Hundreds of driving examiners recruited to cut back huge take a look at backlog | Politics | News | EUROtoday

Hundreds of driving examiners might be recruited to slash the large take a look at backlog.

It is a part of a wider plan that the federal government says will cut back ready instances to seven weeks by December 2025.

Driving instructors have branded the present system a “nightmare” and expressed doubts that the proposed modifications will make any materials distinction.

Figures launched by the Department for Transport (DfT) earlier this yr indicated that the variety of driving assessments taken reached a document stage within the 12 months to the top of March, at 1.9 million.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has now set out a plan to deal with lengthy waits, with learners having to pay extra for assessments which can be booked out by third events attempting to make a revenue.

Among the measures introduced is the recruitment and coaching of 450 driving examiners throughout Great Britain.

The DVSA will improve the interval for altering or cancelling a take a look at with out shedding cash from three working days to 10 working days beforehand in a bid to discourage late cancellations.

There may even be a session over proposals to extend the period of time for reserving new assessments for learners who fail after making severe or harmful errors. Learner drivers at the moment have to attend 10 working days earlier than with the ability to guide one other take a look at.

Current guidelines round assessments being booked as much as 24 weeks upfront may even be checked out to see if learners may enroll additional forward.

Lilian Greenwood, minister for the way forward for roads, stated passing a driving take a look at was “a life changing opportunity for millions” however “sky-high waiting times for tests in recent years have denied that opportunity to too many people”.

“No one should have to wait six months when they’re ready to pass, travel to the other side of the country to take a driving test or be ripped off by unscrupulous websites just because they can’t afford to wait,” she stated.

Campaigners welcomed the plan.

Ellen Pasternack of End The Backlog, the marketing campaign to cut back driving take a look at ready instances, stated: “We are pleased that the DVSA has committed to recruiting 450 new driving examiners. It is clear that the backlog that built up during Covid will not be fixed with business as usual – and the DVSA have recognised this with this move to expand their capacity.

“These new examiners are not yet in action – but we hope that they will be administering tests as soon as possible, and look forward to seeing the effect this has on waiting times.

“In the meantime, the government can look into ways to invest in the system longer term so that this problem, once fixed, does not recur.”

A spokesperson for the DVSA stated: “The measures will help make the driving test booking system fairer for learners, better protecting them from exploitation, and continue to provide them with the tools to help them pass their test.”

They added that the company was encouraging suggestions about its reserving system and processes.

The authorities says new phrases and circumstances for driving assessments will come into drive on 6 January 2025 which “make it clear that driving instructors and businesses must not book driving tests on behalf of learner drivers they are not teaching”.

Only driving instructors or companies that make use of instructors can use the service to guide automotive driving assessments, it provides.