Scots have been left with no option but to travel down to England for their theory test due to a lack of availability north of the border.
Driving lessons and tests were put on hold during the coronavirus pandemic, which has left many learner drivers in limbo.
As a result, many learner drivers have been unable to book theory tests as centres continue to deal with a major backlog.
One learner driver told Clyde One that they face an almost 400-mile round trip just to sit their test.
Megan, who is planning on travelling from North Lanarkshire to Blackpool for her theory, said that she is now under additional immense pressure to ensure that she passes the test.
“There were hundreds of tests in England but absolutely none up here”, she said.
“I feel like honestly, there is a good chance that because of how stressed I am it will affect how I perform during the test because of me thinking ‘what am I going to do if I don’t pass this?’
“We’ve tried looking again for more test dates up here and there’s nothing again - they’re all gone.”
Scotland moved to level zero restrictions on Monday this week, which is the lowest form of Covid restrictions in the Scottish Government’s roadmap to normality.
One major measure that has been altered is the rule on social distancing - which has been halved from two metres to one.
This has reportedly resulted in more test becoming available, with as many as 4,500 opened up as a result of the change in restrictions in Scotland.
The DVSA also says that centres have now opened up for longer and over weekends to deal with the backlog created amid the pandemic.
A spokesperson for the DVSA said: “Until today’s easing of physical distancing restrictions by the Scottish Government, physical distancing restrictions required a 2-metre distance between theory test candidates.
"This has now been eased to 1 metre in indoor public settings. The safety of our customers and staff is our priority.
"DVSA has delivered as many Theory Tests in Scotland as possible within those requirements, with most theory tests centres operating longer opening hours than before the start of the pandemic, including opening at weekends.
"Additional theory test appointments in Scotland have been added to the booking system today and are available to book up to 3 months in advance."
