Best places to take a driving test REVEALED

Learners are facing agonisingly long wait times to sit driving tests in some parts of the country.

A huge backlog built up during Covid-19 lockdowns has still yet to be cleared by the  Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) and nation’s driving test centres.

In fact, DVSA bosses confirmed last week that delay periods to book tests has increased this year, extending by more than two weeks since January to over four months today.

And even when learners are able to snap up an available slot, the chances of passing is a postcode lottery depending on where they live, according to exclusive analysis of driving test records conducted for This is Money by driving test route firm Route-Led.

It has revealed the best – and worst – centres in the UK based on a combination of average wait times and pass rates.

Fortunately, for learners looking to book a test slot soon, its new online tool can help them choose the centre within a designated mile radius that has the best mix of short slot delays to jump the queue and high first-time success figures.

With the national average wait time to book a driving test slot extending by a fortnight already this year, we exclusively reveal which test centres have the best combination of early bookings and high first time pass rates

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

This is up from 15.1 weeks in January. 

And recent research by AA Driving School found that 43 per cent (138) driving test centres in Britain have seen waiting times grow this year (between 30 January and 10 April 2023). Incredibly, 59 centres – which represents almost one in five (18 per cent) in the country – are currently quoting average wait times of more than five months.

Official DVSA data also shows that the national backlog of learners waiting to sit the test has remained above half a million since July 2021.

In May, the number sat at 551,271 searching for an available slot.

While the DVSA says it is doing all it can to help resolve the logjam – including recruiting 474 new examiners, improving the online booking site, providing test slots at weekends and asking retired invigilators to return – AA Driving School says we need to see ‘a concerted effort to tackle the issue’.

And fresh analysis of DVSA records shines and light on which test centres learners should be considering – and those they should be avoiding – if they want to pass their test at the first attempt and in the shortest timeframe possible…

Best and worst test centres for learners to book 

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

This is against a national average wait time of more than four months (17.3 weeks) and first time pass rate of just under half (49.3 per cent). 

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

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

The test centre in Lee-On-The-Solent on the south coast of England is third overall, with a 16.7-week delay for a slot and a 67.1 per cent chance of passing first time, based on 2021/22 records.

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

It is a very different picture at the opposite end of the scale, with Erith in south east London named the test centre learners should consider avoiding.

Like the rest of the capital, there’s a long wait time. This is 16.2 weeks, based on the data supplied by DVSA.

And drivers who have taken a test there in the last 12 months had a low success rate of just one in four, with a first time pass percentage of just 26.2 per cent. 

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

A spokesperson told us: ’All candidates are assessed to the same standard and the result of their test is entirely dependent on their performance on the day.’

The data shows that candidates have a lower chance of passing their driving test at centres with longer waiting lists

Second worst is Belvedere, also in London, with a 15.6 week delay and a first time pass rate of only 29 per cent.

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

Also among the ten centres learners might think about skipping are Leeds (Harehills), Birmingham (Kingstanding), Rochdale (Manchester), Birmingham (South Yardley), Wolverhampton, Crewe and Yeading (London).

Route-Led said the list of best and worst test centres will not only empower learners when choosing locations that increase their chances of successfully getting their licence, it could help ease pressure on locations with long waiting lists by encouraging more to take their test where there are fewer delays.

‘This reduces overall waiting times and assists the DVSA in achieving its goal to reduce these waiting times,’ it said. 

In fact, the analysis shows a correlation with candidates having a lower chance of passing their test at centres with longer waiting lists. 

The data also suggests that women have a higher chance of failing their driving test at centres with extended delays than men. 

Female learners have a 45 per cent chance of passing their first time with longer wait times in contrast to a 53 per cent chance of passing at centres with shorter delays. 

In comparison, men have a 50 per cent chance of passing when there is a longer waiting lists in contrast to 56 per cent at locations with shorter wait periods. 

The fresh analysis suggests women have a higher chance of failing their driving test at driving test centres with longer waiting lists than men, Route-Led said

This table shows how female learners are more likely to fail if they book a test centre with a longer waiting time

Smart Test Finder tool will help learners pass sooner

Route-Led has created a new tool to help learners pick a location where they have a better chance of passing first time – and sooner than they might do closer to home.

This is how the Smart Test Finder tool looks

Users can access the free Smart Test Finder tool where they can enter their postcode.

It will then find the nearest driving centre (based on user-designated driving distances between five and 1,000 miles) with the shortest waiting times and highest pass rates.

It even breaks down the data by gender to provide learners with a bespoke list of locations where they have a higher chance of booking a test sooner and passing first time.

David Hesketh, co-founder of Route-Led, said: ‘We’ve had enquiries from both driving instructors and learner drivers who want to find driving test centres with shorter waiting times and higher pass rates. Smart Test Finder will help them identify these test centres with confidence. 

‘Learner drivers and instructors can then use our app to practise the test routes even if the test centre is not in their local area. 

‘This ensures learner drivers are well prepared for their tests as demanded by the DVSA and get a driving test at a centre of their choice.’

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk