Driving check dishonest soars with use of headsets and impersonators | EUROtoday

Cheating circumstances throughout sensible and idea driving checks rose by practically 50 per cent final yr in England, Scotland and Wales, new figures present.

The dishonest strategies diversified, in keeping with freedom of data information from the Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), with greater than 1,100 circumstances involving the use Bluetooth headsets.

Overall, practically 100 offenders had been prosecuted for attempting to cheat themselves or for impersonating driving check candidates.

Industry leaders blamed the rise on the nationwide scarcity of checks and drivers’ desperation to go, whereas the DVSA blamed a basic rise in dishonest and improved detection.

A Press Association News Agency freedom data request revealed 2,844 makes an attempt to cheat throughout driving checks within the yr to September 2025, 47% larger than the earlier yr.

Of these, greater than a 3rd (1,113) concerned using expertise, comparable to an earpiece related by way of Bluetooth to a hid telephone, to attempt to cheat at a idea check.

Meanwhile individuals tried 1,084 instances to attempt to take idea checks whereas impersonating the registered candidate.

And in 647 incidents, individuals pretended to be the registered candidate for a sensible check.

Dr Rasha Kassem, chief of the Fraud Research Group at Aston University, warned of the risks of individuals passing checks illegally with out really realizing the right way to drive.

“It means that there will be more accidents, collisions, insurance issues as well, damage to the car, and damage to human beings, injuries, and in some cases, death,” she stated.

“There has to be public awareness, because this is a serious crime, from my perspective, and also in the eyes of the law. It is fraud.”

Impersonators, and those that use them, face punishments starting from driving bans to jail sentences. They may also be ordered to hold out unpaid work or made to pay court docket prices.

Ninety-six individuals had been prosecuted for trying to cheat on driving checks or impersonate candidates within the 12 months to September final yr.

Steps taken to attempt to forestall fraud together with matching a sensible check candidate’s face with their photograph ID, in addition to asking idea candidates to roll up their sleeves and present their pockets are empty.

Examples of individuals prosecuted final yr, reported by the Press Association News Agency, embrace 23-year-old Qounain Khan, who was handed an eight-month jail sentence in June 2025 after pleading responsible to impersonating learners at idea check centres 12 instances.

The court docket heard impersonators could possibly be paid as much as £2,000 for passing a check.

Sorina-Ana Turcitu, 42, admitted trying to take a sensible driving check on behalf of another person. She was sentenced to 12 weeks’ imprisonment suspended for 18 months in September 2025.

And Ali Rasul, 22, was handed a two-year jail sentence in November 2025 after being caught repeatedly attempting to cheat the speculation check over an eight-month interval both through the use of a hidden earpiece or an impersonator.

The rise in reported dishonest comes as learner drivers face persistently lengthy waits for sensible checks slots. The DVSA stated it had no proof dishonest was linked to ready instances.

However, Carly Brookfield, chief govt of the Driving Instructors Association, instructed the BBC she was not shocked that fraud was on the rise on this context.

“It almost seems inevitable in an era of lots of demand, but very little consistent supply, that you are going to get people engaging in risky behaviours, like using a cheat service to try and pass.”

She stated individuals who “don’t want to risk going on the torturous merry-go-round and trying to get another slot…might take the risk, unfortunately, of cheating.”

Dr Kassem additionally believed lengthy wait instances to e book a slot was prone to be an element, with some individuals resorting to fraud for causes comparable to needing to get a licence shortly for a job.

In December, the National Audit Office warned that the driving check backlog wouldn’t be cleared till November 2027.

Causes embrace poor recruitment and retention of examiners and third-party web sites reserving up slots utilizing automated applications often called bots.

The Department for Transport (DfT) beforehand introduced extra motion to attempt to get the backlog down, together with using army driving examiners and solely permitting learner drivers to e book and handle their sensible driving checks from the approaching Spring.

Marian Kitson, the DVSA’s director of enforcement companies, stated the organisation was dedicated to tackling sensible and idea check fraud, and had elevated its detection capabilities.

“It is essential that all drivers demonstrate they have the right skills, knowledge, and attitude to drive safely. People who attempt to cheat driving tests put all road users at risk by trying to obtain a driving licence fraudulently,” she stated.

“Our counter-fraud team carries out robust investigations into suspected fraud, working with the police to bring fraudsters to justice and keep Britain’s roads safe.”