Driving Test Backlogs... Don't Pay Instructors Extra To Get You A Driving Test.
- Adrian Palmer. www.beagooddriver.co.uk
- Jun 24
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 25
The UK car practical driving test waiting times are worse than ever. In the 15 plus years I've been an instructor they have never been so bad. The average waiting time is 22 weeks. Tests can only be booked 24 weeks in advance, so it's very, very difficult to even get a test for any date never mind get a cancellation.
One if not thee biggest problem is that since covid, tests have become a commodity for unscrupulous driving instructors to gain extra income. The DVSA is trying to stamp down on it by introducing new terms and conditions aimed at driving instructors that abuse their access to the test booking system.
However, it's not working to bring the waiting times down quick enough. It can only solve the problem if learners stop paying them more than the £62 (£75 weekends) to get tests and start making the DVSA aware when their instructor offers to manage/book their test if they pay a substantial fee.
For an instructor to offer you a test date they have to have previously booked a test with another learners provisional license details. More often than not this is done without that learners consent. This is stricktly not allowed and is a breach of the new terms and conditions.
Because tests are so difficult to book on the website, these instructors can and are charging desprate learners a lot more. What does the instructor have to do to earn this extra cash? Simply swap your license number on their DVSA instructors booking portal, which takes less than 5 minutes.
Here's how learners can make a difference... if they stop paying the extra fees to instructors to manage/swap their test the orginal fallacious booked test will have to be cancelled by the (conman) instructors. Any instructor that cancels 25% of the tests they have booked automatically looses access to booking system.
Slowly but surely this will weed out the conmen instructors and the tests will become available to learners and reasonable instructors looking for cancellations on the DVSA booking website and portal.
Instructors booking portal...
Reports driving instructor...
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