citizenAID supports the DVSA introducing CPR & Defibrillation to the UK's Driver Theory Test

Photo: Resuscitation Council UK

citizenAID welcomes the news that the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is introducing new questions on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) to the UK's car and motorcycle theory tests starting in early 2026. Drivers are often first on the scene when someone suffers a cardiac arrest. Data from Resuscitation Council UK shows more than 40,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in the UK each year, but fewer than 1 in 10 people currently survive - but if CPR is given and a defibrillator is used within 3-5 minutes of collapse, survival rates could be as high as 70%. Adding this information to the official theory driving test learning materials means that the 2.4 million learner drivers who take their theory test each year will have a better understanding of the skills to use in an emergency. citizenAID would of course have liked the DVSA to have gone further and included Stop The Bleed techniques in the driver theory test, but we recognise this important step in the right direction.