Driving examiner’s jaw broken after test

DRIVING examiners are to strike over four days next month amid claims the test backlog is posing them “significant safety risks”.

Around 2,000 driving examiners will walk out between Feb 8 and 11 after the Public and Commercial Services union called the Government “reckless” over its approach to tackling the delays.

It comes amid increasing concerns for the safety of examiners. The Tele

graph has learnt one instructor suffered a broken jaw when he failed a candidate late last year. The incident was highlighted by an examiner on their social media account and included an image of the man in hospital.

Around 850,000 driving tests were cancelled during the Covid-19 pandemic

The number of driving examiners planning to walk out for four days citing safety risks caused by test backlogs

as a result of lockdown policies, creating a months-long backlog that has lasted until the present day. Waiting times for driving tests rose to an average of six months in November 2022, a figure that has dropped to just over four months. Government plans to clear the backlog include asking examiners employed by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency to deliver eight tests a day, up from seven, a move expected to deliver 150,000 extra tests by the end of March.

Yet the PCS union announced four more days of strike action yesterday as it sought an increase

Calling the backlog clearance plans “reckless”, Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said: “If [Transport Secretary] Mark Harper was serious about reducing the backlog, he would employ more examiners, not just expecting the existing ones to work harder.”

2,000