The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has urged learner drivers to consider whether they are ready to take their tests before booking in for one.
Their new ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign aims to improve pass rates, which will reduce the waiting times for tests. The campaign gives learners advice on finding an approved driving instructor, monitoring and checking progress of their driving lessons and private practice, how to manage test-day nerves, and deciding when to take a mock test.
DVSA is asking learner drivers to move their test back if they are not ready, which can be done free of charge up to three full working days before their test. This means their appointment could be used by someone else who is ready.
Driving test pass rate drops
The pass rate for car driving tests between January and March 2022 is 47.1%, which is down from 48.1% in the previous quarter.
Between April 2021 and March 2022, car driving tests were failed 786,400 times, and DVSA research shows that examiners had to physically intervene in 168,583 tests during that time to avoid a dangerous incident.
This means that in one in five failed tests, examiners had to do things such as brake or steer the car.
Learners urged to ‘make sure they are ready to take their test’
Loveday Ryder, DVSA Chief Executive, has urged learners to use the Ready to Pass? checklist to make sure they are ready to take their test, as ‘this will help make more tests available and prevent people having to pay to re-test.’
Ryder also touched on the actions taken by the DVSA to increase test availability following the pandemic. Since April 2021, the DVSA has created around 428,000 more test appointments than are normally available.
‘We took swift action to tackle the impact of the pandemic and ensure as many people as possible could take their driving test. I’m glad to see the action we took – along with the hard work of driving instructors and our driving examiners – is working, and more test slots are available for learner drivers,’ Ryder said.