'Impossible' to get driving tests, say learners

Learner drivers in the West say they are resorting to using expensive cancellation websites in a desperate attempt to book their tests.

With the official routes for booking tests oversubscribed, the BBC has been told that companies are block-booking appointments and selling them on to people unable to find a spot.

Daisy Bodkin, 24, from Cheltenham, said it was "impossible" to get a test through the official Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) website, and she and many of her peers had turned to the private apps as a last resort.

Loveday Ryder, DVSA chief executive, said the organisation had been working "tirelessly" to address the issues and reduce driving test waiting times.

These unofficial companies will use the applicants' driving licence number to reserve a bulk amount of test appointments until they can resell them at a higher price.

The license number will then be changed to match the buyers'.

Using these sites is what allows automated bots to exploit the driving test booking service, by getting users to provide the necessary details the companies need to hold the slots.

This leaves those who are ready to take their test struggling to find one at a date and time of their choice.

Nearly 27,000 people responded to a call for evidence from the DVSA between December and February.

Of those, 93.1% said they had struggled with a lack of suitable test appointment slots.

Ms Bodkin, who recently finished university and works as a freelance journalist for the BBC, said she had booked a test in October 2024 for March 2025, but had failed.

"I waited until I felt like I was ready to book a test, which I think was probably not the right thing to do - I should have booked it ages ago," she said.

With the end of her university in sight she put rebooking her test "on the back burner", only to find later that there were no tests available through the DVSA in Cheltenham or Gloucester until 2026.

"Everyone is recommending the apps, which I know is the thing that is causing all the issues, but also I don't really want to be left behind when everyone is doing it," she added.

With booking tests on the DVSA website "impossible", she said, her and her peers have been left "constantly checking" the apps for cancellations.

The pressure of knowing another test would likely be a long way off if she failed "definitely added" to her nerves, Ms Bodkin said.

Russell Marchant, who runs Bubble Driving School in Somerset, said many learners will cancel lessons to save money while they wait for their test.

But this risks them forgetting what they have learnt and feeling unprepared when the time finally comes, he added.

"As soon as someone starts in the car, as soon as they've passed their theory, we encourage them to try and get a test booked because we know it's going to be six months down the line."

Mr Merchant blames the Covid-19 pandemic for the mounting backlog, as postponed tests were continually added to the waiting list.

"[there were] Four lockdowns and in all of them the DVSA were not testing," he explained.

"That caused a lot of instructors to find other jobs. We had examiners leave the industry and not come back."

However, Ms Ryder told the BBC the DVSA had been "making good progress" on a plan to bring down waiting times, which was announced in December 2024.

"[Our] goal is to make booking a driving test easier and fairer for everyone while preventing excessive charges for learner drivers," she added.

Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.