In some parts of the country, learners face excruciating waiting times for driving tests.
A huge backlog built up during the Covid-19 lockdowns has yet to be cleared by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) and the country’s driving test centres.
In fact, DVSA bosses confirmed last week that delays for booking tests have increased this year, from more than two weeks since January to more than four months today.
And even if learners can get hold of an available slot, the chances of succeeding a postcode lottery depend on where they live, according to an exclusive analysis of driving test records conducted for This is Money by driving test route company route guided.
It has revealed the best – and worst – centers in the UK based on a combination of average waiting times and success rates.
Fortunately, students looking to book a test slot soon can use the new online tool to help them choose the center within a certain mile radius with the best mix of short slot delays to jump the queue and high first-time success rates.
With the national average waiting time for booking a driving test slot already extended by 14 days this year, we’re exclusively revealing which test centers have the best combination of early bookings and high first-time pass rates
Speaking to the Transport Select Committee last week, DVSA chief Loveday Ryder told MPs that the average waiting time to book a driving test in Britain is currently 17.3 weeks.
This is more than 15.1 weeks in January.
And recent research from AA Driving School found that 43 per cent (138) driving test centers across the UK have seen waiting times increase this year (between 30 January and 10 April 2023). Incredibly, 59 centers — representing nearly one in five (18 percent) in the country — are currently reporting average wait times of more than five months.
Official DVSA data also shows that the national backlog of students waiting to take the test has remained above half a million as of July 2021.
In May, the number stood at 551,271 looking for an available slot.
While the DVSA says it is doing everything it can to resolve the impasse – including recruiting 474 new examiners, improving the online booking site, offering weekend test slots and asking retired invigilators to return – it says AA Driving School that we are ‘making a concerted effort to address the problem’.
And new analysis of DVSA records sheds light on which test centers students should consider — and which they should avoid — if they want to pass their test on the first try and in the shortest amount of time…
Best and worst test centers for students to book
Route-Led, an app that provides detailed driving test routes for learners, assessed the average wait times at each test center (between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023) and combined them with first-time pass rates (published quarterly by DVSA) to identify the best – and worst – identify places to take a practical driving test.
This is in contrast to a national average waiting time of more than four months (17.3 weeks) and a success rate of just under half (49.3 percent).
At the top of the list is Newtown in Wales, with an average waiting time of just 6.5 weeks and a success rate of 73.5 percent.
It is followed by Galashiels in Scotland, where learners can expect to wait up to 10.4 weeks for an available test slot and have a 67.2 per cent chance of passing the first time.
The test center at Lee-On-The-Solent on England’s south coast is third overall, with a delay of 16.7 weeks for a slot and a 67.1 per cent chance of passing the first time, based on records from 2021 /22.
Also included in the top 10 are test sites in Peterhead, Chichester, Dorchester, Yeovil, Kendal, Abergavenny and Aberdeen South.
It’s a very different picture at the other end of the scale, with Erith in south-east London dubbed the testing center pupils should consider avoiding.
As in the rest of the capital, there is a long wait. Based on the data supplied by DVSA, this is 16.2 weeks.
And drivers who took a test there in the last 12 months had a low pass rate of just one in four, with a first time pass rate of just 26.2 percent.
This is Money approached DVSA to understand why the success rate at the Erith center was so low compared to the national average of 49.3 percent.
A spokesperson told us: ‘All candidates are judged on the same measure and the result of their test is entirely dependent on their performance on the day.’
The data shows that candidates at centers with longer waiting lists have a lower chance of passing their driving test
The second worst is Belvedere, also in London, with a delay of 15.6 weeks and a first pass rate of just 29 per cent.
Speke, in Liverpool, has a waiting time of 17.2 weeks and a success rate of just 32.6 per cent.
Also among the ten centers pupils might consider skipping are Leeds (Harehills), Birmingham (Kingstanding), Rochdale (Manchester), Birmingham (South Yardley), Wolverhampton, Crewe and Yeading (London).
Route-Led said the list of best and worst test centers isn’t just empower students in choosing locations that increase their chances of getting their license, it could help ease the pressure on locations with long waiting lists by encouraging more to take their test where there are fewer delays.
“This reduces overall waiting times and helps the DVSA achieve its goal of reducing these waiting times,” it said.
The analysis even shows a correlation with candidates having a lower chance of passing their test in centers with longer waiting lists.
The data also suggests that women are more likely than men to fail their driving test in centers with longer delays.
Female learners have a 45 percent chance of passing the first time with longer wait times, as opposed to a 53 percent chance of passing in centers with shorter delays.
In comparison, men have a 50 percent chance of success with longer waiting lists, compared to 56 percent at locations with shorter waiting times.
The new analysis suggests that women are more likely to fail their driving test at driving test centers with longer waiting lists than men, according to Route-Led.
This table shows how female students are more likely to fail if they book a test center with a longer wait time
The Smart Test Finder tool helps students pass faster
Route-Led has created a new tool to help students choose a location where they have a better chance of succeeding the first time – and sooner rather than closer to home.
This is what the Smart Test Finder tool looks like
Users have free access Smart Test Finder tool where they can enter their zip code.
It then finds the nearest driving center (based on user-specified driving distances between five and 1,000 miles) with the shortest wait times and highest success rates.
It even breaks down the data by gender to provide students with a tailored list of locations where they are more likely to book a test and pass the first time.
David Hesketh, co-founder of Route-Led, said: ‘We’ve had inquiries from both driving instructors and learner drivers wanting to find driving test centers with shorter waiting times and higher pass rates. Smart Test Finder helps them identify these test centers with confidence.
‘Learning drivers and instructors can then use our app to practice the test routes, even if the test center is not near them.
“This ensures that learner drivers are well prepared for their exams as required by the DVSA and receive a driving test at a center of their choice.”
Some links in this article may be affiliate links. If you click on it, we may earn a small commission. That helps us fund This Is Money and use it for free. We do not write articles to promote products. We do not allow any commercial relationship to compromise our editorial independence.