Driving test examiners give digital pens green light

The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) is trialing digital pen technology which is saving time for test examiners and getting licenses issued faster.

The digital pen technology has already been tested at a driving test centre in Glasgow, and the agency is now planning for a more extensive trial at a number of centres next year, said DSA Operations Director Brian Gilhooley.

At the moment the examiner goes out on the test with a biro and records details such as driving faults and the name of the driving instructor onto one form.

This form comes back to a central point at the DSA and is scanned into the agency's computer systems. This lets the DVLA know whether the candidate has passed the test or not. Using the pens will cut out this scanning process and reduce the time taken to issue a driving license from six days to two because information will be available much more quickly.

"The digital pen makes this slicker and quicker. The examiner has a digital pen that writes like a biro - it's a bit chunkier but writes on the same form and writes in ink," Gilhooley said.

"It really is a project we are delighted with," he added.

When the examiner comes back after a test or at the end of the working day, he'll put the pen into the docking station and it will download all the details he's written with it onto the systems.

Currently admin staff have to check for data inputting errors but Gilhooley said that "because it's all done at the test centre the examiner can check it there and then".

By the time of the full launch, the pens will also be able to learn the handwriting of each instructor, he said. "If you do your '6' in a funny way this will recognise it."

The system is being developed by the DSA's IT partner Capita.