The new measures announced by the UK government, in order to address the massive self-imposed backlog of driving tests. Currently, nearly 670,000 students are on hold for their driving tests. As of September, the average wait time for a driving test reached 21.8 weeks. This is over seven times longer than the government’s own aim of no more than seven weeks by the summer of 2026. As the UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has confirmed, this ambitious target will not be achieved by next summer.
At the end of last month, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) released a number of these shocking statistics. They announced that 668,128 people had scheduled a driving test. This overwhelming number underscores the struggle for new drivers as they still try to get an assessment appointment. You can schedule tests no more than 24 weeks in advance. Because demand is consistently very high, we announce new slots at regular intervals.
In an encouraging turn, the month of September reached a record 14% rise in the amount of tests administered relative to last September. That made for a pretty darn impressive 168,644 tests total! This increase is significant, a jump of nearly 20,000 new tests compared with September 2022. In September that pass rate fell to just 49.9%. This was the lowest reading in six months, just down from last month’s rate of 50.7%.
It took a massive backlog—over thirty thousand applications and mounting—to force the federal government’s hand. They’re recruiting military driving examiners to assist in managing the increase in demand. Al Carns, the minister for the armed forces, assured that seconding these military examiners would not affect military operations.
Here’s how the government is working to heal the divide. From next year, they’re going to provide a new £5,000 “retention payment” for driving examiners. This groundbreaking initiative would be the first of its type and would help motivate examiners to stick around even in the face of increasing pressures.
Through action taken by the government, the driving test process has seen greater integrity. In response to concerns about exploitation, they have banned high-volume bots and third-party services from booking driving tests. Effective immediately, we will be enforcing a new unlimited change policy on how many times a learner can change their booking. Now candidates are allowed a limited, though still far better than it used to be, two changes before needing to cancel entirely and rebook.
Heidi Alexander commented on the government’s efforts by saying, “We inherited an enormous backlog of learners ready to ditch their L-plates who have been sadly forced to endure record waiting times for their tests.”
Welcoming the measures to improve bus travel Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation said, “it is long overdue”. He stated, “It is good to see steps being put in place to put a stop to those touting tests to frustrated earners.” He underscored that all of the candidates still in line should be confident. They’re not being passed up by opportunists eager to cash in.
As these reforms take effect, the government remains focused on improving access to driving tests and reducing waiting times for learners across the UK.