However, that has now changed with any new learners having to take the computer based exam, before passing the CBT, allowing them to then use the roads.
The decision was made to put the theory test first earlier this year.
The theory and hazard perception test is an online exam which learner riders will take at Edward T Wheadon House. There is currently a four-week wait to sit a theory test with the first available slot on 30 May.
Once a learner rider has passed their theory test they can book their CBT which is a two-day assessment process, which a past learner described to Express as one day classroom/theory based and one day practical. The next available date for a CBT is 18 and 19 May.
Learner riders can now not ride their motorbike on any public road until they have passed both their theory test and their CBT in that order.
This change can be traced back to the Integrated Transport Strategy which was approved by the then-States in 2014. While it may be extended to other vehicles in the future, motorcycles were “seen as a necessary first step” according to the States public statement released in February.
Pictured: Services related to driver licensing and vehicles are based at Edward T Wheadon House. Theory tests are undertake here in a private room on the ground floor.
Guernsey Police, Traffic and Highway Services, and the GMTS all agreed to the change for motorcyclists- saying it would improve road safety across the island.
Express asked for further details on this statement – including how many road accidents in both 2022 (the most recent data on road traffic accidents available) and 2012 (a decade prior for comparison) involved motorcyclists and specifically learner riders.
We were directed to submit our questions through the Freedom of Information code.
This was done on 26 February, and despite an FOI usually resulting in a response within 20 working days, we have not had any response to date.
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