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Published 21/02/24
Passing your driving test at 17 has become an age old rite of passage, but for many the wait for a date for that memorable day has become more of a worry than the test itself. Last year the waiting time for a driving test hit a high of 20 weeks ,and even then, there was no guarantee it would be local.113,000 tests were cancelled last year due to lack of examiners, the forecast is grim for the likes of new dad Bradley from Reading. He’s finding the lack of a licence is impacting on his ability to find employment as a freelance construction worker.

He told us:

“As soon as I started learning at the start of last July, I thought I don’t want to start jumping in and doing my test, but I really didn't think it'd be that difficult to get a test. I even clicked places like Basingstoke, all the surrounding areas.”

With no tests locally, Bradley booked one 200 miles away in Cardigan, West Wales. Unfortunately, he didn’t pass, and the process has taken so long his theory test he took 2 years ago expires next month. He told us about the impact that is having on him and his family.
He said:
“Its really bad. Without my licence I can't find any sort of new work or be sent anywhere to do my work. My little girl, obviously she’s gonna need to rely me to be able to drop her places. It’s a really frustrating situation.”

Twenty year old Sean from South London is in a very similar predicament. He’s been driving for 2 years and like Bradley the first test he could get, required a bit of cross border travel.
“It took me probably four months until I could get a test. But that test was in Scotland.” He told us.
Sadly, Sean’s instructor couldn’t travel that far, so he had to turn it down. It was another 5 months before he finally manged to take one locally.
But like Bradley, he failed his first attempt and now has to wait for 7 months for another test and it’s seriously impacting his life.

He added:
“It’s been a struggle trying to get to work and university trying to balance that, but I also coach cricket. I have to rely on a lot on people's generosity to kind of give me a lift somewhere with my equipment.”
To increase his chances of passing next time, Sean has been paying for double lessons at £60 a time.
And Sean and Bradley are not alone, we’ve been hearing similar stories from other Watchdog viewers.
Rebecca said:
“I have two daughters in both been learning to drive over the last year. They waited a number of months only for the test to be cancelled by the DVSA at the last minute.”

Annabella said:
“I was pulling up to the test centre, the test was cancelled due to the weather. However, the roads were clear.”

During the pandemic and in the year following, the DVSA said it was aware of delays and working to get back to normal.

But 3 years on, it’s a postcode lottery as to how long you need to wait for test ranging from just under 10 weeks in Scotland to over 21 weeks in the Southeast. Graham Biesley, Bradley’s instructor, thinks the problem lies with the number of examiners and the DVSA’s booking system.
He said:
“There's an issue with recruitment and retention of examiner's many places examiners are just walk out leaving the job 'cause they're not happy the way they're being treated. Also, people can buy tests in bulk, unscrupulous people and then reselling them at phenomenal profit. And nobody should be allowed to buy two or three or 400 tests.”

The DVSA told us in response that:

“We understand the frustration that learners and driving instructors feel over the lack of availability of driving tests in areas with high demand.

“We are working hard to reduce driving test waiting times as quickly as possible. That’s why we have asked eligible staff, regardless of their current role, to conduct tests, recruiting more examiners and making tests available at weekends and bank holidays.

“Our measures are working, and we have created over 48,300 extra car test slots each month, with nearly a third more tests in January this year compared to January 2024.

“With waiting times now reduced by more than five weeks compared to the peak of August 2023, we urge learners strongly to book their driving test only when they are ready to pass and have a checklist for them to check if they are ready.”

Asked if the DVSA consider current arrangements for tests as acceptable, they said:

“We recognise that the continued increase in demand for driving tests and change in booking behaviour has affected test candidates in different ways. Understandably, some candidates are choosing to book their car driving test earlier in their driving journey – or in another location – to avoid a long wait.”
“We are taking measures to address this, including providing an extra 103,006 car driving tests in the last 4 months in addition to those that had already been created through the other measures. This is creating an average of 48,300 additional tests per month.”
“We are also working to help candidates ensure they are test ready as part of the Ready to Pass? campaign.”
“This is challenging work, and we’ve been up against unforeseen circumstances and factors beyond our control (such as the effects of bad weather), but DVSA is fully focused on meeting the additional demand and exploring what can be done with partners to address the changes in booking behaviour.”
When asked if the DVSA would be relooking at booking systems to ensure the waiting times are reduced, it told us:
“We are taking a number of measures to address this, including providing an extra 103,006 car driving tests in the last 4 months in addition to those that had already been created through the other measures. This is creating an average of 48,300 additional tests per month and encouraging candidates to take their test only when they are ready.”
“The long driving test waiting times have reduced learner drivers' confidence in getting a driving test and has changed the way customers book tests.”
“To help us understand this better we are asking learners questions about their booking behaviour in our customer satisfaction survey, which we send to them with their test results. The research reveals that nearly 40% of people book their practical test as soon as they have passed their theory test – regardless of whether they’re ready to pass. Just 2% of people book their practical test without having had lessons.”
“We will continue to monitor this behaviour to see if it changes as driving test waiting reduce and consider what interventions would be needed if it does not.”
“We are also looking continually at ways to improve our services for our customers and this includes our practical test booking system.”
“In our strategy to 2025, we have committed to develop a more modern digital platform for booking and managing practical driving tests and this work is underway.”
“Our aim is to provide a new system that provides more flexibility for customers when they are booking a driving test.”
On the issue of tests being resold they replied that:
(The)”DVSA does not run, approve or endorse any cancellation finder apps or services and we encourage learners only to book their driving test when their instructor agrees they are ready.”
“We are committed to tackling the reselling of driving tests at profit, and we have zero tolerance for those who exploit learners. Tests can only be booked by someone authorised to do so (an ADI for example) or by an individual using their driving licence number. It’s impossible to book more than one test per licence.”
We have taken action to address this, including:
• deploying new bot protection to stop automated systems from buying up tests unfairly. The technology uses AI to recognise patterns of behaviour by bots and block access to the website
• changing the terms and conditions for use of the booking service
• removing the accounts of those who break the rules (since January 2023, DVSA has closed the accounts of 507 businesses for the misuse of its booking service)
• preventing automatic online registrations from businesses to use the booking service
• removing 4700 accounts which were not linked to approved driving instructors
“Waiting times are long owing to an increase in demand, previous industrial action on civil service pay and customers’ confidence in test availability, which has led to a change in their behaviour.”
“In June 2022 we introduced changes so only businesses with an approved driving instructor linked to them could register to use the ‘book and manage tests for pupils' service.”
“In January 2023 we updated the terms and conditions for this service to make it clear that businesses need to tell learners if they are charging a fee and explain how they are using data.”
“We investigate any complaints we receive but can only take action if there is evidence that terms and conditions have not been met.”
“We will continue to have a zero tolerance for those who exploit learners.”