Learners have to travel 70 miles for driving test

PEOPLE living in rural areas are having to travel more than 70 miles for a driving test in a bid to avoid waits of more than three months.

Campaigners have condemned the “chaos” in the testing system which has left would-be drivers facing an average backlog of 15 weeks.

The scramble for appointments means that people are turning to third-party websites to get notification of last-minute cancellation slots, and often finding there are no tests available in their part of the country.

Countryside Alliance researchers using one of those services found people living in the Dorset town of Swanage wanting a test within a week would have to make a 71-mile journey to Portsmouth. They also found candidates in Brecon, Powys, facing a 54-mile trip to Bridgend for a test in nine weeks’ time.

Buckingham Tory MP Greg Smith, who has been contacted by worried constituents, said the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) should not be blaming the pandemic for the waits. He said: “I represent a rural constituency and being able to drive a car to go to work or college is essential.

“We need DVSA test centres to get back on track if we are to get rural Britain moving again.

“It has been a year since Covid restrictions ended and the public sector needs to stop hiding behind that as an excuse.”

Mo Metcalf-fisher, a spokesman for the

Countryside Alliance, said: “For many rural people being able to drive is a necessity.

“Many cannot rely on the public transport network, which in some more isolated places might not even exist. Clearly, the DVSA needs to urgently fix the backlog and the Department for Transport should now look at expanding the number of test centres across the country.

“Aspiring drivers shouldn’t have to travel excessive distances, at great expense, to have a chance at gaining this important freedom.”

The DVSA said it did not recognise the figures. A spokesman added: “Following the pandemic, we know many learners have waited a long time, so we’ve recruited almost 500 examiners and are recruiting more.

“Learners should only take their test if they are ready to pass.

“We strongly urge them to use our Ready to Pass? checklist and make sure they’ve had enough lessons so

‘Don’t use Covid as an excuse’

they are ready to pass first time.”

The DVSA is advising all candidates to use its official site, warning it does not “employ, encourage or licence anyone to provide a cancellation checking service”. It adds: “Such apps or bots are not approved by the DVSA as they make it harder for candidates to get a test.”