What is the point of driving lessons? To provide you with all of the skills, knowledge and experience you need to pass your driving test and acquire a license to drive.

 

What is a driving test supposed to assess? That is a much more difficult question, and every country in the world has a slightly different answer to it.

 

The exact sets of skills needed on the road will vary from country to country, as not only are rules different, but so are the customs and etiquette that are often as important as following the law.

 

Because of this, driving tests can vary dramatically, and with that in mind, here are some of the most unusual driving tests around the world, how they differ from the British system and why they are the way they are.

 

How Is The British Driving Test Structured?

To learn to drive in the UK, you need to get a provisional driving license and pass both a theory test and a practical test on the road.

 

Exactly how many lessons you will need to take between getting your provisional license and passing your test will vary from person to person, but there is an expectation that you will learn all 27 core skills, as well as know The Highway Code.

 

The theory test consists of 50 questions and a hazard perception test, which gives points for spotting hazards once they develop.

 

It is one of the most rigorous tests in the world, and its comprehensiveness acts as a good benchmark for the rest of the world and the very different ways in which they interpret what is needed for safe driving.

 

What Is The Strictest Driving Test In The World?

The British driving test is challenging and rigorous, but it does offer some room for error. You do not need to answer every question on the theory test correctly, and you are allowed up to 15 minor driving faults before you are deemed to have failed the test.

 

By contrast, the Japanese driving test has become infamous both inside and outside the country, consisting of at least four tests, around 26 hours of practice typically at a dedicated driving school, and a practical exam on a closed course that allows for no errors whatsoever.

 

Thankfully, the UK has a reciprocal agreement with Japan, meaning that you can either pay £5.50 for an international driving permit (IDP) or convert your license to a Japanese one. As both countries drive on the left, there is far less of a culture shock compared to the United States.

 

Honourable mentions include Vietnam, which has a huge test that is 450 questions long, France, where you are required to drive for at least 3000km (1865 miles), South Korea, which mandates over 60 hours of driving, or Montenegro, where you are required to undergo a psychiatric test before your examination.

 

What Is The Easiest Driving Test In The World?

By contrast, some countries focus on a more basic and rudimentary set of skills that focus less on whether you can drive a car safely and more on whether you can safely turn the key and know which pedal does what.

 

Determining the easiest driving test in the world is made difficult by the handful of countries and regions that do not require drivers to take a test at all.

 

Some states in Mexico, for example, only require you to pass a theory test, and up until 2018 had no requirements at all. Honduras has a similar approach.

 

Historically, Egypt was considered to have the easiest driving test in the world, famously only requiring drivers to drive forward six metres and then reverse the same way. They have since added a theory test, however.

 

Similarly, Pakistan’s driving test is infamously fast, often completed in less than ten minutes, whilst India requires drivers to complete a figure-of-eight track and little else.

 

Finally, Uganda has a relatively robust theory and practical test, but drivers can pass with only a quarter of the correct answers. 

 

What Are The Most Unusual Driving Test Criteria Around The World?

Because driving cultures around the world are so different, the driving tests will often require additional skills beyond the 27 learned on the UK driving test.

 

For example, German drivers must learn first aid, have sessions where they drive at night and on the high-speed Autobahn, the latter of which is often discouraged when people first learn to drive.

 

Finland famously has an ice driving section in their driving test, given the high levels of ice driving many rural Finns are expected to undertake.