1.1 The Regulation Examination: Facts, Booking and Study Plan

The Regulation Examination is the first gate on the road to a Barbados driver's licence. The Barbados Licensing Authority (BLA) describes it as "a theoretical test all applicants must conduct to prove their understanding of the road rules in Barbados," and says that a pass "grant[s] applicants the ability to apply for a Learner's permit." In other words, you prove you know the rules before you are allowed to practise on public roads.

The four BLA steps to a licence

The BLA's "driver licence life cycle" has four services. Each has its own requirements and fee, payable through the BLA or its online portal.

The learner permit page adds one more rule that matters for planning: a first-time permit holder is "required by law to practice for a minimum three (3) months before applying for the driving examination." Budget at least three months between passing this test and sitting the practical test.

Booking and paying

An appointment is required. The BLA asks applicants to register an account on its website (bla.gov.bb), where the public can pay for and schedule Regulation, PSV and Driving Examinations and apply for or renew permits and licences. The BLA's main office is on Pine East–West Boulevard, The Pine, St. Michael, and its published opening hours are Monday to Friday, 8:15 am to 4:30 pm. Bring the identification you used when booking.

What is, and is not, published about the format

The BLA publishes the eligibility rules and fee, but not the number of questions, the time allowed, the pass mark or a question bank. Treat any figure you see elsewhere as unofficial:

• Barbados driving schools (for example, the published FAQs of Tyrone's Driving School and DrivingYouth) say the written test "usually consists of 20 questions" and that answering 15 or more correctly (75%) is a pass, with a new BBD $30 fee for each attempt.
• Practice papers that circulate online with 45, 52, 67 or 72 questions are study compilations, not the official paper. They are useful for seeing the style of question, but some of their "answers" come from the United Kingdom Highway Code rather than Barbados law.

Confirm the current format with the BLA when you book, and prepare to a standard well above any reported pass mark.

What the examination tests, and why

The legal anchor is the Road Traffic Act, Cap. 295. Section 65(5) says the examiner must be satisfied that a candidate "is conversant with the contents of the Highway Code ... or with the rules of the road." The Highway Code is prepared by the Chief Technical Officer under section 119 (as replaced in 2017) and may be revised every five years. Breaking the Code is not by itself an offence, but a court may rely on it when deciding who was at fault.

The enforceable "rules of the road" sit mainly in two instruments:

1. The Road Traffic Act, Cap. 295: licensing, insurance, seat belts, speeding, drink-driving, accident duties and demerit points.
2. The Road Traffic Regulations, 1984 (with later amendments, including S.I. 2017 No. 106): rules for driving, signals, speed limits, parking, lights, signs, pedestrian crossings, cyclists and mobile phones.

This guide follows that structure, and it cites the section or regulation for each rule so you can check it.

A practical study plan

Make a one-page sheet of the numbers that examiners like to test:

• 16: minimum age for the Regulation Examination and learner's permit.
• 3 years: how long your supervising driver must have held a licence for that class of vehicle.
• 10 metres: no stopping within 10 m of a corner, pedestrian crossing or bus stop.
• 60 / 80 / 50 / 30 / 25 km/h: general limit, signed roads for cars, buses and heavy goods vehicles, vehicles towing, construction zones.
• 18:30, 19:00 and 18:00 to 05:00: the three "at night" periods.
• 24 hours: the deadline to report an accident at a police station.
• 35 micrograms per 100 ml of breath: the drink-driving limit.

Finish with timed practice sets, and review every wrong answer against the rule it tests.