As Covid restrictions continue to ease, learners who have had to wait for months finally find themselves able to book their tests. However, the immense backlog that has built up over lockdown has placed a strain on the system that it is not capable of bearing, leading to extremely long waiting times.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has reported that it currently has approximately 420,000 tests booked in its system, an unprecedented number that has pushed the average waiting time to 17 weeks, with the situation worse in some areas of the country.
In December 2020, just before the nation was plunged into its third national lockdown, there were 1,461 driving instructors registered with the DVSA who were available to carry out tests. With strict rules in place governing how many tests these instructors are able to adjudicate in a day, and in the face of unprecedented demand, that number is now completely inadequate.
In an attempt to get on top of the situation, the DVSA has plans to sequester 307 managerial and administrative staff who are qualified to carry out tests, and is attempting to recruit a further 300 examiners (although it will take some time to get them trained). Additionally, driving tests will now be carried out on days when they previously would not have been, such as bank holidays
Both tests and lessons were first suspended during the first national lockdown in March 2020. Lessons were allowed to restart on 4 July, with tests resuming a fortnight later. The logic behind this was to give learners a window to brush up on skills that may have stagnated during lockdown before their tests. A similar gap was employed this time around, with lessons resuming on 12 April, followed by tests on 22 April.
One upshot to all of this is that, given all the extra time learners have had to practice, the pass rate actually increased to 51% in 2020, compared to 46% in 2019.