Latest news with #drivingtest
The Independent
a day ago
- Automotive
- The Independent
Driving test warning as top school warns situation ‘cannot get much worse'
Learner drivers across Britain are facing waits of more than five months to book a test, with new figures revealing that four out of five test centres have the maximum possible waiting time. As of 5 May, 258 locations – 81 per cent of all sites – had a 24-week backlog for a driving test, a significant increase from 161 at the start of the year. AA Driving School, which obtained the data from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), warned that the situation "cannot get much worse". The average waiting time across all test centres has now reached 22 weeks, up from 14 weeks in February 2024. The DVSA attributes the delays to a surge in demand and candidates booking tests much earlier than previously. Officials hope that an increase in the number of tests conducted will help to reduce these extensive waiting times. The number of future bookings in the DVSA's system was 122,000 higher in June compared with the same month last year. Public spending watchdog the National Audit Office recently announced it will investigate the 'root causes' of delays to booking tests, and 'how the DVSA is responding'. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said in April the Labour Government 'inherited an enormous backlog' but was 'acting fast'. She told the Commons Transport Select Committee her department aimed to reduce the average waiting time to seven weeks by summer 2026. A Government consultation on amending the test booking system closed last week. This featured a plan aimed at stopping bots mass-booking new slots so they can be resold on the black market for inflated prices. The Department for Transport also instructed the DVSA to offer additional overtime payments to incentivise instructors to conduct more tests. Staff at the agency qualified to conduct tests are being asked to voluntarily return to the front line, while the number of permanent trainers for new examiners is being doubled. Emma Bush, managing director of AA Driving School, said: 'With the vast majority of driving test centres now showing waits at the maximum the system will allow, the situation cannot get much worse. 'New measures designed to start bringing down waiting times were implemented at the start of April by the DVSA. 'There are signs of recovery though, putting both the industry and learners on tenterhooks for more signs of improvement in the coming months. 'While we would expect these changes to take a few months to show a positive impact, it is still disappointing to see that learners are continuing to face an uphill battle when it comes to booking their driving test.' DVSA chief executive Loveday Ryder said: 'DVSA's goal is to make booking a driving test easier and fairer for learner drivers. 'We are making progress on our plans. 'We're really grateful to everyone who has responded to our recent consultation, including learners, parents and driving instructors. 'We're now analysing the survey responses. 'Using your feedback, we'll be able to plan our next steps on improving car test booking rules.'
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
Learner drivers forced to wait more than five months to book their driving tests
Learner drivers are having to wait more than five months to book their driving test at four out of five British test centres, it emerged yesterday. Some 258 sites, or 81 per cent of the total, had the maximum waiting time of 24 weeks for a test as of May 5 – up from 161 at the start of the year. AA Driving School, which obtained the figures from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), said things 'cannot get much worse'. The average waiting time across all test centres has reached 22 weeks, up from 14 weeks in February 2024. The DVSA blamed higher demand and some learners booking their test much earlier than before. Officials hope an increase in the number of tests will bring waiting times down. The number of bookings in the DVSA's system was 122,000 higher in June than 12 months earlier. The National Audit Office recently vowed to investigate the 'root causes' of delays to booking tests, and 'how the DVSA is responding'. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said in April that the Government 'inherited an enormous backlog', but was 'acting fast'. She told the Commons transport committee that her department aimed to reduce the average waiting time to seven weeks by next summer. A Government consultation on amending the test booking system closed last week, having floated a plan to stop people making a quick buck by using bots – automated software – to mass-book slots for resale on the black market. The DVSA is offering overtime payments to get instructors to conduct more tests. AA Driving School managing director Emma Bush said: 'The situation cannot get much worse. It is disappointing to see learners are continuing to face an uphill battle when it comes to booking their test.' DVSA boss Loveday Ryder said: 'DVSA's goal is to make booking a test easier and fairer.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Driving test backlog ‘cannot get much worse'
Learner drivers are being forced to wait more than five months to book a slot at four out of five test centres, new figures show. Some 258 locations in Britain had the maximum possible waiting time of 24 weeks for a test as of May 5, which is 81% of all sites. That is up from 161 at the start of the year. AA Driving School, which obtained the figures from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), warned the situation 'cannot get much worse'. The average waiting time across all test centres has reached 22 weeks, up from 14 weeks in February 2024. The DVSA attributes the backlog to an increase in demand and some people booking their test much earlier than before. Officials hope an increase in the number of tests being conducted will bring waiting times down. The number of future bookings in the DVSA's system was 122,000 higher in June compared with the same month last year. Public spending watchdog the National Audit Office recently announced it will investigate the 'root causes' of delays to booking tests, and 'how the DVSA is responding'. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said in April the Labour Government 'inherited an enormous backlog' but was 'acting fast'. She told the Commons Transport Select Committee her department aimed to reduce the average waiting time to seven weeks by summer 2026. A Government consultation on amending the test booking system closed last week. This featured a plan aimed at stopping bots mass-booking new slots so they can be resold on the black market for inflated prices. The Department for Transport also instructed the DVSA to offer additional overtime payments to incentivise instructors to conduct more tests. Staff at the agency qualified to conduct tests are being asked to voluntarily return to the front line, while the number of permanent trainers for new examiners is being doubled. Emma Bush, managing director of AA Driving School, said: 'With the vast majority of driving test centres now showing waits at the maximum the system will allow, the situation cannot get much worse. 'New measures designed to start bringing down waiting times were implemented at the start of April by the DVSA. 'There are signs of recovery though, putting both the industry and learners on tenterhooks for more signs of improvement in the coming months. 'While we would expect these changes to take a few months to show a positive impact, it is still disappointing to see that learners are continuing to face an uphill battle when it comes to booking their driving test.' DVSA chief executive Loveday Ryder said: 'DVSA's goal is to make booking a driving test easier and fairer for learner drivers. 'We are making progress on our plans. 'We're really grateful to everyone who has responded to our recent consultation, including learners, parents and driving instructors. 'We're now analysing the survey responses. 'Using your feedback, we'll be able to plan our next steps on improving car test booking rules.'
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
DVSA drafts in 100 mental health first aiders as staff face anger at huge waits for driving tests across Britain
The Driver and Vehicle and Standards Agency (DVSA) has trained up more than 100 mental health first aiders amid pressures on staff to cut waiting times for driving tests. Britain's driving test backlog recently reached a new high with 631,472 future practical driving tests booked as of the end of May – up from 527,368 a year ago. Despite the growing demand, the number of tests conducted during the first five months of this year was 14 per cent lower than the same period in 2024. There were 757,867 tests taken between January and May, down from 877,387 a year earlier. As of March this year, the average waiting time for a practical car test was 21.9 weeks – up from 16.1 weeks in March 2024. The DVSA has a target of reducing car practical test waiting times to seven weeks or less by December this year. In the agency's annual report, chief executive Loveday Ryder admitted it was 'not on track' to meet that target despite providing 1.96million car driving tests in 2024–25. Some of those who have spent months trying to to book a test have complained about test slots across the country being sold via WhatsApp groups for more than double the normal price. As of March this year, the average waiting time for a practical car test was 21.9 weeks – up from 16.1 weeks in March 2024 'We recognise the impact this has on learner drivers across the country and on driving instructors and their businesses,' Ms Ryder wrote. 'We are doing all we can to address this, working with the Government quickly to develop a plan to tackle the car practical test waiting time.' She added: 'We recognise that there are no quick fixes and that we need to re–balance supply and demand for tests alongside tackling the systematic abuse of the test booking system.' The DVSA boss also acknowledged the pressures her staff were under to cut waiting times, amid plummeting satisfaction rates among learner drivers. She continued: 'Our commitment to colleague wellbeing was reflected in the launch of our comprehensive mental health strategy, which included training over 100 mental health first aiders across the organisation. 'This initiative has been particularly important given the pressures our colleagues have faced while working to reduce waiting times and meet customer expectations.' The driving tests backlog has been largely building since the Covid pandemic and has been rising since Labour came to power last summer. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said in April the Labour Government 'inherited an enormous backlog'. But she added that ministers were 'acting fast' to tackle the issue, with at least 10,000 extra tests to be available each month. The Government recently launched a consultation on amending the driving test booking system. This is with the aim of stopping bots from mass–booking new slots so they can be resold on the black market for inflated prices. Other measures in response to the backlog include instructing the DVSA to offer additional overtime payments to incentivise instructors to conduct more tests. Staff at the agency qualified to conduct tests are being asked to voluntarily return to the front line, while the number of permanent trainers for new examiners is being doubled. A DVSA spokesperson said last month: 'We know that many learners are still struggling to book driving tests, and we're working tirelessly to reduce waiting times and help more people get on the road. 'Despite this, there are currently over 630,000 learners who have a future test date secured – which is the highest number of test slots that we've ever seen booked. 'As we continue to make more tests available, the number of learners with a slot booked will continue to rise, providing more people with the opportunity to continue their learning journey.'
The Independent
16-07-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Luke Littler hits the wire after failing driving theory test for fourth time
World champion Luke Littler may be the master of the oche, but he is yet to master the Highway Code after failing his driving theory test for a fourth time. The 18-year-old has driven darts to a new level following his emergence on to the world scene 18 months ago, but he will not be getting behind the wheel any time soon after suffering more misery in the exam room. Littler revealed he had failed his theory test – a requirement before anyone can take a practical exam – for a fourth time on Wednesday. He scored 45 out of 50 on the multiple choice section, which was enough to pass, but only scored 41 out of 75 on the hazard perception, two short of the required mark. He posted a picture of his exam report on his Instagram story, with the caption '4th time and counting' accompanied by a 'green feeling unwell' emoji. Littler, who was a World Championship finalist before he was even old enough to take driving lessons, will have to quickly put his disappointment behind him as he prepares for the World Matchplay, which starts in Blackpool this weekend. Littler, chasing the title for the first time, takes on Ryan Searle in the first round on Sunday.
