Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service Supports Lifesaving Changes to UK Driving Theory Test

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is adding questions about Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and how to use defibrillators (AED) into the official learning materials for car and motorcycle theory tests.    

DVSA is encouraging learner drivers to learn life-saving skills in a move that could reduce strain on the NHS, boost cardiac arrest survival rates and increase the number of people with vital emergency skills.  

Questions on basic CPR and defibrillator use will be added to the car and motorcycle theory test in early 2026. Learners are encouraged to prepare by picking these skills up early. 

Drivers are often first on the scene when someone suffers a cardiac arrest. Adding this information into the official 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.  

This is part of a partnership with DVSA and leading national programmes including the Save a Life programmes in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and Resuscitation Council UK, the leading healthcare charity responsible for setting CPR guidelines. 

The initiative also supports the UK Government's Plan for Change commitment to build an NHS fit for the future by reducing preventable deaths and easing pressure on emergency services.   

Safer Roads, Safer Lives  

In the UK, over 40,000 people suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest each year, with fewer than 1 in 10 surviving - but if CPR is given and a defibrillator used within 3-5 minutes of collapse, survival rates could be as high as 70%.  

DVSA Chief Driving Examiner, Mark Winn said:

“Part of being a safe and responsible driver is knowing what to do in an emergency – how to step in and make a real, life-saving difference. 

“Learning CPR and how to use a defibrillator is a very simple skill and adding this into the official learning resource is a great way for DVSA to support the drive to raise awareness.”  

Official learning materials have already been updated to give learner drivers time to familiarise themselves with the new content. This includes The Official DVSA Guide to Driving – the essential skills and The Official DVSA Guide to the Theory Test for Car Drivers, with updates to motorcycle publications to follow.  

The push for the vital update was spearheaded by Save a Life Cymru (SALC) Chair Professor Len Nokes, whose 24-year-old daughter Claire tragically died in 2017 from complications following a cardiac arrest. Len said:  

“When Claire, my daughter, had her cardiac arrest, some knowledge of CPR might have made a difference.  

“I don't want any other family to go through this experience.  

“All of us in this partnership hope that by making CPR and how to use a defibrillator part of the theory test, we will be able to significantly increase the number of people who have this life saving awareness.”  

Lifesaving Community Defibrillators Installed at Fire Stations

MAWWFRS recently installed public access defibrillators (PAD) at 23 of its Fire Stations, made possible through a partnership with SALC and the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust, which identified 23 MAWWFRS Fire Stations that were not in close proximity to a PAD.

This now means that all MAWWFRS Fire Stations are located within 500 metres of a PAD.  Read more here.

Safety on the Road

MAWWFRS works in conjunction with a number of organisations, through a variety of initiatives, to protect road users including car drivers, motorcyclists and pedestrians throughout our service area.

More road safety information and guidance can be found here.