Driving test backlog

[ClementineFortyNine]

I cannot believe that there is still such a backlog for driving tests. Why did it take until 2026 to put new rules in place to attempt to clear the backlog from COVID?

Apparently, it won’t be successfully cleared until November 2027!

AIBU to think they should have sorted this before now?

Not at all, it's rubbish. DDs driving instructor is hopeful that it will start to get easier now that only the learner can book a test. We looked almost daily for a good couple of months but eventually managed to get a cancellation for DD. Until that one popped up there were never any tests available at our local centre. And thank god it did, because she'd booked a test in our next nearest town just to get access to cancellations, and the new location rules meant she wouldn't have been able to move it back (the new rule about only being able to move a test to one of the 3 nearest test centres throws up some weird situations where you can move a test one way to your next nearest town, but can never move it back, because that town has 3 nearer centres on the opposite side of town to you).

Yes it’s awful. But it’s also the lack of examiners - I know a couple of people who retrained as driving instructors and are loving it but have no interest in being an examiner, not well paid and a bit of a thankless task.
i thought my two DDs had it bad, trying to learn with the stop start lessons during Covid and then it being so difficult to get a test, but this is even worse now.

The whole “backlog” thing is bullshit.

The problem was always dodgy driving instructors booking up all the tests and selling them on. Now they have removed the ability of instructors to change the name on tests the problem is slowly resolving itself, surprise surprise.

It’s a disgrace how long it took for some action to stop the bots booking all the tests. The rogue driving instructors selling their details to them should be in big trouble imo.
We are on our second teenager learning through this shambles and i can’t quite believe we are still in the same situation nearly 3 years on.
Our local test centre seems to have examiners going off ill frequently so tests cancelled on the morning of, and no priority for rebooking. It’s a farce, and will take forever to get back to normal. So frustrating for anyone ready to take their test.

The government don't want people driving. If they can stop you getting a licence by letting the test system crash, they will. There is no incentive for them to fix the test system. That's why they are ignoring it.

I feel so sorry for the current cohort of young drivers who can’t book tests. Just diabolical that this mess has not been sorted before now and won’t be sorted until the end of next year. The last rules were lifted in July 2021, and the COVID pandemic was officially over in May 2023. What on earth has taken so long to sort the backlog.

The new rule about only being able to move a test to one of the 3 nearest test centres throws up some weird situations where you can move a test one way to your next nearest town, but can never move it back, because that town has 3 nearer centres on the opposite side of town to you

this is bonkers!

The Tories never tried to fix it. Now Labour are.

🤣 What a wonderfully simplistic view of a problem that’s been developing for years. Blaming one party and crediting another might work as a soundbite, but it isn’t a serious argument. But thanks for demonstrating exactly how some ignorant people can turn any discussion into tribal politics as they lack critical thinking skills and the ability to add any value to discussion.

The backlog is still there, candidates are still waiting months for tests, and that’s what the discussion is about.

Yes, it was developing under the Tories, they had been in power for years. Within 2 years of Labour getting in, they develop a plan to deal with the backlog.

Did you expect Labour to just make the problem immediately disappear? That's somewhat optimistic for even the most ardent Labour supporter

It’s an absolute disgrace that the DVSA, a government agency in a developed country, cannot cope with something as basic as people being able to book driving tests.

Absolutely, and now I’m hearing that you can move your text to the next town but if you need to move it again, you might not be able to move it back to your own town as it suggests towns the opposite way. Just embarrassing in 2026.

I understand that the new rules make it easier for individual learners to book themselves a test and not pay a crazy amount for it, obviously this is a good thing. But I don’t understand how it is helping clear the backlog?

If there are (eg) 100 tests a day available, and 200 people wanting to book them, why does it make a difference to the backlog and waiting times whether they are booked up by a bot and sold on at a mark up, or booked by individuals at cost price? Surely 100 people still aren’t able to book the day they want and have to wait longer, putting pressure on later dates…?

Under the old system about 3% of tests (around 65000) test slots were no shows as they’d been booked by bots. Now that bots aren’t involved that should start to slowly eat away at the backlog

I agree. The backlog exists because demand exceeds supply. The only real way to clear it is to increase the number of tests available (more examiners, longer hours, more test routes).

The only other way is to reduce the number of wasted tests by no shows and people who are compelled to book but aren’t ready and then have to refit three, four, five’s times. But will the new rules really make a huge dent in this…

The problem was never really covid. That did create a backlog, but that was easy to work through. The big problem, the one that no politician would admit to and could use covid as a cover for, was immigration. What else happened just after covid? We suddenly let several million people into the country (and we are mainly talking about legal migrants here, not small boats etc.).

It doesn't matter what your opinion on immigration and the rights and wrongs of it. If you suddenly bring in millions of people, many of whom will be driving in their country of origin and then want to get a UK licence (they can only drive for a year without one), the system is going to be put under extreme pressure.

That is why the Government and DVSA can confidently say that the pressure will ease from next year. Because by then several years will have passed from the bulk of the 'Boris Wave' arriving, so most of those who want to take a test will have passed through the system.

Is it really so hard? Booked a test for my DS in December for a date in late May, sadly didn’t pass. Booked retest immediately for 3 weeks later and passed. Live in the south east.

No, it's not reasonable. Neither is putting in cycle lanes which no one uses while not fixing potholes. Nor shutting hospitals and leaving people sitting in hard seats for 2 days at AE. There are some brilliant people in government and local government, but.

In my area there were 5 examiners. 2 part time and the other 3 full time. 2 were close to retirement. The area should have been aware of this and started recruitment long ago.The process for recruitment is long, wages are not great. There isn't flexibility at least where I am based in the same way there is for driving instructors so a late start or an early finish etc. As it stands 2 did retire but recruitment only started when they left, 1 left, leaving just 2(1 is full time, the other part time). 3 new people have been hired but are doing their probationary or training period and won't be taking tests till September.

This isn't just a problem at my test centre. So many test centres are poorly manged.

Bots are also part of the wider problem. Considering the issue with the backlog they could extend the length of time for which a theory test is valid.

Potholes are normally local council responsibility.

It's not because of covid or immigration, one or both of those might be exacerbating the issue but I had to use a 3rd party website to get a test with a reasonable wait back in 2015-2016

The backlog was always going to take months to clear after they changed the rule, because on the day the rule changed the next 5 months we're already booked nearly solid.

It's absolutely awful that it's stayed so bad for so many years now, but hopefully the change will make an impact once the bookings made under the old system have worked through.

I still feel like the reduction in flexibility and increased notice period for changes are extremely unfair on our young people, who have been shafted enough already. Unscrupulous resellers are part of the problem of course, but they only have (or had?) a business because of the capacity constraint caused by there not being enough examiners. The training is not long, there's no excuse 6 years on. It's a basic bit of infrastructure we need so that our young people can get on with their adult lives, get jobs and pay their taxes. But hopefully the tide will turn over the next few months.

Yes, our son was learning in 2017-2018 and had a test which he failed in February 2018. We tried to find a test as soon as he came home from that and the earliest available was 17 weeks later. He failed that and had to then wait another 16 weeks.

In our town at the time we had a test centre which only opened three days per week with two examiners. That has since closed completely, it closed pre-Covid, yet demand is still there.

Theory test pass validity definitely needs extending, the thought of that expiring and having to be retaken adds to the pressure to pass.

Theory test lasts 2yrs, which should be plenty of time in theory. You can resit it 6mths before it runs out which tales the pressure off if you're getting near its expiry. I shall be glad when our youngest passes and I don't have to think about it again!

DD failed a test early April. The examiner told her to get back there asap. She looked every day and there were never any tests available at all, until a cancellation came up at the end of May for mid June. Thank goodness she has just passed.