Driving instructors and learners left 'frustrated' by lack of driving tests

Three national lockdowns have led to a large backlog of driving tests with one instructor saying the system is almost "totally booked up".

It means learner drivers are unable to take on their driving test which, in turn, means driving instructors aren't able to take on more pupils.

Chiefs at the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) say they are doing all to provide more tests and return to how it was pre-Covid.

Terence Price, part-owner and driving instructor for Pass4Fun in Wolverhampton, said: "It's very difficult. I've got pupils who are quite ready for their test, but you just can't book one.

"I think they did release some slots, because someone phoned me up saying there was some available – so I told a pupil and they said 'there's nothing there'. You just can't get a test. It's awful at the moment, personally.

"I would really like to see my current pupils pass, first of all – we've already got waiting lists for people who want to learn how to drive. There's a natural turnover – people have their lessons, pass, and then someone else can come in and learn but that's not happening – nobody can learn because instructors are full up and you can only do so much."

Mr Price said the system is "clogging up" due to cancelled tests – as a result of the pandemic – needing to be re-booked and more students becoming ready for their tests in the meantime.

One of Mr Price's students ,Barbara Moore, from Ashmore Park, said she was finding the experience amid the pandemic as "quite good" despite her initial nervousness.

Asked whether she felt nervous or anxious at the prospect of not being able to get a test when she becomes ready, the 39-year-old said: "No, not really – it gives me more time to learn."