Learner drivers could be seriously impacted by panic buyers
Some have been waiting since March to do their test
Driving schools in the North East and County Durham are urging the public to stop panic buying fuel as it could seriously impact learner drivers.
Teenagers in particular are currently being impacted as the wait for driving tests stretches as far forwards as March.
Sarah Gill from Driving Skills North East said: "Our instructors are having to start prioritising pupils who have got their test booked already and are coming up in the next couple of weeks. These pupils have waited months for these tests to come around.
"The last test I booked this week, last one I could get my hands on, was for 11th March. Its absolute hysteria that's going to have an impact on people who have already been badly hit from backlogs from Covid."
Although queues at petrol stations around the region are beginning to calm down as the supply of fuel returns to normal, Sarah tells us they've been having to prioritise drivers who have their tests soon over other pupils, as instructors are worried about the shortage.
She said: "We've had pupils whose test should have been over lockdown at the start of the year, not getting into a test now in October.
"On top of that, the DVSA recommends that pupils go out and try do as much private practise as they can. If you've got parents and family members that can't get fuel in their cars, they can't take that learner out for a lesson.
"It's just not an option for them not to be ready for that test. We have to make sure that they're going to get all the lessons in that they need and we need fuel in the cars to do that."
Sarah has warned that some pupils who have recently started learning to drive, or haven't yet booked a test will have to wait a short while for the "hysteria" to blow over.