Driving practical test vehicle requirement

Minimum test vehicle requirements for a car and trailer test

The minimum test vehicle standards for a car also apply to a car and trailer test, with additional requirements for the trailer. Vehicles that do not meet the minimum test vehicle requirements are not suitable for the purpose of taking a driving test, and your test may be cancelled with loss of fee.

Test vehicle requirements for a car practical test and car and trailer test Category B – cars and vans.

Cars or vans presented for test must be:

A four wheeled vehicle of no more than 3500 kilograms (kg) maximum authorized mass (MAM)
Capable of a speed of at least 100 kilometers per hour (km/h) or 62.5 miles per hour (mph)

The car or van must also be fitted with:

A seatbelt for the examiner
A passenger head restraint, this need not be adjustable but must be fitted as an integral part of the seat – ‘slip on’ type head restraints are not permitted
An interior mirror for the examiner’s use
L-plates displayed on the front and rear of the vehicle but not interfering with the driver’s or examiner’s view
A speedometer that measures speed in miles per hour and kilometers per hour

The vehicle must be legal and roadworthy and have no warning lights showing i.e. the airbag warning light.

Convertible vehicles

The Ford KA convertible and Mini convertible due to the lack of all-round vision for the examiner are not suitable vehicles for a Driving practical test vehicle requirement.

Category B1

A motor powered tricycle or quadricycle must have an unladen weight of not more than 550 kg and be capable of at least 60 km/h (37.25 mph).

Category B + E – car and trailer

Cars or vans presented for test must be a category B vehicle towing a suitably braked, unladen trailer of at least one tonne MAM . The examiner may ask for evidence of the trailer MAM, for example the manufacturer’s plate. All vehicle combinations must operate on appropriate brakes and utilize a coupling arrangement suitable for the weight.

Please Note about Driving practical test vehicle requirement:

Irrespective of the date vehicles were first registered, from 1 April 2006 externally mounted, nearside and offside mirrors for use by the examiner or any person supervising the test must be fitted.

In the case of a category B+E vehicle first used on or after the 1 October 2003 the following additional standards will apply:

The cargo compartment of the trailer must consist of a closed box body which is at least as wide and as high as the towing vehicle; the closed box body may also be slightly less wide than the towing vehicle provided that the view to the rear is only possible by use of the external rear-view mirrors of the towing vehicle.

Source – Driving Standard Agency