The theory test is created with two parts; the multiple choice part and the hazard perception part. If you pass one part and fail the other you’ll fail your entire test, and you’ll require taking both parts again. Once you have passed the theory test then you can apply for your practical driving test.

The theory test is included in of two parts:

• The Multiple option questions part:

  The multiple choice portion of the DSA test is designed to test your understanding of the theory associated with driving. The questions in each multiple choice test in DSA test change in respect to the category of vehicle you’re looking to obtain a license for, i.e. a motorcycle driving test will consist of specific questions that do not appear in any other DSA test. A question and several answer options will look on screen and you have to choose a correct answer to the question by touching the screen. Some questions require more than one answer. You can navigate between questions and ‘flag’ questions that you want to come back to later in the test.





• The Hazard perception test part:

  This part of the DSA test designed to test your consciousness of potential hazards while driving. You’ll be shown with a series of 14 video clips each one minute long, which feature every day route scenes. In each clip there’ll be a minimum of one developing hazard and you need to click the mouse during the time you see a hazard developing. The videos have several types of hazard, such as road conditions, vehicles and pedestrians. The earlier you spot a hazard developing that may require the driver to take some action, the higher the score. There are 15 scaleable hazards in the tests and candidates can score up to 5 points on each hazard.

Hazard perception test is an interactive practice in the driving theory test featuring hazard perception clips to identify the developing potential hazards.

Reason to introduce hazard perception test element:

The government is dedicated to cutting down the numbers killed and badly wounded on Britain’s roads by 40 per cent by 2010. The hazard perception component was introduced into the driving test in November 2002 as one of the measures that should help do this target by boosting accurate training in scanning the road, recognizing at the first chance from the clues that a potentially unsafe position might arise and adopting a driving plan to minimize the risk.

During the development of this test, the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) acted closely with co workers from the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) and the road safety region of the Department for Transport, both of whom thought this test desirable for testing the hazard.

When to respond to score in hazard perception test:

As an example, of how to spot and interact to a developing hazard, consider a parked vehicle on the side of the road. When you first watch it, it is not doing anything; it is just a parked vehicle. If you were to respond to the vehicle at this point, you would not score any marks, but you would not lose any marks.