To think that the driving test system is becoming ridiculous and is harming the economy.

[HunterGatherer]

Yes, I know there's a pandemic on but DS has had his driving test cancelled 3 times now . He has been waiting for over a year (after failing his first test for going too slowly around a roundabout, his instructor who was in the car with him was aghast).
DS is a nurse and currently commutes to work via 2 trains. He frequently has to turn down bank shifts in (in desperately understaffed units) because he can't get there. Quite a few of his friends are in similar situations.
I'm sure other industries are suffering as well. FGS Boris, get your finger out and sort this problem out.

It's all very well saying "have a plan" but they can't just magic up driving examiners and test centres from nowhere.

No, but it must be possible to train some. As has been said, this is an issue known about for about 20months. I'm not sure training driving test examiners is quite as intensive and long as training surgeons, for example. I feel there has been time without any magic needing to be involved.

So you think we should let people drive alone after failing a test..... okay that sounds great and a recipe to put more strain on the NHS through an increase car accidents.

Yes it is frustrating but equally what other option do we all have. We can not magic testers out of thin air and if more were to be trained and do the qualification that would remove some of the testers from being able to do the standard tests while that happened. Yes I do think extending the time limit on the theory test would be a good sign of goodwill.

I completely understand it is frustrating not being able to book a test but I passed over 10 years ago and back then there was about a 3/4 month wait on tests unless we got lucky with a cancellation.

My DS’s friends have taken tests in past few months, some a few times(!), so no specific shortage where we are. One of his schoolmates travelled about 100 miles away to take his test and passed., there are also cancellation websites etc.

I know someone planning to take a week driving course and then take their test . How quickly do they get a test as they are thinking will be at end of week ?

@Kite22 but how much of the past 20 months have we been in lockdowns. Also are there many people wanting to become a driving test examiner? If not how do we attract them? Higher pay well that would mean an increase in the cost of the driving test.
I just googled and the goverment have issued a load of fixed term contracts which trained you as an examiner. Maybe uptake has been great? The pay was okay but nothing special at around £25k.

@Kite22

It's all very well saying "have a plan" but they can't just magic up driving examiners and test centres from nowhere.

No, but it must be possible to train some. As has been said, this is an issue known about for about 20months. I'm not sure training driving test examiners is quite as intensive and long as training surgeons, for example. I feel there has been time without any magic needing to be involved.

Okay, so who is going to examine them and do the training? And when they pass, where are they going to do the tests? Centres can only have a certain number of slots/tests at a time - they can't just have 50 learners all turning up for the 9am test time!

@Kite22

It's all very well saying "have a plan" but they can't just magic up driving examiners and test centres from nowhere.

No, but it must be possible to train some. As has been said, this is an issue known about for about 20months. I'm not sure training driving test examiners is quite as intensive and long as training surgeons, for example. I feel there has been time without any magic needing to be involved.

^ this. I can't believe people are so accepting of a public service performing so poorly over such a long period. Lockdown isn't that relevant as many posters have pointed out this has been an issue for decades.

^ this. I can't believe people are so accepting of a public service performing so poorly over such a long period.

Nobody is just saying "accept it" - but realistically, what are the alternatives?

As has been said, you can't have multiple people at one test centre all at once - they can only have a certain number of learners taking their test at each time slot for safety/space/parking reasons. When I learnt to drive, they staggered starting times by ten minutes so there wasn't a queue of learners in the car park, or all queuing up to do the same manoeuvres at the same time etc.

So what next? Build more test centres? Where? What routes are you going to use for the tests to allow learners to show enough knowledge to pass? They'll need to cover A roads, roundabouts, junctions etc. And lastly, are there going to be enough instructors and examiners in those areas to make it worth the investment?

@fairylightsandwaxmelts it can't be hard to find some additional / temporary premises. It's been done with plenty of other public services eg Nightingale courts.

.gov tells me it takes 5 weeks to train to be an examiner and there are specific trainers in place. It really shouldn't be that hard to train some more.

Always believed that driving lessons should be assessed on hours driven and skills learned rather than tests. Tests are stressful, people fail under test stress all the time and excel and drive perfectly otherwise.

I am sure there will be plenty of people who come along and say "if you can't drive stressed then don't drive".... exactly. Passed a test and have a licence or not, don't drive stressed. Learners should have to take a test stressed either. Way more dangerous.

Learners shouldn't have to take a test under stress, and no one should ever drive stressed, ever.

@LemonCake79

*@fairylightsandwaxmelts* it can't be hard to find some additional / temporary premises. It's been done with plenty of other public services eg Nightingale courts.

.gov tells me it takes 5 weeks to train to be an examiner and there are specific trainers in place. It really shouldn't be that hard to train some more.

But do people want to be a driving examiner at the moment? Spending your working day in an enclosed space with loads of strangers? I doubt it. They also have to fund their own vehicles and fuel, and most are self-employed too. A friend of mine trained to do it pre-COVID and said you really don't make much once you take out all the expenses.

The other thing with test centres is they need to be in central-ish locations to account for all the road conditions covered on the test. So you need to be able to cover A roads, junctions, roundabouts - you need places to do all the manoeuvres (safely) etc.

There's no point setting up a test centre in an area with no examiners and where it's not feasible to do multiple test routes.

Always believed that driving lessons should be assessed on hours driven and skills learned rather than tests.

One of my DC learned to drive abroad, where it’s harder than in the uk. You have to pass the theory test before you are even allowed to do a single practical lesson. You have to pass a first-aid test. You have to have lessons with an approved driving school - no getting your dad to teach you. You have to take a minimum number of lessons - 40 hours - which must be logged and submitted. You must have a lesson in the dark. Among other things.

I don't think you can increase the number of examiners quickly, hence my view there should be some priority in the mean time. I'd raise the minimum driving age given children are in school or training until 18, as a starter.

My teens went through this too.
Ds had 4 cancelled and his theory expired
Dd had 2 cancelled and passed
And the process to book was so difficult - waiting in a queue with 100,000+ people

@Ariela

Half the problem is that people are desperately booking tests even though the new driver isn't ready for it. Hence the apparent slow supply, it's the fuel crisis all over again. However if you look fervently for cancellations these do come up quickly

This. My partner is an examiner and the amount of people booking a tedt when they're not ready is unbelievable. Remember you don't need a set amount of lessons you can theoretically book a test any time

They have tried to do something and that is make it legal to drive with a trailer without an additional test to take that cohort of tests out of the system.

The only problem is they flip flopped about doing it several times leaving the agricultural sector in limbo for quite a long time as it became impossible to book a trailer test as it was known they were no longer going to be a legal requirement but they cancelled the original date the law was changing without setting a new one meaning you couldn't book a test but couldn't drive legally without one for quite some time.

Its now been fixed and the law has changed but I'm not sure the general public are aware that its now legal to tow a cattle trailer without an additional trailer licence

They are also prioritising HGV licence tests due to the shortage issues in that sector

Remember lots of examiners are off with covid too. You're in an enclosed space with another person, and the amount of people turning up without masks etc is unbelievable.
They are also staggering how many examiners are in the office at one time so tests are spaced out.

Do try and get a cancellation though OP you can travel and take the test anywhere. We're in North West and have had candidates from down south come up for a test. So there is availability if you are prepared to travel .

Always believed that driving lessons should be assessed on hours driven and skills learned rather than tests.

Some people learn faster than others. I believe that there are studies which show the younger you are, the fewer hours you need to reach test standard.

I don't think that the hours driven is a good benchmark when lots of people drive with a parent sitting alongside them. Unfortunately many of those parents may lie or have bad habits that the learner hopefully doesn't pick up. If the hours driven is with a professional then that makes driving too expensive for people on low incomes who currently use their experiences driver parents instead.

I too advocate the cancellation apps , my son passed yesterday the test apps do work and bring tests forward a considerable amount of time . There is a huge backlog our test centre started doing Saturday tests .

It seems that emergency driving tests are available if you're NHS and need to drive as part of your job

www.gov.uk/apply-emergency-driving-test

Always believed that driving lessons should be assessed on hours driven and skills learned rather than tests. Tests are stressful, people fail under test stress all the time and excel and drive perfectly otherwise.

But you can have two people and give them both 40 hours of lessons - one will be test ready after 30 hours and the other nowhere near ready after 40.

Passing someone to drive because they've clocked up a certain number of lessons is a bit silly, really.

Learners shouldn't have to take a test under stress, and no one should ever drive stressed, ever.

But driving IS stressful and you will find yourself in stressful situations. If you can’t handle that then you’ve got no business being behind the wheel.

@Shade17

Learners shouldn't have to take a test under stress, and no one should ever drive stressed, ever.

But driving IS stressful and you will find yourself in stressful situations. If you can’t handle that then you’ve got no business being behind the wheel.

Hmm good point, but I also see the other poster's point, that someone could be a great driver, but lose their nerve when being tested.

At the risk of de railing this thread.....until 2007!!!!!! you could just drive without passing your test. Had to display l plates and no motorway driving, but essentially you could legally drive unaccompanied.