Scots forced to travel to England due to lack of available theory tests
A further 4,500 tests have been made available, but people are still struggling to find a slot close by.
People in Scotland have been forced to travel to England to sit their theory tests, due to a lack of availability across the country.
Driving lessons and tests were put on hold during the pandemic, but since restarting are facing a major backlog - forcing people to travel further to sit their test.
4,500 new tests have been made available due to changes in the social distancing rule from two metres to one metre in level zero, but the backlog means there are still people struggling to find tests.
One of the people finding it challenging is Vicky from Govan in Glasgow.
"I'm virtually trying three times a day to go onto the site to see if I can book a theory test."
She said: "I'm really just stuck at the moment - I can't go any further but there's nothing I can do to improve the situation.
"My instructor has now told me just to take a rest from lessons altogether and I've basically just to phone him whenever I get a test booked and passed.
"I'm really stuck in limbo right now - I'm virtually trying three times a day to go onto the site to see if I can book a theory test.
"I had also widened my search area so not just Glasgow, I've also been looking at Edinburgh and Ayrshire to see if there's any available test dates there but there hasn't been.
"Unfortunately I can't travel to England - I work full-time and I really don't have the means to get down south for a test."
17-year old Andrew from Clarkston in Glasgow had to travel to Kendal for his test.
He said: "It wasn't great - it took up the full day going down and then obviously if I had failed it, it would have been pretty brutal.
"Quite a few of my friends have had to go down and do it too, some of them are still planning on it.
"It's just a bit ridiculous."
"If I had failed it, it would have been pretty brutal"
18-year old Caitlyn from Carluke, South Lanarkshire, said she's struggling to get booked due to the extra time she requires.
She said: "When I went into look at it I realised I was eligible for extra time and separate accommodation, which then meant I had to put on hold booking a theory test up here.
"I now cannot book a theory test at all up here because they're all booked out because I have a disability."
18-year old Megan from North Lanarkshire is going to Blackpool for her test due to the lack of availability in Scotland.
She said: "There were hundreds of tests in England but absolutely none up here.
"We decided that we had a holiday at the end of the month so we would just go down to Blackpool, so we managed to book one down there.
Travelling to Blackpool has increased the pressure to pass it
"I feel like honestly, there is a good chance that because of how stressed I am it will affect how I perform during the test because of me thinking 'what am I going to do if I don't pass this?'
"We've tried looking again for more test dates up here and there's nothing again - they're all gone."
A DVSA spokesperson said: "Until today’s easing of physical distancing restrictions by the Scottish Government, physical distancing restrictions required a 2-metre distance between theory test candidates.
"This has now been eased to 1 metre in indoor public settings. The safety of our customers and staff is our priority.
"DVSA has delivered as many Theory Tests in Scotland as possible within those requirements, with most theory tests centres operating longer opening hours than before the start of the pandemic, including opening at weekends.
"Additional theory test appointments in Scotland have been added to the booking system today and are available to book up to 3 months in advance."