Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday.
The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely.
Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling procedures, where drivers point at an important indicator or hazard and call out its status to ensure safety, the bureau said.
Photo courtesy of the Highway Bureau
Failure to perform any of the above tasks would result in a deduction of 32 points.
The passing grade for the driving test is 70 out of 100.
The change aims to enhance drivers’ awareness regarding stopping and yielding to pedestrians, the bureau said.
Since Jan. 30, the written test for a motorcycle driving license has consisted entirely of 50 multiple-choice questions, with no true-or-false items.
Car drivers are scheduled to take the same test format in June, with 20 percent of the questions specifically designed to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and their responses under certain circumstance.
Preparations for the scoring criteria and grade record forms have been completed, and the documents would be published in the Government Gazette, the bureau said.
Motor vehicle offices and driving schools around the nation would adjust their scoring boards at test sites, too, it said, adding that all preparations are scheduled to be completed by March 31.
ROC Automotive Driving Education Association chairman Chen Yong-chin (陳永親) said that aside from continuing to improve training for applicants, driving schools are also updating the signage for point deductions, in response to the changes in on-site driving test items, adding that they aim to complete the updates as soon as possible.
There are 216 small-vehicle driving schools and 36 large-vehicle driving schools across Taiwan, bureau statistics showed.
Last year, 243,000 people took the small-vehicle driving test, and 16,000 took the large-vehicle driving test, the bureau said.
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