New data has found that the average learner driver will take 17 months to pass their driving test, due to a backlog caused by the coronavirus, with some potentially even waiting until 2024. Driving instructors have reported a three-month wait time this year as an influx of young people turn 17 and pick up their provisional licences.
He said: “Driving lesson and test wait-times have skyrocketed this year, yet another victim of the pandemic.
“As testing centres are stretched to their very limits, we’ve already seen instructors and examiners threatening strikes.
“It’s important to note the detrimental impact this will be having on young people. Passing your driving test is a sign of freedom.
“I remember feeling so empowered once I was able to drive independently, and these severe delays to driving testing is resulting in a lack of freedom for learners – not to mention those who rely on driving to begin their working life.
“The DVSA needs to be expanding, training and employing more staff to ensure that this backlog clears up.
“If action isn’t taken, learner drivers are likely to be suffering from the delays well into 2023, if not further.
“The backlog has shown no sign of slowing so far, and every day more aspiring drivers are turning 17 and hoping to get behind the wheel.
“With no one to teach them, and no tests available, we could be restricting young people’s employment prospects and access to education, further compounding the pandemic’s negative impact on this generation.”
As has been widely reported, some drivers have been waiting over a year to get a test given the restrictions put in place, which has resulted in some test centres limiting the number of tests they can put on every day.
Data from the DVSA shows that the average wait time for a car driving test is 14 weeks, although some are facing up to six months’ waiting for their exam.
As with theory tests, two attempts is the average to pass, when learners will finally hold their full driving licence.
For a learner who nails all these targets, it seems the process will last 17 months; with extra failed theory or practical examinations, though, students will have to wait over two years to pass.
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