The nightmare reality of learning to drive in the UK

Learning to drive has become an ordeal for the many that are still trying to graduate from their L-plates. A huge demand for tests, combined with a backlog that has been building since the Covid pandemic, means the system is struggling to cope. With waiting times for a driving test stretching as high as six months, learners are reporting travelling for several hours, sometimes across the length of the country, for an exam because of a lack of availability in their area. Shorts According to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) , the responsible body for tests in Britain, the average waiting time between booking and taking a driving test is currently 10.7 weeks, above the target of seven. The amount of time it takes until 10 per cent or more of weekly appointments are still available to book is 20.9 weeks the agency said. An enormous backlog Speaking to The i Paper, Carly Brookfield, chief executive of the Driving Instructors Association, said: “Straight after lockdown, wait times were around 14 weeks, which we thought was bad, but it was understandable because of the pandemic. “Now, we would love that 14-week wait time because some learners are having to wait for 21 weeks. “The [DVSA] target for five years has been a wait time of seven weeks and they’ve failed to get anywhere near it.” Carly Brookfield, chief executive of the Driving Instructors Association, says the DVSA is nowhere near their target of a seven-week wait time for driving tests (Photo: Carly Brookfield) “Because of the lack of tests, people are looking for slots all around the country. There have even been examples of people driving from the South to Scotland for a test,” she added. Driving instructor Sheila Culleton told The i Paper that due to the backlog, she encourages students to book their practical test as soon as they have completed their theory test. “The wait times also mean that many of them will be at a level that they can pass, but will have to wait for their test, so they stop having lessons, learn privately with their parents, and then I have to help them unlearn bad habits they have picked up before their test,” she added. The DVSA have said that they are trying to counter the issue by putting more tests into the system, with almost 280,000 extra tests carried out since June 2025. They also pointed out that the current pass rate is 51.5 per cent – the highest in over five years. However, the backlog is still set to be a huge issue for learner drivers in years to come despite the DVSA’s best efforts, which Brookfield says is because of a lack of examiners. She explained that the main reasons for this are low pay – examiners earn a base salary of £26,000 which can be scaled up to around £42,000 for senior examiners who work overtime – and lengthy training. The effect on learners Harry, 31 from Sheffield, is one of the learners who is feeling the negative effects of the backlog. He learned to drive five years ago, which cost him around £900, and had a test booked for March 2021, but was forced to cancel after his instructor suddenly retired less than a month beforehand. Then, “difficult financial and life circumstances” meant he could no longer continue learning to drive and left him unemployed and forced to claim Universal Credit. Harry says his experience of learning to drive is something he “wouldn’t wish on anyone” (Photo: Provided) He is now having lessons again to improve his chances of employment, but the cost of his lessons – £72 for two hours – means that “almost all” of his monthly £400 from Universal Credit goes on driving lessons. Aside from the money, the backlog of tests means that the experience of booking a slot is now on a par with attempting to purchase a ticket for Glastonbury Festival or securing a place through the London Marathon ballot. “I have been up at 5:30am for the past two Mondays, and both times there were more than 10,000 people in the queue before the booking system even opened, and when I finally got in there were no tests anywhere,” he said. “I’ve been opening the booking website and refreshing every few minutes, every hour or so, from waking until sleeping, since the first week of July, just to try and grab a cancellation, and I have still yet to see a single slot available in Sheffield, ever. “Being in my thirties, without a driving license, still stuck living with my parents, with any money I get just evaporating with driving lessons, is a miserable experience I wouldn’t wish on anyone,” he said. Kristina Hunter, a learner driver who lives in Somerset, said that the backlog means there is more pressure on to pass their test when they actually manage to book one. “Should I fail my test, then there’s a strong possibility I will be waiting another five to six months for a new test date unless I find the opportunity to check for local cancellations sporadically throughout each day, which I simply don’t have the time to do.” “It also adds greater pressure to passing first time, as otherwise I will need to continue paying for five to six months of refresher lessons in the interim as well as the cost of another test,” she added. With the situation unlikely to change significantly in the coming years, learner drivers will continue to suffer a long wait before they can get behind the wheel.