The 1935 driving test included some familiar challenges for aspiring motoristsConcerned by the high fatality rate on Britain's roads, the government introduced the driving test in 1935 to raise the standard of motoring
Mr RE Beere of Kensington Hall Gardens, London W14, secured a footnote in history when, on 16 March 1935, he became the first person in Britain to pass the driving test.
Passing the test wasn’t compulsory until June 1935, but from March a series of trial tests were held, and the intrepid, history-making Mr Beere was the first to receive his pass certificate, permitting him to then acquire a full driving licence.
The driving test was an attempt to formalise the training of new drivers and trim the country’s quite astonishing accident rate. Government figures show that 7343 people were killed on Britain’s roads in 1935, despite there being just 2.4 million vehicles in use. The Highway Code, issued in 1930, was an early attempt to introduce car owners to the fundamentals of sharing the road with other users.
Reinforcing that with a compulsory assessment for new licence applicants occurred in tandem with the introduction of a new 30mph limit for urban areas, as well as pedestrian crossings.=
Autocar carried out a thorough ‘test’ of the driving test, assessed by Captain RSD Stuart, who had been appointed as chief of Britain’s driving examiners. In the early days, there were no test centres, so applicants had to meet an assessor at a pre-arranged place. Autocar’s man met Captain Stuart “in a narrow cul-de-sac off the Camberwell Road in Peckham”.
After being quizzed on the Highway Code, they drove to the test’s starting point, described by Autocar as “a horses’ drinking trough at a road fork in a reasonably traffic-free area”.
Practical elements of the 1935 test should be familiar to most drivers. Autocar’s representative was assessed on his emergency stop, hill start, three-point turn, vehicle and hand signalling, parking and number plate reading.
“Besides these actual manoeuvres, Captain Stuart was watching my general behaviour all the time. The total time taken was just over half an hour and the distance covered was about five miles,” wrote our correspondent.
“If a driver is successful, he receives a pink certificate stating he has passed. If he fails, he is issued with a yellow one.”
Government figures show the pass rate in 1935 was 63%. The test certainly forced prospective drivers to carry out some revision of the Highway Code.
“The test is not easy,” said Autocar. “A very good knowledge of the Highway Code seems to be necessary, and it must be applied to one’s driving. Captain Stuart stressed that the main requirement in the tests was safety.
“How the driver treats his car does not matter so much. Crashing the gears will not influence the tester, so long as it does not affect safety.”
Mr Beere and Autocar’s man can lay claim to being among the first of more than 46 million motorists to have passed their driving test in the 80 years since.
Previous Throwback Thursdays
4 March 1899 - Steam, electric or combustion engine?
14 February 1913 - 100 miles in one hour
8 April 1916 - Making post-war predictions
25 March 1922 - Caterpillar tracks are the future
2 February 1934 - The ethics of skidding
21 January 1949 - Tidier tails
24 April 1959 - Aston Martin enters Formula 1
27 January 1961 - Ford Thunderbird road test
6 May 1971 - Driving Ford's Supervan
13 May 1978 - Ferrari 512 BB road test
19 January 1980 - Talbot Horizon road test
13 February 1982 - 4x4s tested on the farm
17 April 1985 - Secrets of a lost British supercar
28 April 1993 - BL's unseen concepts
16 March 1994 - Bentley's Concept Java
16 April 1997 - When Bugatti bit the dust
4 April 2001 - 0-260mph in 6.0 seconds
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