Learners are travelling almost double the distance to take a driving test than they were before the Covid-19 pandemic and huge delays for available test slots has created a never-ending backlog for budding motorists, new research has uncovered.
With the Driver and Vehicle Standard Agency (DVSA) failing to clear the enormous backlog of learners, want-to-be motorists are having to take matters into their own hands to get a practical test slot as early as possible.
For one young driver this meant travelling a staggering 400 miles to avoid waiting months for a booking where they live, the study found.
Multiple freedom of information requests to the DVSA by Marmalade car insurance over a six-month period revealed learners travelled an extra 48 per cent further to take their driving test in 2023 compared to 2019.
The average distance travelled from their home to a test centre grey to 12.33 miles in the most recent full year – 2023 – compared to 8.33 miles in 2019.
And it doesn't look set to get any better in the near future.
After in-depth analysis of over six million driving test records, Marmalade discovered learners could end up having to travel up to 25 miles (24.49) on average for a test in 2030 – a 194 per cent increase on 2019.
This puts the increase at 10.3 per cent per year.
Mark Steeples, a driving instructor for Pass Mark School of Driving, said it was 'pretty astonishing' that learners could soon need to travel an average of 25 miles just to sit a test.
'I’m amazed at the year-on-year increase in distance travelled for a test, but I suppose it shows the desperation that people have in wanting to learn how to drive and they’ll go to any means necessary to do it.'
North-South divide for driving test availability
The data also shows a geographical divide has opened up, with the South of England having to drive significantly further for a test than learners in the North.
In 2023, learners in the South East travelled further than anyone, 13.9 miles. Whereas those in the North West travelled 7.1 miles on average – almost half the distance.
Unsurprisingly, London is seeing the greatest increase of distance learners are forced to travel to sit a test – 7.7 miles in 2019 up to a massive 17.7 miles in 2023.
That's a through-the roof 130.77 per cent increase, with an average growth of 23.25 per cent each year.
A similar pattern of growth is displayed across the South East and East, which report year-on-year growth of 21.2 per cent and 12.95 per cent respectively.
Learners in these three regions are left struggling more and more to secure a driving test after hours of hard work to prepare for their practical exam.
Overall, 164 test centres across the UK in 2023 saw above average distance travelled to reach them, as test centre locality and test slot availability dwindles.
Some 34,614 learners made a trip of more than 100 miles.
Mark says he’s had enquiries from people wanting to travel further afield for a test.
'I’ve had enquiries from people who want to learn and get into a test around 50 miles away from me. Why go to an area that you don’t know? It’s hard enough doing a test anyway, you have a lifetime to drive on the UK roads, but don’t pick the day of your driving test to do that.
'A lot of instructors just teach test routes in the local area, but that means that most learners won’t be prepared for any test route and the potential impacts of driving in a new place.'
I drove 400 miles to sit my driving test
One learner, Kayla Van Dorsten, found it so difficult to book an available practical driving test slot near where she lives that she resorted to travelling 400 miles to combat a six-month waiting list at her local centres.
The 18-year-old drove from Surrey all the way to Cornwall to obtain her licence because she needed to be able to drive herself to college.
'I was already nervous about taking my driving test, but being in an unfamiliar area raised new obstacles to navigate,' she explained.
'There were different speed limits from the local routes I had practised on and also other road users that I wasn't familiar with, like tractors.
'Taking the test four hours away meant I had to take two days out of education and pay for overnight accommodation and petrol to get to the test centre. It was very inconvenient, but I needed to get my licence as soon as possible because I couldn't rely on public transport anymore due to strikes to get to college.'
And Kayla's not the only one...
In 2023, one learner travelled a staggering 647 miles from Exeter to Shetland to take their practical exam, while another travelled 633 miles from Folkestone to Shetland.
Shetland has quite the long-distance pull, with 10 out of the top 20 distances travelled finishing on the Scottish island.
On the other end of the spectrum, some learners only had to pop down the road for their test, with drivers travelling to Heckmondwike test centre in Kirklees, West Yorkshire making the shortest journey in the UK, with an average distance of 3.82 miles travelled.
Why are test centre waiting times so bad?
In March, three quarters of driving test centres had average wait times in excess of six weeks.
Following an FOI request to the Driving Standards Agency (DVSA), the AA Driving School also discovered almost two fifths of test centres had wait times of more than five months.
At the time Camilla Benitz, managing director of AA Driving School, said: 'It is unacceptable that we are now almost two years post-pandemic restrictions and learner drivers and instructors are still suffering the consequences.'
Continuous delays since test centres had to close their doors in 2020 due to COVID, were blamed on a 'post-pandemic lag'.
Yet by the summer of 2022, over half a million people were still waiting for a test – an increase on the pandemic backlog from 2021 which was just shy of 500,000.
At the start of 2023 Parliament was told pre-pandemic levels should be back in just a few months, and that all eligible DVSA staffers were asked back to carry out driving tests full time.
But despite DVSA measures to increase test capacity, average waiting times worsened or stayed at the same at 45 per cent of test centres.
Between 2 October 2023, when the DVSA started adding more test slots to try to tackle the backlog, and 29 January 2024, waiting times worsened at 15 per cent of all test centres. It stayed the same at 25 per cent and improved at 60 per cent.
Do test delays have a negative affect on pass rates?
Car background check provider Cap Hpi found there is a correlation between extended waiting times for tests and lower pass rates.
Looking at DVSA statistics, between 2023 and 2024 1,384,678 car practical tests were taken with 668,038 passes - a pass rate of 48 per cent.
By contrast 2021 to 2022 saw 751,914 passes from 1,528,314 practical driving tests - a 49 per cent pass rate.
Between March 2023 and 2024, the UK saw the lowest number of theory and practical tests conducted and passed since 2021.
In 2022, Jenna Williams, a driver instructor from Cardiff told the BBC that wait times are a reason for failed driving tests: 'I think with a backlog of waiting lists for another test, pupils are just feeling so much pressure, where like you said, if they fail, they've got five to six months and another wait'.
