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More than three-quarters of UK driving exam centres still have waiting times above three months despite attempts to cut the post-pandemic backlog by releasing 150,000 extra slots.
After additional exam sessions were made available from October, the proportion of areas with three-month delays between booking an exam and taking it fell from 81 per cent to 57 per cent in January.
However, in May a total 77 per cent of centres reported average waiting times of more than three months, according to a Financial Times analysis of Freedom of Information Requests made by the AA.
The proportion of centres with average waiting times of more than five months — the maximum time the system will allow bookings — fell from 47 per cent in October to 28 per cent in January, but crept up to 39 per cent in May.
The average waiting time at the more-than 320 UK centres fell from 18.7 weeks in October to 14.5 weeks in January, but had returned to 17.8 weeks by May. The AA said that before the pandemic in 2020, the average waiting time stood at just six weeks.
In October 2023, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) set a target of rolling out 150,000 extra test slots by the end of March 2024 in an attempt to ease the backlog.
“We welcomed the extra slots when they were announced last autumn and, while it was good to see they created an initial improvement in average waiting times for a driving test, we were always concerned that without further, long-term action, waits would start to creep up again”, said Camilla Benitz, managing director AA Driving School.
“It is incredibly frustrating for learners and driving instructors up and down the country that this is what has happened.”
The DVSA believes the delays are the result of rise in learner drivers booking tests too early and taking them before they have sufficient practical experience to pass.
A lack of confidence in the availability of a test means driving students are rushing to book practical tests as soon as they pass their theory exams.
Additionally, MPs have warned that delays to taking tests is leading to the creation of a black market in providers taking advantage of the situation and using bots to buy tests before reselling them for profit.
Liberal Democrat MP Munira Wilson called on the new Labour government to “clamp down on a growing black market for driving tests with a Ministerial-level investigation”.
She said: “We have real concerns that wait times for driving tests are creeping up again, we need the government to tackle backlogs . . . to ensure learner drivers can get on in life. We cannot allow wait times to reach what they were during the pandemic.”
The sector argues the 150,000 extra tests provided is not enough to make up for those missed during pandemic lockdowns, and is calling for more slots over a longer period of time than just six months to help ease the backlog.
In 2019, there were just over 1.6mn tests. In 2020, there were just over 800,000 and in 2021 there were about 1.1mn, DVSA figures show.
The industry is also calling for greater efforts to ensure the retention and recruitment of examiners.
The AA’s Benitz noted that often learner drivers needed to pass their test out of necessity so they could access education or employment opportunities.
“These excessive waits are forcing them to put their lives on hold and it is simply unacceptable”, she said. “More needs to be done to ensure there are enough examiners to continue providing extra test slots until average waiting times are back to an acceptable level.”
DVSA CEO Loveday Ryder said the body was working to recruit more examiners.
“In the past financial year alone, we’ve provided almost 2mn tests, and I was delighted to meet the Transport Secretary recently to discuss how we can continue to increase the number of tests by recruiting more examiners while tackling bots and those exploiting learners”, she said.
“The DVSA want to see more learners passing first time, so we’re working with the driver training industry to educate and advise learners on what they can do to prepare and improve their likelihood of passing.
“Learners can check out our Ready to Pass campaign and use our checklist to make sure they’ve had enough lessons so they can drive safely and are ready to pass first time.”