Driving test waiting times still ‘unacceptably high’ at 75% of driving test centres

At three quarters of all driving test centers, waiting times for driving tests are still higher than pre-pandemic levels.

As of the end of January, 245 driving test centers had average waits exceeding 6 weeks. Among those, nearly 37% had waiting times of over 5 months.

This data was collected four months into the DVSA’s efforts to make 150,000 test slots available to learners to address the long waits.

According to data from the AA Driving School, on January 29th, 2024, 91 driving test centers (28%) had average waits of 24 weeks or more. This was a decrease from 151 centers with 24-week waits four months prior. Unfortunately, 69 centers had a 24-week average wait on both dates.

Between October 2nd, 2023, and January 29th, 2024, waiting times worsened at 15% of test centers, stayed the same at 25%, and improved at 60%. The average waiting time across all centers decreased from 18.7 weeks to 14.5 weeks.

By the end of March, the DVSA will have added all the extra 150,000 driving test slots created to its system.

Camilla Benitz, Managing Director of AA Driving School, expressed concern about the inconsistency in driving test waiting times across regions. While some areas have seen improvements due to the additional slots created since October, there are still significant numbers facing long waits.

Benitz emphasized the importance of reducing waiting times closer to pre-pandemic levels and called for a renewed commitment from the DVSA to address the issue.

Regional Winners and Losers

With the introduction of 150,000 extra driving test slots, some centers have witnessed significant changes in waiting times.

Seven test centers saw a remarkable improvement of 23 weeks in waiting times, going from 24 weeks to just one week:

However, some centers experienced a significant increase in waiting times, up to 23 weeks: