To consider flying to Scotland from London just for a driving test!!

[Wouldbedriver]

I’ve had 40 hours of driving lessons so far and passed the theory.

I don’t want to pay for any more lessons without a practical test in sight.

There are no tests available for any date here in the SE.

My instructor says booking one in a distant location, then swapping it for one that’s cancelled at an SE centre, doesn’t work any more. Because nobody’s cancelling a test around here as they’re so hard to get hold of. And bots are instantly hoovering up any new tests that may be released on a Monday morning.

So AIBU to think I should instead just fly up to Scotland and take a test up there? Obviously I wouldn’t know the roads but driving is driving, right? And there are plenty of tests available up there. Maybe make a holiday of it.

Or does my instructor need to be in the back of the car during the test?

This.... Why are you contemplating spending hundreds to get to a distant center, when you just pay £20 to Testi to get one for you at your local center. Cancellations come up all the time, you get a notification and accept immediately. Sometimes for the next day. Job done.

DD eventually did hers in her Uni town. Much easier than Surrey.

I did actually think the examiner supplied the car :(

If the examiners don’t even have to supply vehicles then it makes it all the more scandalous that there’s such a shortage.

Bring back conscription, only this time for driving test examiners!

How about the government makes it that driving teachers are also mandated to work as examiners? Oh I guess that’s too open to abuse…

Most instructors don't allow people they haven't taught to use there car for a driving test. It can affect there pass rates! It's also lost business. If you want to do it I suggest you book a short intensive course with an instructor who will book you a test. Just be careful and Inverness has some tricky test routes and a couple of roundabouts that if you get them and have no experience of them especially at peak times you have a higher chance of failing.

Examiners supplying vehicles? Really? Now you're being ridiculous. Have you even taken lessons with an instructor? They would have told you what you need to do when booking your practical test.

Driving instructors usually supply the vehicles because use their students are used to driving that vehicle and will be comfortably used to where everything is, making the test less stressful, guarantees all vehicles standards have been met, car is properly insured and a quick, easy response for the "Show me" part.

Inverness only has 52% pass rate, you will be driving an unfamiliar car in an unfamiliar place. That's before you consider no dual controls and dangerous roads. Maybe it should be made compulsory that you have had several driving lessons with a local instructor before you can book a test more than an hour outside of the place you sat your theory test. Examiners should also be able to refuse to allow people who don't know the local area to use their own vehicle or one without dual controls.

Yes I’ve had 40 hours of lesson (20x2) and passed my theory test.

I obviously haven’t been paying attention to my instructor, because he’s mentioned before about a learner supplying their own vehicle for a test or more typically using his.

Reading the comments on the government article someone posted upthread I can see there’s a debate about whether driving examiners should be allowed to book up test slots. Seems it is what is leading to a lot of the problems as it’s being abused. But examiners say they need to be able to book the tests themselves as they might not be available or a particular learner might not be ready and they want to swap the slots around.

Anyway - Inverness is off the cards!

Just frustrating as I don’t want to book any further lessons with my instructor without a test date in sight.

You can get a test at a local centre by getting up v early on a Monday - it will just be several months off.

You're right the system has collapsed and it's very unfair on people. But you do have less extreme options. Book something local-ish in tomorrow morning and then use a combo of the apps and your family member's support to try to swap it for something sooner, but perhaps further away.

We did similar in our house - when dd was ready to apply, our neighbour had been waiting over a year for a slot to apply for the test locally - not even the actual test.

Dd went online and booked the shortest queue - in the midlands. Once she was in the system, she was able to apply for cancellations (in the middle of the night) - after 3 weeks, she managed to get a test booking for "Navan" (we're in Ireland - it's a town on the East coast heading for Belfast) and went up with DH, but it was for "Old Navan Road" in Dublin! As a no show, she went back down the list, but still managed to apply and sit tests in Mullignar and Athlone (which she failed for different reasons) before passing in Kilkenny in mid January. Having first applied in mid-October. And before our neighbour had even been invited to apply locally.

She had been doing a lot of practise, as DH was getting her to drive to her hockey training and matches all over the city, and to cycling practise, and sharing driving down to DGPs at the far end of the country (I am away at the moment so couldn't give him a break). So he was getting a bit of a break (he still had to go as the licensed driver). And she was confident enough to drive to the new towns a couple of hours before test time and get the feel for the local roads, before heading in for the test using my car.

It was well worth it - and she knows a good few others who did similar to get their tests (especially among the sports players).

Thanks, I’m going to give that a try. But aren’t those newly released SE tests the ones that are getting hoovered up by bots / money-making people with examiner’s accounts, each Monday morning? So I’m not sure if there will be any.

You have to go on the system at 6am on a Monday , but everyone else is doing the same . Please be aware that if you take the test in your own car there are certain requirements like extra mirrors so check the list and make sure the car is ok . Can your driving instructor not find a quicker test ? We are SE a and when my daughter was learning last year her instructor was very proactive at swapping tests with other instructors etc and getting us a short notice test , particularly after she failed the first one and needed a retest .

My experience in the last month is I logged on about 5 50am, and got a choice of 3 timeslots at my preferred test centre in the SE, first try. Friends' children have also booked them at 3 different local test centres recently. No matter where you are, new tests get released each week and they can be booked by real people.

The only problem - and it's a big one - was that it was some months off. But the bots have not made it literally impossible to book a test in the SE.

ETA - as long as you book it between 6.00am and 6.03 on a Monday morning 🙄Ridiculous I know.

Chippenham test centre is a hour or so train ride from London. I see people asking on Facebook daily for instructors for a lesson and test on certain dates as they are travelling from another area. Good luck op x

I think this is the first time anyone has ever recommended visiting Worksop!!!

Thanks - I’ll try tomorrow!

@Wouldbedriver I honestly dont know how companies manage to book driving tests to sell on without knowing the driving licence number of the person taking the test. can someone tell me how they manage it please. according to the government booking site, this number has to be provided first!!

The comment section here is quite informative:

https://despatch.blog.gov.uk/2023/06/29/how-were-dealing-with-bots-and-the-reselling-of-driving-tests/

I think dodgy companies are using the provisional driving numbers of every learner driver currently learning with them. And also using numbers of people who’ve had a provisional license issued but aren’t doing anything with it. They use these to block book all the tests that are released.

They then sell these test slots on to other people who have booked tests in Inverness for example. The swap system allows them to be swapped around. That means that the Inverness test will be a no-show (bad news for Inverness) while the second person gets their earlier slot in the location they wanted. But it’s cost them £250 or so instead of £62.

@Wouldbedriver its really sad the youngsters cannot get tests booked easily nowadays. my daughter passed her theory on her 17th birthday and didnt have any lessons till 14th may due to exams. we managed to get her a test for 10 days later and just gave her double lessons every second day. she passed her test on 25th may, just over three weeks after her birthday. this was back in 1987.

Yes I would do that. Book a test, then book a 2 hour lesson with a local instructor and then obviously the test time too.

I did mine in the West End of Glasgow and it was pretty easy because the roads are really wide and straight.

I am really not sure where you are getting this bot conspiracy information. The new slots are "hoovered up" by people who log into the system at 5.50 on Monday morning and click refresh until they are let in. They then book a slot 6 months ahead of the time and pray that there is a cancellation

My daughter booked a test on Wales and managed to swap it to South coast. That was only in September so it does still work.

Dorchester (Dorset) is apparently an easier test route than average.Also 15.39 average wait for a test there .I would try to avoid a trip to Scotland ! Also if you didnt pass you would have to take it again with more costs!

Book one elsewhere and then pay for an app. That's what I had to do for DS. It doesn't book it for you just notifies you when there's cancellations.

Er that's exactly how it works.

There’s literally a government article about this, so it is not a conspiracy theory:

https://despatch.blog.gov.uk/2023/06/29/how-were-dealing-with-bots-and-the-reselling-of-driving-tests/

People are statistically more likely to fail a test away from their local area so it may end up costing you far more in the long run