More than half a million learner drivers are stuck in a backlog for tests.
Delays caused by pandemic lockdowns have resulted in candidates waiting an average of 14 weeks before they can get a test slot, according to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.
There have been reports of learners waiting 24 weeks. Pre-pandemic appointments were typically available within three weeks.
The backlog will disproportionately affect young motorists, and rural areas where public transport is infrequent.
Typically, driving instructors will not book tests for candidates until they are deemed ready to pass.
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“The backlog on car testing at the moment is double what we would normally expect,” Peter Hearn, operations director at the agency, said. “We have had significant periods in which we have not been able to test drivers so we are now in a period in which we are trying to recover those services.”
Waiting times are not expected to improve until early 2023 although the agency is looking at ways to speed up the operation.
Hearn said: “We are having conversations with third parties about some private sector support. There are others who do assessments in driving. We are [looking] to see whether there is any support that they could give us.”
The agency is hiring more than 300 staff, including examiners. So far 90 have been hired, Hearn told the Commons transport committee. The new recruits will work five days in seven, allowing testing at weekends.
The number of tests carried out fell by 73 per cent between April 2020 and March last year. Driving tests were banned in all three national lockdowns, except for critical workers who need to drive as part of their job.
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“You are obviously elbow to elbow, sitting in a vehicle,” Hearn said. “That is a really challenging one. We went into lockdown three times, which obviously had an impact on what we could do.”
The agency carried out 16,000 tests during those lockdowns, primarily to “support” vulnerable people and to qualify health care workers to drive.
Hearn admitted that some issues had been caused by outdated technology. He said: “Our booking system was towards the end of its life, and we knew that we were going to replace it.” Changing candidates’ test dates had to be done manually and had been “extremely challenging”.
