been developed and trialled extensively with a wide range of our staff, learners and other organisations. Over 4,000 candidates were involved in the trial.