In the UK on average, Brits attempt their driving twice before mastering it and getting the all-important pass – 12% of people will need more than three attempts.
However, if you’re on your third or fourth driving test attempt and losing hope, maybe it’s not you, maybe it’s actually the test center.
A new study has revealed the 20 driving test centers with the highest and lowest pass rates in the UK.
The research by One Sure Insurance analysed public driving test data from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) between April 2022 and April 2023 to determine which test centers have the highest rate of drivers passing their practical test first time.
Test centers with fewer than 100 recorded driving test attempts, or insufficient data were excluded from the final results.
A new study has revealed the 20 driving test centers with the highest and lowest pass rates in the UK
In the UK on average, Brits attempt their driving twice before mastering it and getting the all-important pass – 12% of people will need more than three attempts
You’re most likely to pass your test first time if you take it in Peebles, Scotland, where a huge 78.1% of drivers pass.
An impressive 157 out of 201 drivers passed their test first time throughout this period, with 80.4% of male drivers and 76% of female drivers passing on the first attempt.
Hawick, Scotland came second on the list with 76.8% of drivers passing their test there first time.
195 out of 254 people recorded first time passes – 79.7% of male drivers and 74.3% of female drivers.
Scotland continues to dominate the list, making up the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh places.
Kelso has 75.8% of first-time passes while Arbroath is close behind with 73.25 of drivers only taking the test once.
Montrose ranked fifth with 73% of drivers passing their test first time, at 187 first time passes out of a possible 256 first attempts – Kendal took sixth place with 69.7% and Forfrar is seventh with 69.5%.
The first place in England to make the list is the market town of Alnwick in Northumberland where 69.2% of drivers pass their test first time here, making it the center with the highest first-time pass rate in England.
Lerwick in Scotland is ninth with 65.2% and Chichester, England finishes off the top ten with 64.10%.
The full top 20 in the UK are listed below:
The unluckiest test center with the lowest pass rate is Speke in Liverpool where only 27.3% of drivers pass first time.
Second on the list is Erith in south-east London at 32.8% followed by Belvedere, London at 33.1%.
The third center with the lowest pass rate is Shieldhall in Glasgow where just 33.4% of people only take the test once.
In fourth and fifth place are Wolverhampton with 33.8% and Crawley with 34%.
Manchester takes seventh and eighth – in both Rochdaleand Bury, 34.6% of drivers pass on the first attempt.
Rounding off the top 10 are Wednesbury in the West Midlands at 34.9% and Plymouth at 35.1%.
Find the full list of the 20 test centers with the lowest pass rates below:
The study looked nationally at more than 800,000 driving tests conducted between 2022 and 2023 and it also revealed that male drivers were slightly more likely to pass first time than female drivers.
There’s an average first-time pass rate of 51.6% for men, compared to 46.9% for women.
Chris Lear, Managing Director at One Sure Insurance, commented: ‘These findings offer great insight into the areas where learner drivers are most likely to pass their driving test for the first time, with many rural Scottish towns dominating the top spots.
‘There are a number of factors that can influence a test center’s pass rates.
‘Less densely populated highstreets, fewer cars on the roads and less complicated junctions, can often make it less stressful for learner drivers taking their test in rural towns, compared to those being assessed in more built-up urban areas.
‘Learners taking tests at these centers may also benefit from having spent more time practicing on quieter roads outside of their regular driving lessons, which can help build up their confidence when it comes time to take their practical test.’
