Driving test wait "can't get much worse"
The AA obtains figures from the DVSA and say's that things "can't get much worse" for those wanting a driving test
No tests available nationwide
Just when you thought things can't get worse on the driving test waiting fiasco, it does! The AA managed to get a hold of figures from the government on the backlog and numbers are up yet again! According to news outlets "Learner drivers are being forced to wait more than five months to book a slot at four out of five test centres, new figures show. Some 258 locations in Britain had the maximum possible waiting time of 24 weeks for a test as of May 5, which is 81% of all sites."
At the start of the year it was 161 sites that were at capacity. Further proof that the government's plans aren't working.
Not a single test space available
I spoke to a mother of a learner driver this morning (July 30th) asking for help or advice on what to do for her son. Learning to drive isn't cheap and you can't keep on having lessons with no possibility of a test at the end. It's an atrocious situation. She told me that when she went online this morning to look for a test, again, there wasn't a single slot anywhere in the whole of the country!
Government officials say they're working fast, but this situation has existed since lockdown came to an end. The situation as only worsened, so at what stage can we expect a replacement in personnel and a new radical plan? The original plan was to have waiting times down by December 2025. They've already announced that's not going to happen in June. The plan was only started in April this year. Now they've set themselves a new semi-vague deadline of summer 2026 to get the waiting times down to 7 weeks.
DVSA seems optimistic
The DVSA have made a statement on the back on news outlets shaming them with the new figures and they seems quite deluded to me.
DVSA chief executive Loveday Ryder said: “DVSA’s goal is to make booking a driving test easier and fairer for learner drivers. We are making progress on our plans.
“We’re really grateful to everyone who has responded to our recent consultation, including learners, parents and driving instructors. We’re now analysing the survey responses. Using your feedback, we’ll be able to plan our next steps on improving car test booking rules.”
If the plan was to make the situation as worse as it could possibly ever get, they've achieved it. Well done DVSA.
