"It's a nightmare": Learner drivers travel cross-country to take a test
The transport secretary has pledged 10,000 extra tests a month to tackle the problem
Last updated 23rd Apr 2025
The Transport Secretary has promised to fix driving test waiting lists, as learner drivers across the country struggle to get their license.
Recent analysis by the AA Driving School showed the average waiting time to book a practical test in Britain was 20 weeks in February, up from 14 weeks a year earlier.
Heidi Alexander said the Government is "acting fast" to tackle the issue, with at least 10,000 extra tests to be available each month.
For young drivers in some parts of the country, getting a test is almost impossible.
20-year-old Alex Payne, from Beaminster in Dorset, was unable to book at any centre in the South West region.
In a call to the DVSA, Alex eventually managed to get a September slot in Rochdale, near Manchester, 244 miles away from home.
The trip will take more than four hours in the car and an overnight stay at a nearby hotel.
"It's an absolute shambles," Alex said, "it makes the test so nerve-racking and I'm anxious about the whole situation."
"If I get all the way up to Rochdale, stay at a hotel only to fail - it's not going to be great and will probably make me drive worse than I would normally.
To add more pressure to the test, Alex needs to pass in order to progress in his career as a police officer.
"I need it as part of my career so if it takes travelling to Rochdale for a one-off then I'll have to."
The backlog is in part due to bots buying up all the slots to re-sell them for £200-£300.
"The bots can work faster than any human can and it's just exploiting people my age who haven't any money to burn," Alex said.
The Transport Secretary has announced new measures to combat test-buying bots and provide thousands of additional tests every month.
Heidi Alexander told the Commons' Transport Select Committee that her department is aiming to reduce the average waiting time for driving tests in Britain to seven weeks by summer 2026.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has a target of reaching that position by the end of this year.
It has attributed the backlog to "an increase in demand and a change in customers' booking behaviour".
Giving evidence to the committee, Ms Alexander said: "The waiting times that people are experiencing are totally unacceptable."
She announced that the DVSA has been instructed to make "additional overtime incentive payments to everyone delivering extra driving tests".
DVSA staff qualified to conduct tests are being asked to voluntarily return to the front line, while the number of permanent trainers for new examiners will be doubled.
Ms Alexander also said the Government will launch a consultation next month on changes to the driving test booking system, in an attempt to stop bots mass-booking new slots and reselling them on the black market for inflated prices.
Pauline Reeves, director of driver services at the DVSA, said: "Since December 2024, we've made significant progress on implementing our plan to reduce waiting times.
"But we know that many learner drivers are not seeing the immediate effects of the measures.
"The further action which the Secretary of State has announced today 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."
Steve Gooding, director of motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, said: "The current system is failing learner drivers even before they sit their tests, and today's news shows there won't be a quick fix to the frustratingly long waiting times.
"For now, the best way candidates can help themselves is to be as prepared as possible for test day when it does eventually arrive so they have the greatest chance of passing."