DSA hosted a special two day meeting of the CIECA Expert Advisory Group in Birmingham on 23-24 March which was convened to compare different methods of assessing driving performance during a driving test, formulate an expert view on best practice and agree a plan of action. A report will be produced which will be available to members through the CIECA website.
Trevor Wedge, EAG Chairman (DSA Great Britain) was supported by Nick Sanders, who acted as facilitator, and Agnes Reikl who recorded the proceedings. In attendance where EAG members: Jörg Biedinger (TÜV Nord, Germany); Jean Malinowski (French Ministry of Transport); Sami Mynttinen (AKE, Finland); Per-Olof Nilsson (SRA Swedish Road Administration); Jacques Quoirin (GOCA, Belgium); Han Rietman (CBR, the Netherlands) Trevor was pleased to welcome input from three leading academic specialists: Chris Baughan, TRL’s Chief Scientist: Dr Charles Johnson, Competence Assurance Solutions; and Jan Vissers, DHV The Netherlands.
Each country presented an overview of their own driver testing assessment procedure and principles. Delegates had a rare opportunity to share knowledge and discuss their views, not simply of current assessment methods but also looking at the future towards greater harmonisation of driver testing standards. Comparisons were made between the different systems and an assessment made against the levels within the European Goals for Driver Education (GDE) Matrix.
Trevor Wedge, said, “As DSA is developing proposals to improve driver training and testing to reduce the numbers killed and injured on our roads, this workshop provided a valuable and timely opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the benefits of the different approaches to driving assessment. Collaborative working is one of the key benefits that organisations like DSA gain from membership of CIECA and we look forward to sharing the outputs with other member countries in due course.”