A 22-year-old student named Emily Doyle had to venture all the way to Aberdeen, a city in north-east Scotland, from her home town in Windsor, Berkshire, to take her driving test. Emily happens to be a musical theatre student and she had been trying to book a driving test close to home since passing her theory exam in April. After trying for all of these months, she was unable to get a test anywhere near her home in Berkshire. This is when she decided to look at other places.
Talking about the test, Emily said, “I’m really relieved I passed; the first thing I did was drive up to university. I think that it paid off. I could have been waiting a year or more for a test near home. I think that it was worth it, but it took a lot of planning and time.”
Emily’s mother, Audrey, said that her situation was too extreme but there was no alternative. She said, “We have been trying to get a test since April, and we couldn’t even get a booking or secure a date. We’ve been on the [booking] site when it opens at 6 am, and Emily bought an app to book cancelled tests. But we’ve never been able to secure a date, even six months to a year ahead. You just can’t secure the dates. It’s very frustrating and very extreme, but Emily was determined to take her test.”
A spokesperson for the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) said that all the measures are being taken to reduce driving test waiting times. “The work we’ve been doing to date, along with our examiner recruitment, is already creating over 40,000 extra tests every month. We strongly urge learners only to book their driving test when they are ready to pass.”
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