The UK government has announced plans to hire hundreds of new driving examiners in an effort to reduce the long waiting times for tests that have resulted from the Covid-19 pandemic. Lilian Greenwood, minister for the future of roads, acknowledged the “sky-high” backlog of test requests and said that no learner should have to wait longer than seven weeks for a test by December 2025. Instructors have criticised the current system as a “nightmare” and are sceptical about the proposed changes.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) intends to train and employ 450 examiners across Britain, with the aim of preventing third parties from booking up tests and selling them on for profit. The government will also consult on a proposal to allow failed learners additional time before they can retake a test following dangerous or serious mistakes.
The DVSA’s period for changing or cancelling tests without a financial penalty will be extended from three to ten working days prior to the test. Waiting times for rescheduling cancelled tests will also be reviewed, as will current rules allowing tests to be booked in advance up to 24 weeks.
However, some driving instructors have criticised the recruitment drive, arguing that additional examiners will simply allow for more tests to be sold on by middlemen. Others have called for learners to demonstrate a minimum number of hours on training logs before they can book tests.
The driving test backlog has become a major issue since the pandemic led to the cancellation of thousands of tests. Records of 1.9 million tests during 2019/2020 were released earlier this year by the Department for Transport
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