Coming out of lockdown

Driving instructors around the UK have received an email update from Loveday Ryder, who became the new Chief Executive of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) in January 2021.

Currently, the plan’s are to resume driving lessons on the 12th April with a 10-day gap before tests restart to help make sure learners whose lessons and driving practice were disrupted by the pandemic have the opportunity to prepare for their test.

(Any driving test booked up to the 21st April WILL be rescheduled by the DVSA unless your theory expires!)

There are currently 420,000 car tests in the backlog and the national average waiting time for a driving test is 17 weeks.  We know this will pose challenges for everyone in the coming weeks. The DVSA is in the middle of a recruitment drive, but that will not solve the immediate issues.

We all know that everyone wants to pass in the shortest time possible. What we have found is that in the small window where we could conduct tests, between lockdowns, we had a large increase of no shows!

The DVSA has also found that people are booking tests when they have not even had a driving lesson! – this not only is a waste of money, it is also a waste of a test slot as someone who is ready could have used that slot!

We appreciate that we have all been inconvenienced over the last 12 months – but we need to be realistic about coming out of these lockdowns and taking people to test WHEN THEY ARE READY!

Your instructor, who is experienced at driving and the requirements for the driving test WILL advise you when to book a test – please listen to them, it is much better to wait a few weeks or even sometimes months longer to pass first time than it is to go in to test “hoping to get lucky!”  and your instructor may refuse the use of their car for the driving test if they can see you are not ready!

What also won’t work is trying to put instructors / schools under pressure that you have a test booked – saying you MUST pass – we will do what we can, but there never has and never will be any guarantee that we will “just fit you in”.

We want you to pass when you are ready and safe on the roads!