Driving test backlog forces learners to pay up to £500 to resellers
A target to reduce average driving test wait times across England to seven weeks is not expected to be met for another two years, according to a report by the public spending watchdog.
The National Audit Office (NAO) said the extended delay had led to around one in three students paying up to £500 to third parties to secure exam places.
The investigation has found that the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has repeatedly failed to appoint sufficient new examiners despite multiple recruitment campaigns, hampering its ability to increase available testing places.
The backlog has worsened significantly due to Covid restrictions, which prevented 1.1 million tests from being carried out in the 2020/21 financial year. An estimated 360,000 of these tests were not booked.
Further complicating the issue, the NAO noted that the DVSA struggled to accurately measure the actual demand for tests because third parties often used automated programs or “bots” to quickly book available places.
Students faced an average wait of 22 weeks for an exam in Britain in September, compared to around five weeks in February 2020, before the emergence of Covid.
The report said the DVSA does not expect to meet its target of reducing the average waiting time to seven weeks by November 2027.
The initial timeline to achieve this was the end of 2025.
The NAO found that dropout rates among examiners were high due to “uncompetitive pay and safety concerns”.
Despite 19 DVSA recruitment drives, only 83 more examiners are in place compared to February 2021 – against a target of 400.
The NAO recommended that DVSA and the Department for Transport (DfT) consider whether there are adequate measures in place to ensure students can take tests when they need to.
He also called on them to study how the auditor workforce could be increased.
NAO chief executive Gareth Davies said: “The current system of providing driving tests in England, Scotland and Wales is not working satisfactorily due to long waiting times and the exploitation of learner drivers by sellers of test slots.
“Our report recommends that the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency and the Department for Transport take decisive action to restore a fit-for-purpose driving testing service.”
Last month, Transportation Secretary Heidi Alexander announced that military driving examiners would be deployed to test civilians.
Other measures aimed at tackling the backlog include tackling people profiting from the resale of tests, which charge a standard fee of £62.
Only students, not instructors, will be able to book slots and will also be able to relocate tests only to centers near the original booking.
The DfT has been approached for comment.
