Test centres across Great Britain have wait times over 24 weeks

New figures from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, obtained by RADAR, show that learners were waiting at least 24 weeks to take their driving test at Barrow testing centre as of the end of March – far exceeding the Government's six-week target.

The DVSA does not record the exact length of time for waits over 24 weeks, so the true figure could be even higher.

At the March, more than 500,000 people were waiting for a test across Britain.

Head of roads policy at the RAC, Nicholas Lyes, said: “There’s little doubt the pandemic has had an impact on practical driving test backlogs, though we’re encouraged that the DVSA is taking steps to get on top of this including offering overtime for instructors, as well as making tests available on weekends and over public holidays.

"The figures powerfully demonstrate the continuing strong demand from younger people to get their full driving licence, given the opportunities and freedom that comes with driving.”

Across Britain, 123 driving test centres, 38% of the country's 324 testing sites, had waits of at least six months as of March.

Meanwhile, just 43 sites (13%) had waiting times of less than a month.

The DVSA said that it had since cut down waiting times, with 23% of test centres now having a wait of 24 weeks, and a further 23% within the target of six weeks as of November.

However DVSA could not provide figures on which centres had improved.

Chief executive of the DVSA, Loveday Ryder, said that it had taken "swift action" to tackle the impact of the pandemic.

She added that more than half of learners are failing their tests and urges learners to visit the "Ready to Pass" checklist on the DVSA website.

Analysis by the RAC shows that more than 50,000 tests in the last 12 months were taken by people who had already failed their test five times or more as learners take any test available for fear of missing out on a slot later on.