The BBC's Tim Hirsch braves the new driving test

The new version of the test is longer, and for the first time candidates can be failed even if they only commit minor driving faults.

Previously, there was no set limit for small faults, but the new regulations state that any candidate guilty of more than 15 such errors will fail.

The BBC's June Kelly: The test is even more tortuous than before

As before, one serious or dangerous fault will also result in failure.

Keith Cameron, the head of road safety policy at the British School of Motoring (BSM), said: "Minor faults are minor faults, let's face it."

'Bad drivers, but not dangerous'

Mr Cameron, a former chief examiner with the Driving Standards Agency, told BBC News Online: "Their argument is that if someone commits 15 faults they are not very good at driving so they should not be on the road.

Minor errors will be punished

"But nerves can affect someone's performance on the day and if it's only affecting in terms of minor faults then it should not matter."

Mr Cameron said the Driving Standards Agency had conceded there would be a drop in the pass rate, but he said he thought they had underestimated how many people would fail under the new rules.

"It really is not difficult to ratchet up 15 minor errors," he said.

Driving on faster roads

The changes also mean that candidates taking the new test, which will now last for about 40 minutes, will spend more time driving on higher speed roads to demonstrate how they cope with faster-moving traffic.

Other changes include:

• Only one in three candidates being asked to do emergency stops
• Candidates being asked, where practical, to perform reverse parking at any time
• A printed, as well as verbal, explanation of the results of the test
• A voluntary logbook for instructors and learners to record a learner's progress

The Driving Standards Agency says the changes are helping to modernise the test, which has not altered much since it was introduced in 1935.

The Automobile Association (AA) has welcomed the changes.

The changes mean more time at the wheel during the test

AA Driving School spokeswoman Rebecca Hadley said: "Devoting more time to driving in the test will expose critical weaknesses such as observation skills.

"The longer that candidates are on the road, the more they are inclined to relax, revealing the strengths - or weaknesses - that might come out in everyday driving."

'Step in the right direction'

Graham Fryer, of the Driving Instructors' Association, said: "It's a step in the right direction, there's no question about that, but nobody in Britain learns to drive - people go to a driving instructor to learn tips on how to pass the driving test.

"What we need is re-testing, and we need more emphasis on training."

Dave Rogers, road safety adviser for the Royal Society of the Prevention of Accidents, said his organisation wanted to see compulsory use of logbooks and the reassessment of novice drivers two years after they have passed their test.

He said: "Novice drivers have more accidents than other road users ... so they should be reassessed to ensure they have maintained safe driving habits."