Worry for learner drivers 'waiting months' for tests

Learner drivers in rural parts of Scotland have told BBC News of their frustration as they wait months to sit their tests.

One said they were unable to book a test in their local area at all, while another faces a wait of up to five months.

It has led to fears that the mobility and employment prospects of young people in rural areas is being jeopardised.

On Wednesday, UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told MPs her department aimed to end the backlog across the country by summer next year.

Dylan Whiteley, 17, from Oldmeldrum in Aberdeenshire, has been trying to book his driving test for the last seven weeks, but cannot find any in the area where he lives.

"I'm going away to university in mid-September, and that's coming close," he said.

"I'll hopefully be able to get a test by then, but if something happens - if I fail it or anything - then it will be really tricky to get it done."

Dylan said he was prepared to look at booking a test in a different part of the country if he had to.

"The test itself would obviously be a lot more difficult having not driven on those roads as much, but if it comes to it and the wait times are less, then it might have to be," he said.

Learner drivers are advised to book their test through the official website of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).

However a backlog since the pandemic has led to an increase in waiting times.

The Driving Instructors' Association said the average waiting time in the UK for a driving test is currently 21 weeks, but they have reports of some learners waiting more than six months.

Phil Machray, a driving instructor based in Inverurie in Aberdeenshire, said test waiting times were the worst he could remember in his 10 years of teaching.

He said instructors were worried about the impact on their business as well as the impact on learner drivers.

"It's difficult to run a business, as well as the pressure learners feel knowing that if they fail a test, they're going to have a significant wait again," he added. "It's just not fair."

Mr Machray believes that rural areas are at a geographical disadvantage.

"We as outlying test centres don't get anything like the same volume of tests, but the population of people is higher than it is in the city," he said.

"Currently my waiting list is probably four to five months."

With waiting times continuing to rise, computer bots are used by third parties to block-book tests.

"Any cancelled tests, the bots snap it up, and they sell them on for inflated prices," Mr Machray said.

Isla Forrester, 30, from Aberdeen, failed her driving test earlier this month.

When she applied to sit another test in the local area, the earliest date was in September.

She is worried about maintaining the momentum of her driving lessons over an extended period, as well as the additional cost.

"It's really frustrating and it's really disheartening," she said.

Isla is now looking at potentially sitting her test further afield.

"I'm looking at other areas which I believe a lot of other people are doing, not just in Scotland, but across the country," she said.

Mary Willis, 17, from Portsoy in Aberdeenshire, applied for her driving test in March and has just received a date for June.

She wants to set up a business as a mobile nail technician.

"I am hoping that I pass first time and be lucky, but it's a matter of fact if I don't pass, I might have to wait another four months," she said.

"That's well away, and I'll probably be in college and trying to move on with my career.

"Without a licence it's going to maybe slow down, or even put me off starting my business."

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told the Commons' Transport Select Committee that at least 10,000 extra tests per month would be offered to learners.

She said new measures would help reduce waiting times to no more than seven weeks by summer 2026.

The DVSA has been instructed to make "additional overtime incentive payments to everyone delivering extra driving tests", she added.

And she said the government would consult on changes to the driving test booking system, in an attempt to stop bots mass-booking new slots.

Pauline Reeves of DVSA Driver Services said they had made "significant progress" on implementing a plan to reduce waiting times.

"The further action which the Secretary of State has announced will help us to accelerate those measures, including expanding training capacity for newly recruited driving examiners so more of them can start carrying out driving tests sooner," she added.

President of motoring organisation The AA, Edmund King, said a driving licence was needed for more than one in six jobs in Scotland.

"There are many thousands of young people whose mobility and whose employment prospects, are actually being jeopardised because of these long waiting times," he explained.

"In rural areas it is particularly difficult, and we're finding some pupils are driving 50, 100 miles - and sometimes more - to find a test centre, because there are fewer tests and tests are being taken up very quickly."