Peter gives the modern test 10/10 and he should know!


Most people pass their driving test only once, but Peter Torre can make the unique boast of having passed in 1959 and again, fifty years to the day later, in 2009.


For Peter, a professional driver for all of his adult life and an approved driving instructor (ADI) since 1971, the second test was simply an exercise to prove that he had never let his driving standards drop.


With just one minor fault recorded second time around, Peter certainly made his point - and also gained a unique insight into how the test had evolved and improved over the intervening half a century.


“Comparing the two tests is like comparing black and white; they couldn’t have been more


2005 Peter Torre is a trained Rolls Royce chauffeur


different,” said Peter, 68, who lives in Hendon.


“My first test was at 2pm on 2 June 1959, at the old Hendon test centre in Vivian Avenue. I was driving a four speed Hillman Minx with a column gear change and handbrake on the right hand side near the seat, which made it a bit complicated.


It was a very


formal atmosphere, which did nothing to calm your nerves. The examiner was quite a daunting character of mature years and I addressed him as ‘sir’. He wore a suit, and I wore a blazer, collar and tie.


18 Despatch Magazine www.dsa.gov.uk


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