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?

Here in the south east tests locally are now only available mid next year .
There is now a black market in tests - an agent who you contact via Snapchat resells tests from driving instructors who have bulk booked . Lots of availability quickly at your chosen centre.
The catch £250 - £300 for the test .
It's how all of my daughters year group have got tests recently.
Wrong - but with no intervention to do anything about tests and the cost of keep having lessons you can see why people are doing it .

My DD bought an app for about £15. Her original test date when she booked in June 2022 was end of November, but using the app she was able to get moved back until the middle of August 2022, so it was really worth it.

I wouldn’t recommend coming here for your driving test, there’s a roundabout that’s pretty much unavoidable and trips a lot of people up even when they have been practicing here.

Also everyone drives everywhere so don’t expect quiet roads 🤣

Thanks, yes, I was imagining Inverness to be a lot quieter than it sounds like it actually is!

It’s a long time since I was up there and the place we spent time was a lot further north (Dornoch). I remember being driven along beautiful coastal roads.

Yes the road to Dornoch is a lovely one, I do like it over there! I hope you pass your test and can get a wee trip up north in soon 🤞🏼

Lol as an Inverness local I can imagine which roundabout you mean. I drive it most days and its a total hassle with endless near misses on it.

Inverness is the main city in the Highlands. It's quieter than many big cities but definitely not quiet by any means. I grew up near and passed my test in a bigger Scottish* *city, and am glad I did, because a lot of folk who pass where I live now (very rural) are freaked out when they come to a city like Inverness.

I grew up further south, drove all around the central belt, all sorts of roads and junctions, but there are parts of Inverness that just seem more stressful to drive than they need to be, for some reason. A lot of folk where I live now (rural) panic when they hit actual traffic and roads in Inverness, heaven knows how they cope further south, with tricker layouts! TBH I tend to double check my route on Google Maps when I'm coming down, to check for any new road layouts and/or if I'm going somewhere I don't go so often, and I wish more folk would familiarise themselves a bit first. It's not a guarantee, clearly, but a bit of an idea of the lay of the land helps imho.

Hmmm think I needed to log in before 5.59am

Ok so I’ve been through this twice now in the last 18 months with my teens. Book a test anywhere you can, get inthe system. Then I used an ap called driving test now. It costs around £20 I think. You then put in your test details you’ve booked and where you would actually like a test at your local booking centr, and the dates and times you could do. It automatically books you in when they get a cancellation or new dates released. In both times got a new test date more suitable a few days. Also in south east. They do get cancellations etc due to sickness or people booing in dates and then they are not actually ready to take. £20 a lot cheaper than some of he options you are considering.

I managed to booked a test at my local test centre!!! The 6am queue did move quickly. The test date I got is the first week of April.

I actually had end of March but lost that date as just before booking I went back to look at the other available dates and centres.

Now of course I’ve got to make sure my instructor is available at that date, and keep him sweet by taking more lessons till then. I don’t need another 5 months worth, but could see it being another 10, possibly 20 (10x2).

We’ve only done manoeuvres one lesson which has surprised me, I thought that’s be a lot more time. Also haven’t used SatNav yet.

I don’t want to use one of those rebooking apps if I can avoid it, because then I’d be part of the problem. But… errrr… 5 months is a long time to have to wait. So maybe I’ll buckle….

I understand you don't want to use a re-booking app, but I can say that they 100% work. I used one for both my kids here in Scotland, and test dates were automatically re-scheduled 4 months earlier. At the end of the day, if your aim is to get your driving license and you were willing to travel all the way to Inverness to try to achieve that, why not just sign up with an app, you could be passed and have that box ticked in a matter of weeks. Everyone else uses these apps, instructors advise to use them, you will be left behind otherwise. What if you fail your test in March, are you going to just book another for August 2025 and sit and wait? Rightly or wrongly, the apps do work and will get this box ticked quicker for you.

YANBU to book your test far away, but please don't fly. That's completely unnecessary in terms of the carbon footprint. Just get a train.

One more thing, if you use an app to re-schedule, note that DVLA only allows I believe 6 changes to an appointment before you have to start all over again.

If we were asked to be examiners most pupils wouldn’t pass because so many take their test before they are safe to do so.

If we say you aren’t ready for test so we can’t take you, pupils can take their own car. An examiner has 40 mins to assess your driving for the rest of your life! If you have an easy drive without many cars on the road you’ll pass and you might not be safe.

I had a pupil take his test at 8am on a bank holiday Monday in his own car. He wasn’t ready but as there was barely a car on the road (I know as I was out teaching) he passed. Less than 6 months later he crashed hitting a pedestrian

Its scary when you have a pupil pass in their own car and you know they aren’t safe.

40 hours is no time at all OP. That’s less than 2 days of driving if you add them up!

I took my dd to Newcastle in the summer holidays to do her test. There are no tests at all where we live. There used to be three tests centres who released tests at 6am on a Monday, now there is one. So it's not like she was doing her lessons in the area she was taking her test anyway.

It's ok booking a test six months in advance, but if you fail you have to wait another six months and it's not feasible.

Cancellations for the same week are like hens teeth because everyone is in the same situation.

You can hire cars especially for driving tests.

I would if I were you. How are bots hoovering up appointments and what are they doing with them?

She can't pass in her local area though because there aren't any tests.

For us it was either give this a shot or dd wouldn't pass her test.

https://www.arnoldclarkrental.com/dual-control-hire?source=home&gadsource=1&gbraid=0AAAAADsNWmxpk3tv5iHrmKD0qlFF5vWDx&gclid=CjwKCAjwyfe4BhAWEiwAkIL8sDDuAEwyT1zifKPOAv2ij0TwekIz41p94JkSLc0PCr3GMVnH09QfxoCcWIQAvDDBwE

This is where we hired a car from.

And this is the reason you can’t get tests. These people use pupils details without their knowledge to swap and sell tests. Some will pay £200+ leaving other pupils waiting without a chance of getting a normal priced test

As an instructor, I can tell you there’s not much chance that will happen. They don’t know your driving and you’re asking them for the most precious thing in the business - the car - when they don’t have much clue about whether you’re capable of bringing it back in one piece. Very unlikely for it to be worth it for two hours money. This is always asked on local social media round here and always discussed on our instructor WhatsApp group, with everyone saying a big no!

So you’d have to source a car, there are companies renting out dual controlled cars, check out the rules for bringing your own car as certain models aren’t allowed and you’ll need a second mirror. Other than that no instructor needed, many people take tests in their own car.

Dornoch is far far quieter than inverness for driving though!

Our DS leant with a big SOM in our area.

They encouraged their pupils to sit their theory tests as soon as they could. Then we paid the practical test fee to the SOM who booked his test. It was for several months in advance, but as they had so many instructors and test slots booked they swapped around so that if someone wasn’t ready, another one of their pupils took the slot.

He started learning in November, had 20 hours of paid lessons and loads of practice with us. He passed in March.

No bots, no extra fees, just a good local company doing the best for their pupils.

Has your instructor actually said you’re ready for a test? just with you saying only one manoeuvre lesson, not knowing the exam centre didn’t give cars (have you gone through show me tell me on the instructors car?) or a mock test? If you feel you’re not getting the most out of your lessons and your test isn’t until April, maybe explore getting in with another instructor if you feel it’s stalling with your current one or if you’re confident with your current one maybe the extra time until April will turn out to be a blessing in disguise as even though you don’t want to pay for more lessons, it’s sounds like you may potentially need a few more lessons for the instructor to cover a few last things?

@Wouldbedriver april??? bloody hell that is 6 months away!! you need to look for a cancellation!