18 hours ago
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“Every time I was looking for a test day, it just kept kicking me off the site,” said Menelik Calvin, 22, detailing the difficulties he experienced when trying to secure a driving test in Wolverhampton.
It’s the day before Calvin’s driving test and he’s feeling “nervous” but “ready” as he practises for this sought-after test with driving instructor Donna Michelle Evans.
Here, in Wolverhampton, notoriously long wait times are common, and as such it is one of the worst places in the UK to take a driving test. Based on analysis from Nationwide Vehicle Contracts, using figures from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) 2023-24, the average wait time for a test is 19.92 weeks, with a pass rate of 33.9%.
In an effort to address the backlog, the government has pledged to add thousands more driving exams each month.
After taking 29 lessons with Evans and 20 before that elsewhere, Calvin said it took almost three months to find an available test date. The DVSA does offer guidance for individuals attempting to navigate the site when booking a test.
It’s a similar situation for Calvin’s friends as learner drivers can wait months for an available slot. “They’re just really upset that they can’t even find a test,” he said. “They’ve put so many hours into practising for their theory, and when it’s time to find a test date: it’s nearly impossible.”
For Calvin, it’ll cost £80 to take the test, as well as £62 in additional fees to use his instructor’s car and have a lesson beforehand. For some it will cost a lot more because of a shadow trade of booking bots buying open slots and then selling them on at an inflated rate.
Evans, who instructs roughly 30 pupils in the region, stated that the earliest time she can next schedule a test for another learner is in September. She has heard instances where students have paid £150 for tests elsewhere, when the standard fee was £62.
Other factors that contribute to these delays, according to Evans, are the shortages of examiners; sickness of examiners and no one to cover their tests as well as weather conditions on the day.
Evans is sceptical of the government’s plans to tackle the backlog. “Who’s going to be doing these tests? They haven’t got enough examiners now,” she said. “So brilliant if they can, but we’ll see.”
Seb Goldin, the chief executive of RED Driver Training welcomed this week’s government announcement. “What they’re doing with the changes around overtime rates and ways of getting more examiners available is brilliant,” he said.
Goldin added that booking bots were problematic for two reasons. “It is putting students in a position where they feel that they have to overpay for tests,” he said, but the shortage is also encouraging people to buy tests in advance and then try to prepare for the test date. He strongly advised learners to wait and only book a test when they feel ready to do so.
