The Driver and Vehicle and Standards Agency (DVSA) has trained up more than 100 mental health first aiders amid pressures on staff to cut waiting times for driving tests.
Britain’s driving test backlog recently reached a new high with 631,472 future practical driving tests booked as of the end of May – up from 527,368 a year ago.
Despite the growing demand, the number of tests conducted during the first five months of this year was 14 per cent lower than the same period in 2024.
There were 757,867 tests taken between January and May, down from 877,387 a year earlier.
As of March this year, the average waiting time for a practical car test was 21.9 weeks – up from 16.1 weeks in March 2024.
The DVSA has a target of reducing car practical test waiting times to seven weeks or less by December this year.
In the agency’s annual report, chief executive Loveday Ryder admitted it was ‘not on track’ to meet that target despite providing 1.96million car driving tests in 2024–25.
Some of those who have spent months trying to to book a test have complained about test slots across the country being sold via WhatsApp groups for more than double the normal price.Â
The Driver and Vehicle and Standards Agency (DVSA) has trained up more than 100 mental health first aiders amid pressures on staff to cut waiting times for driving tests
Britain’s driving test backlog recently reached a new high with 631,472 future practical driving tests booked as of the end of May – up from 527,368 a year ago
As of March this year, the average waiting time for a practical car test was 21.9 weeks – up from 16.1 weeks in March 2024
‘We recognise the impact this has on learner drivers across the country and on driving instructors and their businesses,’ Ms Ryder wrote.
‘We are doing all we can to address this, working with the Government quickly to develop a plan to tackle the car practical test waiting time.’
She added: ‘We recognise that there are no quick fixes and that we need to re–balance supply and demand for tests alongside tackling the systematic abuse of the test booking system.’
The DVSA boss also acknowledged the pressures her staff were under to cut waiting times, amid plummeting satisfaction rates among learner drivers.
She continued: ‘Our commitment to colleague wellbeing was reflected in the launch of our comprehensive mental health strategy, which included training over 100 mental health first aiders across the organisation.
‘This initiative has been particularly important given the pressures our colleagues have faced while working to reduce waiting times and meet customer expectations.’
The driving tests backlog has been largely building since the Covid pandemic and has been rising since Labour came to power last summer.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said in April the Labour Government ‘inherited an enormous backlog’.
But she added that ministers were ‘acting fast’ to tackle the issue, with at least 10,000 extra tests to be available each month.
The Government recently launched a consultation on amending the driving test booking system.
This is with the aim of stopping bots from mass–booking new slots so they can be resold on the black market for inflated prices.
Other measures in response to the backlog include instructing the DVSA to offer additional overtime payments to incentivise instructors to conduct more tests.
Staff at the agency qualified to conduct tests are being asked to voluntarily return to the front line, while the number of permanent trainers for new examiners is being doubled.
A DVSA spokesperson said last month: ‘We know that many learners are still struggling to book driving tests, and we’re working tirelessly to reduce waiting times and help more people get on the road.
‘Despite this, there are currently over 630,000 learners who have a future test date secured – which is the highest number of test slots that we’ve ever seen booked.
‘As we continue to make more tests available, the number of learners with a slot booked will continue to rise, providing more people with the opportunity to continue their learning journey.’
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