Driving check backlog to be cleared by subsequent summer season, UK pledges | EUROtoday

The transport secretary has pledged to cut back the variety of learner drivers in England ready greater than 5 months to take a seat sensible exams.

Heidi Alexander mentioned the federal government would intention to clear the backlog by subsequent summer season, offering at the least 10,000 further driving exams a month to assist sort out the problem.

Current driving check wait occasions are “totally unacceptable”, she advised parliament’s transport committee on Wednesday.

There is a minimal six-month wait to guide a driving check in a number of areas of the UK, in accordance with information from the AA.

Alexander additionally revealed plans to double coaching capability so extra driving examiners could be accessible and mentioned she was asking these in different Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) roles who’re certified to look at to briefly “return to the frontline”.

She mentioned it will additionally reintroduce time beyond regulation pay incentives for everybody delivering driving exams.

The transport secretary mentioned the measures would assist scale back ready occasions to not more than 7 weeks by summer season 2026.

She mentioned a file 1.95 million exams had been booked final 12 months however the authorities would now seek the advice of on adjustments to the check reserving system.

Alexander additionally revealed a plan to crackdown on check reserving bots which she mentioned had been “exploiting learners”.

Test reserving bots are automated software program which may act a lot sooner than a human to quickly guide an appointment on the DVSA web site.

Such bots can safe a number of check slots and a few firms have used this expertise to resell driving check slots at inflated costs.

Emma Bush, managing director of AA Driving School, welcomed the “further details of how the DVSA will meet its target waiting time of seven weeks by the end of the year”.

“Learner drivers have been dealing with frustratingly long waiting times to book a driving test since the easing of pandemic related restrictions several years ago,” she mentioned.

“Many people, particularly young people, need to pass their driving test for their job or to access education. Unblocking the system by creating extra tests will help ensure people are not being held back due to a lack of a driving licence.”