Any tips for booking a practical driving test slot as none available?

[OkieDokieLemonSmokie]

My DC has just started having driving lessons and passed the theory. The instructor told us to go online and book a test as they are at a good stage already (we make them drive us everywhere).

We went online and there was nothing available, not one slot to even book in and change except for one slot next week which obviously is no good. It’s completely booked up till end of Jan.

Any tips or advice for getting a slot?

I think there are less cancellations, because having got a precious slot people will move heaven and earth to keep it. If you have some flexibility on area chat GPT helped us identify which test centres in our county have most availability.

But This doesn’t address the fact that it’s almost impossible to book a test. My 17 year old did pass within 7 months of his 17th birthday but trying to get a test was almost a full time job for me. There was no quick fix. I just kept logging on randomly at all times of the day, day in day out. I also didn’t wait until he was ‘pass ready’ I just tried to book at test date for him to work towards as soon as he passed his theory. In the end I managed to book a test in the Sept for the Feb 2022.

It adds to much extra pressure when you take your test as well. My Dh took his test 25 years ago, he failed his first test over something small and took his second test a week later and passed. Now if you fail you could easily be waiting 6/7 months for another test.

Ditto to what other people have said - they are released at 0600 on Monday for 24 weeks ahead. You need to be online and in the queue by around 5.30 latest. If your son fails then it will be the same process to get a new test date - it is now common for learner drivers to spend the best part of 18 months in the "system" due to this, and that is if they pass 1st or 2nd time! It sucks but there we go, it is the same for everyone.

I also "only" passed my test in my 30s so was booking it myself (rather than having a parent do it for me) and also had to take lessons (and tests) around my demanding full time job plus my baby. My 2nd test was cancelled a few days before due to a tester strike, but they fitted me in a few weeks later so it wasnt too bad, I just had to take the morning off work. My husband also learned to drive in his 30s (we have always lived in cities [mostly London] so zero need, but I was pregnant and we decided a car would be a "nice to have" in our life) and fortunately passed 1st time in Dec 19, booking the test a few weeks in advance. Had he failed then who knows when he would have been able to retake.

Ironically I am now living abroad and havent driven in over 2 years, but that is what happens in life.

Edited to add: the knowledge that if you mess up then it is another 6-7 months before you can retake adds so much extra pressure. I feel for teenagers/young people who are unlikely to have as much experience of delivering results in stressful situations (other than exams) than adults with decades of experience from their career/other life experience.

To be fair, my DS was only 17 in July. He had his theory a couple of weeks after this and passed (he was in school and on a school trip) and he started his driving lessons 3 days after his 17th.

We’ve taken him out driving for hours every day, and he’s had 6 lessons. On his 5th lesson we were told to put him in for his test.

I know patience is a virtue but he’s got stacks of things on. He’s got a lot of entrance tests to Uni this side of Christmas, then got to study for 4 A’levels on top of a job. If we could get him driving before Christmas that would be a massive thing out of the way for him.

The instructor only wants 1 centre. May have to rethink this.

The 1 centre restriction is an issue. Assuming you have a family car then, as mentioned up-thread, you can free yourself from restriction by using that for the test instead.

Do you practice with him in a family car? He's much more likely to pass if you do.

Can I just check.

If I keep logging on randomly, a thousand times, will there only be cancellations of up to 2 weeks time? And not e.g. miraculously one in December? If so, it’s not worth me trying.

The instructor told us to get him a test because by the time he might get one he’ll be ready. I think he still needs a couple of months of lessons at least.

My first DS took his test in his instructors car, at the test centre and was then driven back by him.

My other son has the same instructor and car, but we have a 1 litre small car that my DC use to drive and learn in and my learning DD is much more comfortable in.

Wont going to a different centre lesson the chances of him passing as he won’t know the area?

@OkieDokieLemonSmokie The cancellations will be for any point in the next 24 weeks. Just keep checking. If he is driving lots in your car, then use your car imho. It gives you flexibility on test centre and date. If it’s not the centre he has prepped for you can go and drive round. There are YouTube vids showing the routes and talking through difficult junctions. You can download the test routes on some satnavs for a fee (we didn’t bother).We booked a cancellation for a test centre DC hadn’t prepared for and we made it work.

I know patience is a virtue but he’s got stacks of things on. He’s got a lot of entrance tests to Uni this side of Christmas, then got to study for 4 A’levels on top of a job. If we could get him driving before Christmas that would be a massive thing out of the way for him

They're all the same. It's hard for everyone. Mine was leaving home at 5.45am in the depths of winter with a huge bag of tools to get public transport to a building site. I wish there was some sort of priority list for folk who really need a test. But there's not.

The instructor only wants 1 centre. May have to rethink this

He can sit the test in your car. Then you can book any test centre you like.

Wont going to a different centre lesson the chances of him passing as he won’t know the area?

Find out the test routes in different areas and practise there. Most centres only have a couples of routes they regularly use.

You’re right, but op and her dc seem to have waited until the dc is ready to take the test before trying to book. It must be even more frustrating if you’re in that situation. At least by starting early, even though it’s not the easiest and might take a few weeks to secure a booking, you’ve got a date in the diary to aim for.

For people who have not been through this before, they may not be aware of the timescales involved (as pp has pointed out, 30 years ago you could book another test within a week or two) so it’s useful to know that things have changed, and not for the better. It’ll be interesting to see if the recent changes do help at all.

If your DC is practising in your 1litre car then he can go and practice in the area around whichever test centre you get a booking at.

You will probably be able to find some routes online. The test centres used to publish them. They no longer do (for obvious reasons) and say they use more variable routes, but there are sites that have archived the old routes.

Try it at 6am on next week's Bank Holiday Monday. That worked for me after weeks of trying.

Thanks everyone. I know my questions are green and naive but I am now much more versed on the subject, and have my facts right and expectations managed thanks once again to the wise women on this site.

We did wait till he was ready-ish (he couldn’t take it today, the instructor is just saying book him in, he’s good at this and will be ready soon) but as mentioned he only passed his theory a couple of weeks ago and been driving 6 weeks. We have been trying to get him a test for 2 weeks.

Ah, ok. In that case your instructor probably meant he will easily be ready in 6 months in full knowledge that it takes that long to get a test and enough practice to be a competent driver. Your DC should do at least 20 hours of formal lessons and as much practice as possible before taking a test. He should practice on as many different routes as possible, not just the ones round a specific test centre.

My DH used to take my boys out to practice on A roads with complicated roundabouts. Then, after passing, he took them out on motorways too.

It's a nightmare at the moment and I think it's probably even harder as people are probably wanting to pass tests before the uni year starts.
But I do know of people getting a last minute cancellation (problem is than the test can be a few days and driving instructor may not be available in their car) alternative option is they can bring their own car to the test but you need a mirror for the examiner and no issues with said car. I hired an Arnold clark dual control for my test which was not too expensive and the cars are test worthy.
Best option is to keep looking at random times throughout the day for the test centres within your vicinity. ( Ironically last year when I was doing a test lots of slots came up in that Christmas - New year week on those 28th/29th/30th December)

But unfortunately they can cancel last minute too.
Please don't use the resell apps as they've been banned now and I've seen on learner driver UK page on reddit many people who have tried this method have had tests cancelled and are out of pocket for it.

I flicked open the app every two minutes constantly when needed a cancellation.One came up and I grabbed it.

Our eldest is 20 and the driving test saga has been like this since they started to learn at 17. Now going through it with our youngest - we are doing a 2 1/2 hr drive in two week to the only centre that had tests which has a reputation for being tricky but needs must! It’s a shambles.

Log on at 6am on a Monday and book the next available slot x

My daughter took her first test at her instructor's preferred test centre but we relaxed that constraint for subsequent tests as it was just too hard to get them. She passed at our 5th nearest centre, because it's a big one and it's where the tests come up more.

A lot of her friends have ended up going out of area for the same reason. If the instructor doesn't cover the area it's not necessarily impossible. Obviously it's not ideal either, but ideal is not a luxury we have at the moment.

You can change both centre and slot but be a bit careful now that you can only rebook twice. I'm happier keeping one rebooking in reserve in case they are ill etc.

oh and for all the hype around which test centres are nightmare ones and which ones are easy, their pass rates are published and are often only a few % points different. There is a lot of chat but I reckon the chances of being in that delta are pretty small. So we decided not to worry too much about easy Vs hard test centres.

Thanks to your help, I’ve managed to get my DS a test for the first week in Feb.

Now we are in the system, and get to change it up to 2 times, how do you go about looking for a cancellation?

How/ why is getting a cancellation easier than getting an initial test?

Feeling very relieved and grateful at getting a test though.

It's not easier ... you will have to randomly and regularly check for cancellations and get lucky ... but it's sooner because people cancel shortly before their tests.

There used to be apps that checked for cancellations, but the DVSA has outlawed them now. They were pretty useless anyway because so many people were using them and all chasing the same cancellations.

@OkieDokieLemonSmokie I would continue to look first thing Monday morning. People who have a booking that is now wrong for them will be online then trying to move their booking and thus releasing their old booking, just as you getting an earlier slot (if you get lucky!) will release your Feb booking