Changes to driving check guidelines as learners hit by report ready time | EUROtoday

Learner drivers in Britain are dealing with report ready occasions for sensible driving checks, in accordance with new analysis.

Analysis of Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) knowledge by AA Driving School reveals the common wait time ballooned to twenty weeks in February, a big bounce from the 14-week common a yr earlier. This means many learners are ready 5 months for a check.

The figures additionally expose a stark enhance in check centres with most ready occasions. The variety of centres with a 24-week wait – the longest attainable – practically doubled, rising from 94 to 183. This bottleneck additional exacerbates the challenges confronted by learners wanting to get on the street.

The DVSA goals to have a nationwide common ready time of seven weeks by the top of the yr. However, as of February, solely 14 check centres have been assembly or exceeding this goal, highlighting the size of the backlog. The prolonged ready occasions add additional strain to learner drivers, who’re already grappling with the price of classes and the growing demand for driving instructors.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has beforehand introduced a sequence of measures aimed toward tackling the backlog.

From April 8, it would solely be attainable to make modifications as much as 10 working days earlier than a booked check slot, in contrast with three working days presently.

DfT officers hope this can incentivise learners to attend till they’re able to go earlier than they ebook a check, and encourage individuals to tug out of checks sooner, which means there’s extra likelihood their spot might be taken by another person.

There can be a marketing campaign to recruit and prepare 450 new driving examiners.

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Emma Bush, managing director of AA Driving School, mentioned: “We are pleased the DVSA has laid out its plans to reach an average waiting time of seven weeks by December 2025, and wholeheartedly support their goal.

“It is crucial efforts to meet this target are effective and result in this significant reduction.

“There are rising numbers of young people who are registered as economically inactive.

“Bringing down driving test waiting times is vital to ensure a lack of driving licence does not become an ongoing barrier for young people trying to access education and employment.

“The most effective way to ensure waiting times are brought down is to increase the number of test slots available by increasing the overall number of driving test examiners.”

Latest DfT statistics present the proportion of 17 to 20-year-olds in England who maintain a driving licence fell from 35% in 2019 to 29% in 2023.

Meanwhile, the share of individuals within the UK aged 18 to 24 not in training, employment or coaching rose from 12.4% within the last three months of 2019 to fifteen.8% throughout the identical interval final yr.

A DVSA spokesperson mentioned: “Car practical test waiting times remain high due to an increase in demand and low customer confidence in driving test availability, resulting in a change in customers’ booking behaviour.

“We continue to work on implementing our seven-point plan to reduce waiting times and encouraging learner drivers to only book their driving test when their instructor agrees they are ready.

“Since launching our plan in December 2024, we are making progress towards recruiting and training 450 driving examiners across Great Britain.”