Mayhem, signal, manoeuvre as learner drivers accuse DVSA over test chaos
Anger over online bookings
Learner drivers will rush to book tests tomorrow when hundreds of thousands of appointments become available after what instructors have described as weeks of chaos.
Driving tests restart in Scotland tomorrow when 375,000 new slots will be made available across the UK – but instructors warn of ongoing difficulties for learners.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is to release a swathe of new test dates as it looks to ease pressure on its booking system.
The agency has been criticised for problems with its online test appointment system after it crashed last month when swamped with more than seven million inquiries. It was taken offline twice – but the DVSA says the glitches have now been ironed out.
Learners in Scotland were able to book new test slots from last Monday and practical driving tests are due to restart here tomorrow after restrictions around lessons and testing remained in place beyond those in England and Wales.
Instructor Roberta Noble is well-established in Aberdeenshire where she has helped hundreds of learner drivers to pass their tests.
She said that, despite the thousands of new test appointment slots becoming available, many of her pupils who already had tests cancelled still felt badly let down.
“The whole situation has been an ongoing shambles,” said Mrs Noble. “I have a number of pupils who first had their tests cancelled in March but then couldn’t get another slot at a testing centre anywhere near where they live. They couldn’t get appointments in places like Peterhead or Fraserburgh and were faced with a five-hour round-trip to centres elsewhere.
“You also have to allow more than two hours for the actual test and, as they use my car, it would cost people more than an extra £200 to hire my vehicle for the whole day to either practise on an unfamiliar test route or take the test itself.
“Not many people have that sort of money. They are now starting to be offered test slots within their local areas, but not till the end of the year, which is a ridiculous amount of time to have to wait.”
Billy Blackmore, from Auchinleck in East Ayrshire, has been running his own driving school for almost two decades.
He is angry that some of his pupils who had tests cancelled earlier this year may still have to wait months for a new slot. “These pupils should have been a priority for the DVSA and should have been given first crack at the whip for a new test date,” he said.
“People who are now applying for the first time are getting appointments sooner. It is very unfair. I expect more chaos for learners on Monday.”
The DVSA told The Sunday Post it had worked hard to rectify issues that had previously dogged the booking system – and insisted everyone should be catered for from tomorrow.
The DVSA said: “The first run at the booking system could have gone better, we admit. But people should now be able to book a test slot right up until Christmas.
“They will still have to join an online queuing system but we believe that everyone should now be able to get a test, as a very significant number of new slots will become available.”