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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Neil Lancefield

The long wait learner drivers face to book their test

  • Learner drivers in Britain face significant delays, with 81 per cent of test centres (258 locations) reporting the maximum 24-week waiting time for driving tests as of 5 May.
  • The average waiting time across all test centres has increased to 22 weeks, up from 14 weeks in February 2024.
  • The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) attributes the backlog to increased demand and early bookings, prompting an investigation by the National Audit Office.
  • The government aims to reduce the average waiting time to seven weeks by summer 2026 and has consulted on measures to prevent bots from mass-booking and reselling test slots.
  • Efforts to tackle the backlog include offering additional overtime payments to examiners and doubling the number of permanent trainers for new examiners.

IN FULL

Driving test backlog ‘cannot get much worse’

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