Revealed: Longest & Shortest Waiting Times for UK Driving Tests

By Blind Spot DriveBlog

Revealed: Longest & Shortest Waiting Times for UK Driving Tests

Learning to drive is one of life’s big milestones, but it would seem long waiting times at test centres have made booking and attempting to complete a driving test an extremely frustrating process for far too many learners throughout the UK. Learners continue to bug testing centres as it can be five months before some actually take their test. New research conducted by the AA Driving School sheds light on these delays and highlights the disparities between test centres – effectively creating a “postcode lottery” where access to driving tests is concerned.

It shows the longest and shortest waits for driving test centers across the country, as well as leans on the long waits facing learner drivers. Many places have slightly improved, but a number of learners face long waits. This article will break down the key points from the research and explore what is being done to address the issue.

The Current State of Driving Test Wait Times in the UK

Unfortunately, the situation isn’t great for learner drivers; in fact, it’s bleak. The average current waiting time for driving tests is now over a month. Learners have to wait more than six weeks at three-quarters of all driving test centers. At the end of January 2024, it had not improved much from the efforts put in to try and resolve the situation.

News that is even more alarming is that nearly two-fifths of the test centres are now reporting times that exceed five months. This means that learners are facing considerably longer delays compared to the times they waited before the COVID-19 pandemic, when the system was at a relatively stable state. Most driving schools and learners are calling for urgent action in order to help alleviate this backlog and bring the waiting time right back to levels that are more manageable.

The Postcode Lottery: Variations in Regional Waiting Times

The most striking finding of the research is the variation in waiting times at the regional level. Depending on your postcode in the UK, you will be shown either a moderately short waiting time or be left hanging for several months. This inconsistency has led to what some are calling a “postcode lottery” for learners, with the location of the test centre seemingly a big determinant of how quickly a learner can book and take their driving test.

This was highlighted by Camilla Benitz, head of the AA Driving School, who explained that many learners have experienced waits which have been drastically different based solely on where they live. “Learners are experiencing a postcode lottery on driving test waiting times,” says Benitz. “While many areas have seen an improvement thanks to the extra slots created since October, there are still vast numbers who are stuck with stubbornly long or increased waiting times.

The concern is that this disparity will only continue to deteriorate if further action is not taken. Some learners are now having to travel quite some distance from their homes to test centres with shorter waiting times, adding additional stress and cost to an already challenging process.

Improving the Situation
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has recognised this problem and has since been increasing the number of test slots in its efforts to cut waiting times. A result of this action is the reduction of waiting times across approximately 60% of test centres. That is, of course, a move in the right direction, but it also means 40% of centres have seen no improvement-or worse, increased waiting times.

Benitz underlines that the DVSA should maintain its focus on this issue: “We need to see a renewed commitment from the DVSA to continuing to make additional driving test slots available,” she says. “But also to recruiting and retaining more examiners so additional learner test slots do not come at the expense of other vital DVSA services, such as driving instructor training exams, which we have seen falling availability of recently.

The worry, it would seem, is not just about providing additional test slots but also about having enough examiners to manage the demand. This really does raise the possibility of not even seeing any real improvement in learners’ capability to book tests and also other services provided by the DVSA.

Longest and Shortest Waiting Times by Region. But as part of the study, the AA Driving School underlined both those test centres which have managed to slash waiting times the most and those test centres which have increased delays the most.

Winners: Reduced Waiting Times
Surprisingly, some test centres have seen amazing improvements in waiting times-reductions from many months to just one week. These test centres are very good examples of how targeted action can make a big difference:

Burgess Hill
Bury St Edmunds
Carlisle LGV (Cars)
Exeter
Fort William
Hereford
Ipswich
These centers have witnessed waiting times reduce from an average of 24 weeks in October 2023 to as low as one week at the end of January 2024. This dramatic reduction has been the result of concerted effort by the DVSA in increasing test slots and improving access to driving tests at these centers. Those learners at these centres are now able to book tests much sooner, hence reducing the stress and frustration associated with long waits.

Losers: Longer Waiting Times
On the other hand, many test centres have had to put up with an extraordinary increase in waiting times. In some centres, such times have inflated as high as 24 weeks, while the learners in those areas have to deal with almost half a year before they even have a chance of passing their driving test. The following test centres have witnessed the largest growth in waiting times between October 2023 and January 2024:

Arbroath: Rose from two weeks to 18 weeks
Taunton: From eight weeks to 24 weeks
Buckie: Rose from seven weeks to 24 weeks
Culham LGV: From five weeks to 24 weeks
Crieff: Rose from three weeks to 24 weeks
Peterhead: From one week to 24 weeks
For candidates in these regions, this surge in waiting times is particularly demoralizing, not least given the efforts being made elsewhere to whittle down the backlog. The causes of these increases are diverse, but more often than not, this may have been due to a lack of available test slots or, indeed, a lack of examiners.

Long Waiting Times and Their Effects
The waiting time for driving tests has lots of various implications for the learner: For most, the extended delays mean booking lessons over a longer period, increased overall cost to learn to drive. A number of learners may feel under pressure to take fewer lessons or go longer between lessons, both of which can have negative implications on their preparedness for and confidence about the test.

Additionally, if they fail the test, there would be longer wait times to rebook, further compounding stress and anxiety with learning to drive. The uncertain nature of waiting times influences how well learners can plan for and prepare themselves.

This backlog is also likely to make things difficult for driving instructors; many need a steady flow of students moving through the system, and it upsets their schedules when there are long delays. During such waits, instructors might also have to give additional lessons to keep the skills of the learners sharp.

What Can Be Done?

While the DVSA has made some progress in reducing waiting times in some centres, further action is needed to tackle the growing backlog at others. Increasing the numbers of test slots is a welcome move, but it needs to be accompanied by action to recruit and retain more driving examiners. Plans for adding test slots-utopian though they may be-will always be hampered without enough examiners.

Learners and driving schools are calling for more consistent progress across all regions to avoid further exacerbation of the postcode lottery effect. In the meantime, learners can remain proactive by keeping a lookout at regular intervals for cancellations or openings at test centres nearby, although this is far from a guaranteed solution.

Conclusion
Latest research by AA Driving School reveals the continued frustrations that learners experience in trying to book driving tests across the UK. Although some test centres may have increased the numbers of tests available, too many learners can still find very lengthy delays as waiting times remain substantially long. This is a form of the postcode lottery on driving test waiting times-some learners are able to book and complete their tests quickly, yet others may be held up for months.

With further efforts by the DVSA, it is also hoped that more test centres will start to reduce waiting times. However, it clearly shows that much more needs to be done in order to cut the backlog and give all learners a fair, realistic route to gaining their driving license. Until then, many learners will have to negotiate their way through long waits and prepare for tests as best they can.

Main image by krakenimages.com on Freepik