Learner drivers and instructors slam test delays

Rachel Newland is a driving instructor in Reading

Driving instructors and learners have complained six-month waits to take tests are having an impact on people's lives.

Rachel Newland, a driving instructor from Reading, said the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) was suffering with an examiner "recruitment crisis".

“Every examiner conducts seven tests a day," she said. "If you don’t have enough examiners, you don’t have enough tests - and that is true up and down the country."

A spokesperson for the DVSA said it was “working tirelessly to push down waiting times”.

James Taylor, 26, from Earley, Berkshire, said he waited three months for a test

A backlog emerged during the pandemic and the DVSA said it was trying to recruit more examiners.

Among those impacted was 26-year-old James Taylor from Earley who told BBC Radio Berkshire he "missed out on job opportunities" because of having to wait three months to book a test after failing his first.

“My inability to drive and this ongoing difficulty to book a test did really get in the way of my career," he said.

“I couldn’t apply for jobs and I wouldn’t apply for them if they were outside of public transport.”

The day Mr Taylor passed his test was the day he applied for his current job, which is in the hospitality industry, and he said he “might not be employed now" if he had not passed.

The DVSA said it was "continually recruiting" as there was "unprecedented demand for driving tests", which could lead to an average of between four and six months waiting times.

It said it had created almost 150,000 new tests and provided two million tests in the past year alone.

"In the last six months 867,488 people passed their theory test, which can double to get an annual figure," it said.

“We will continue to work tirelessly to push down waiting times even further and we encourage learners to only book their driving test when they feel they are ready to pass.”