Driving test delays at crisis point - instructor

The long wait for driving tests in parts of England has reached "crisis point", an instructor said.

Sue Papworth, from Cambridgeshire, said some pupils were travelling hundreds of miles to other areas in order to get a test.

Her pupil Sara Canamares, 17, said a six-month wait for her examination was playing on her mind and was proving extremely costly.

The AA has called on the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) to recruit more examiners and make more tests available. The DVSA said it was "working hard" to rectify the problems.

Camilla Benitz, managing director of the AA Driving School, said: "If you're looking for a driving test right now, it is incredibly challenging.

"We have seen a 20% increase in the wait time since the start of this year.

"Nationally it's about 19 weeks. If you're in the East of England it can be even longer.

"We're looking at a maximum of 24 weeks in Ipswich, Colchester, Cambridge, Northampton, Stevenage - it's really widespread."

She said during the pandemic "about a million tests" were cancelled and despite it being a number of years since, "the DVSA has failed to tackle that backlog".

Instructor Ms Papworth, who has been teaching learner drivers for 18 years, said: "Having checked [on Thursday morning] there's no test availability for Cambridge - but that's country-wide. We've reached crisis point, really.

"It's very difficult for anyone to book a practical driving test - more than one million people are looking for a test," she said.

Ms Papworth said in the city the wait for a theory test could be up to a month, but for a practical test the wait could be five or six months.

"People spend an absolute fortune going out of area to try and secure a test," said Ms Papworth.

"When I started as a driving instructor, we didn't even think about booking a test until a student had passed their theory and was driving really quite well."

The current wait was "the worst I've ever known it and I can't see it getting any better".

One of those trying to cope with the wait is student Sara, who has already passed her theory test and has had about 10 weeks of two-hour lessons.

The 17-year-old booked her test three weeks ago, but the earliest available date was in November.

"It means I'm going to have to continue my lessons for a lot longer than I thought, and it's a lot of money to have a lesson every week for that long," she said.

Passing her test could mean she would no longer have to rely on her parents driving her the 20-minute journey to school.

"A lot of my friends are learning to drive so it's a common topic of conversation," she said.

The AA's Ms Benitz said: "The only way to solve this problem is to make more driving tests available, so the DVSA has to recruit and retain examiners.

"We're really calling on the new government to make this a priority."

The DVSA said it was doing all it could to increase the number of tests available, while also combating issues including the use of automated computer systems, or bots, and people reselling booked timeslots.

Its chief executive, Loveday Ryder, said: "In the past financial year alone we've provided almost two million tests, the highest ever, and we continue to work hard to increase the number available by recruiting more examiners while tackling bots and those who are exploiting learners.

"We want to see more learners passing first time, so we're working with the driver training industry to educate and advise learners on what they can do to prepare and improve their likelihood of passing."

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