The Best Places to Take a Driving Test REVEALED

Students face excruciatingly long wait times for driving tests in some parts of the country.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) and the country’s driving test centers have yet to resolve a huge backlog built up during the Covid-19 lockdowns.

In fact, DVSA bosses confirmed last week that delay periods for booking tests have increased this year, extending by more than two weeks from January to more than four months today.

And even when students can take advantage of an available space, the chances of passing are a zip code lottery based on where they live, according to an exclusive analysis of driving test records conducted for This is Money by test route firm management. Guided by route.

It has revealed the best and worst centers in the UK based on a combination of average wait times and approval rates.

Fortunately, for students looking to reserve a test spot soon, their new online tool can help them choose the center within a designated mile radius that has the best combination of short queue-skipping and long delays. success figures for the first time.

As the national average wait time to reserve a driving test slot has been extended by fifteen days this year, we exclusively reveal which test centers have the best combination of early bookings and high first-time pass rates.

Speaking before the Transport Select Committee last week, DVSA chief executive Loveday Ryder told MPs that the average waiting time to book a driving test in Britain is currently 17.3 weeks.

This is an increase from 15.1 weeks in January.

And recent research from AA Driving School found that 43 per cent (138) of driving test centers in Britain have seen waiting times increase this year (between January 30 and April 10, 2023). . An astonishing 59 centers, representing nearly one in five (18 percent) in the country, currently list average wait times of more than five months.

Official DVSA data also shows that the national backlog of students waiting to take the exam has remained above half a million since July 2021.

In May, the number was 551,271 looking for an available space.

While the DVSA says it is doing all it can to help clear the bottleneck, including recruiting 474 new examiners, improving the online booking site, providing weekend exam slots and applying to retired supervisors to return, the AA driving school says we need to see ‘a concerted effort to address the problem’.

And a new analysis of DVSA records sheds light on which test centers students should consider, and which ones they should avoid, if they want to pass the exam on the first try and in the shortest amount of time…

The best and worst test centers for students to book

Route-Led, an app that provides detailed driving test routes for students, reviewed the average wait times at each test center (between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023) and combined them with first-time pass rates (published quarterly by DVSA) to identify the best and worst places to take a driving test.

This compares with a national average wait time of more than four months (17.3 weeks) and a first-time approval rate of just under half (49.3 percent).

Topping the list is Newtown in Wales, with an average wait time of just 6.5 weeks and a 73.5 per cent approval rate.

It is followed by Galashiels in Scotland, where students can wait up to 10.4 weeks for an available test space and a 67.2 per cent chance of passing first time.

The test center at Lee-On-The-Solent, on the south coast of England, ranks third overall, with a 16.7-week backlog for a slot and a 67.1% chance of passing by first time, based on 2021/22 records.

Also in the top 10 are test locations in Peterhead, Chichester, Dorchester, Yeovil, Kendal, Abergavenny and Aberdeen South.

It’s a very different picture at the opposite end of the scale, with Erith in south-east London named the testing center students should consider avoiding.

Like the rest of the capital, there is a long waiting time. This is 16.2 weeks, according to data provided by DVSA.

And drivers who took a test there in the past 12 months had a low success rate of just one in four, with a first-time pass rate of just 26.2 percent.

This is Money reached out to DVSA to understand why the pass rate at the Erith center was so low compared to the national average of 49.3 per cent.

A spokesperson told us: ‘All candidates are tested to the same standard and the outcome of your test depends entirely on your performance that day.’

Data shows that candidates are less likely to pass their driving test at centers with longer waiting lists

Second worst is Belvedere, also in London, with a delay of 15.6 weeks and a first-time approval rate of just 29 percent.

Speke, in Liverpool, has a waiting period of 17.2 weeks and a pass rate of just 32.6 per cent.

Also among the ten schools that students might consider skipping are Leeds (Harehills), Birmingham (Kingstanding), Rochdale (Manchester), Birmingham (South Yardley), Wolverhampton, Crewe and Yeading (London).

Route-Led said the list of the best and worst test centers will not only be eempowering students to choose locations that increase their chances of successfully obtaining their license could help take the pressure off locations with long waiting lists by encouraging more people to take their exam where there are fewer delays.

“This reduces overall waiting times and helps DVSA to achieve its goal of reducing these waiting times,” he said.

In fact, the analysis shows a correlation with candidates being less likely to pass the test at centers with longer waiting lists.

The data also suggests that women are more likely than men to fail their driving test at centers with long delays.

Female students have a 45 percent chance of passing the first time with longer waiting times, in contrast to a 53 percent chance of passing at centers with shorter delays.

By comparison, men have a 50 percent chance of passing when there are longer waiting lists compared to 56 percent in places with shorter waiting periods.

The new analysis suggests that women are more likely to fail their driving test at driving test centers with longer waiting lists than men, Route-Led said.

This table shows how female students are more likely to fail if they book a test center with a longer wait time.

The Smart Test Finder tool will help students pass faster

Route-Led has created a new tool to help students choose a place where they are more likely to pass the first time, and sooner than they could closer to home.

This is what the Smart Test Finder tool looks like

Users can access for free Smart test search tool where they can enter their zip code.

It will then find the closest driving center (based on user-designated driving distances between five and 1,000 miles) with the shortest wait times and highest approval rates.

It even breaks down the data by gender to provide students with a personalized list of locations where they are more likely to book a test early and pass first time.

David Hesketh, co-founder of Route-Led, said: “We have received inquiries from both driving instructors and new drivers wanting to find driving test centers with shorter waiting times and higher pass rates. Smart Test Finder will help you identify these test centers with confidence.

Beginning drivers and instructors can use our app to practice test routes even if the test center is not in their local area.

“This ensures that new drivers are well prepared for their exams as required by the DVSA and get a driving test at the center of their choice.”