Driving Test Delays How To Beat It

Updates 08/04/2025

How are test delays progressing?

Its been over 4 years since we came back to work after the pandemic and test delays are as bad as they have ever been!

The DVSA were making progress last year as the delay went from 24 weeks to get a test to 18 weeks, however along with all public sector workers the examiners went on strike several times to try and gain fair pay in this cost of living crisis.

So therefor we have gone back to 24 week delay and its been about 2 years since the last strike and there does not seem to be much difference in the backlog.

So what do the DVSA say

Over the last 4 years the Dvsa have been working to bring test wait times down.

They have caught up on all those that had tests cancelled due to the pandemic, but unfortunately there are hundreds of thousands still trying to get a test date.

This is were these late cancellation apps have all sprouted up cascading the issue, some students booking driving tests even before they have an instructor to teach them. I receive many calls asking me to take then on and to test, some offering extra money to do this, which I turned down as I have loyalty to my current student base.

So the Dvsa have been improving their systems to prevent the BOTS from trolling the system but its preventing instructors and normal students booking a test.

Then in January of this year they improved their terms and conditions to help strengthen the system, but it has not stopped the people charging over inflated prices for tests.

I was reading on sky a couple of days ago about one person that had spent £600 on trying to get a test and had not yet sat one, he had been ripped off!

The DVSA have announced that they are going to hire 350 new examiners, that’s great but what happened to the 250 they announced they were hiring after the pandemic? they lost more than this by retiring examiners and some leaving the job!

What have they asked instructors to do

We were asked to only bring students that are ready, as its all to common occurrence that some students are chancers, hoping they get a fluky pass, this is why the national average pass rate never moves from around the 47% mark.

The students that are waiting are taking some extra lessons to ensure that they are at a good standard before their test comes up, which is why Bolton test centre pass rate has improved to around 58%

When at the test centre with my students we regularly see students turning up in hire cars or parents cars, hoping to get a pass, some do, a lot don’t.

Now my Automatic Driving School Bolton ‘RichMorrisDrivingSafe’, has a high pass rate anyway due to us training you to be a safe driver not just to pass a test, we are at leats 25% higher than the national average. Even in normal times going prepared will in the long run save you money and time.

So How to beat The Test Delays

To ensure a much smoother way through your training all the way to that first time pass, you just need to follow some simple advice.

1. Book your theory test, like now, but make sure you revise (read the Highway Code and use the Dvsa official app)
2. Find an instructor that you want to start with at least 3 months before you are looking to start. Agree with them a provisional start date.
3. While you are waiting to start, do some research, there are loads of different ways to do this, a good one is Youtube, or TikTok as a fair few instructors record lessons and put them online, with the students permission obviously. Driving is a skill for life and needs effort put in to get through it easier, you wouldn’t do a Degree and expect to pass with no effort would you?
4. Start talking to friends that are currently learning or who have done it very recently, be careful not to read too much into negative comments.
5. Having a positive mind helps massively when it comes to learning to drive. As humans we easily think negative and then look for something to support that belief, its called the ‘Belief Window’, so start by trying to be a positive believer in what you can do and accomplish, you will see an improvement in your outlook if done correctly.
6. When you have passed the Theory test, don’t wait get a practical booked, ensure you speak with your instructor first to ensure they are available, one of the services that we provide is to manage this process for you.

And that’s it, nothing too hard, it’s a very simple process and could knock months off the wait and actually save you hundreds of pounds.

If you need any advice or want to book in then click on the link and drop me a message.

HERE- Driving School Bolton.

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