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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Amy Jones

When will driving lessons and driving tests resume in England?

The government has laid out a roadmap, detailing how and when lockdown rules will be lifted in England.

The four stage plan will gradually ease the country back into normality, and aims for all restrictions to have ended by 21 June.

Many aspects of life have been on hold since the first lockdown began last March.

Driving lessons and driving tests have been suspended for much of the past year, and there are many people eager to get behind the wheel.

Here's when driving lessons and driving tests can restart - and what the rules will be for both learners and instructors:

When will driving lessons and driving tests restart?

As per the government's roadmap, driving lessons and theory tests will be allowed to resume on 12 April.

But those wanting to take their practical test will need to wait a little longer.

Driving tests can resume on 22 April (Getty)

The DVSA has confirmed that English car driving tests are set to restart on 22 April.

When you book your test, you will be asked to say if there's a good reason you won't be able to wear a mask while in the car.

Wearing glasses does not count as a good reason, and you will need to have a proper exemption according to the government's official guidelines.

You will be asked to briefly remove the mask so the instructor can check your ID, then it must be worn for the entirety of the test.

Instructors will not be allowed to sit in the back of the car during the test.

If you make a major mistake during the test, which means you have failed, the test will end immediately and the instructor will tell you to drive back to the test centre.

This is to minimise the time you spend in the car together.

Rules currently in place state that no driving lessons or motorcycle training is allowed - unless a teacher of learner are from the same household, or the learner is a mobile emergency worker.

After the first lockdown ended, the DVSA online booking service was overwhelmed with people trying to secure a test.

As lockdown restrictions have been in place for almost a year now, the DVSA may face another backlog of learners trying to book a test when restrictions are removed.

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