Learner drivers will now be quizzed on their life-saving CPR skills when taking their theory tests.
The new questions on CPR and defibrillators will be added to theory tests from early next year.
“Part of being a safe and responsible driver is knowing what to do in an emergency – how to step in and make a real, life-saving difference,” said Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) chief driving examiner Mark Winn.
“Learning CPR and how to use a defibrillator is a very simple skill.”
More than 40,000 people in the UK suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest every year and motorists are often first on the scene, according to the DVSA.
However, fewer than one in 10 people survive.
If CPR is given and a defibrillator used within three to five minutes of collapse, though, survival rates can be as high as 70%.
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‘Life-saving’
A father whose 24-year-old daughter died in 2017 from complications following a cardiac arrest led the calls for this change.
“When Claire, my daughter, had her cardiac arrest, some knowledge of CPR might have made a difference,” said Professor Len Nokes, chair of Save a Life Cymru.
“I don’t want any other family to go through this experience.
“All of us in this partnership hope that by making CPR and how to use a defibrillator part of the theory test, we will be able to significantly increase the number of people who have this life-saving awareness.”
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In order to book a practical driving test, learner drivers must first pass their theory test with at least 43 out of 50 correct answers.
They must also pass a hazard perception test.
More than two million theory tests are taken each year, with a pass rate of about 45%.
