Driving test examiners will now wear body cameras following frightening attacks from angry learners.
New rules introduced by the Driving Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) from January 25, 2023, will see the cameras become an "essential" part of the examiner uniform, with abusive candidates told any abuse could result in them being barred from test centres or even prosecution. The DVSA says examiners will only switch on the bodycams if they "feel threatened" by learners or wish to capture "inappropriate behaviour".
It comes after an increase in hostile incidents, one of which saw a disgruntled learner begin hitting a door with a fire extinguisher in a violent attempt to break it down after failing their test. One anonymous driving examiner meanwhile said they had been left feeling "really uncomfortable" approaching dual carriageways after an incident where an abusive learner began swerving erratically across three lanes, causing traffic to swerve out of the way, MirrorOnline reports.
