UK Driving Test Backlog Worsens as Bots Exploit Outdated Booking System

Record 20-week waiting times and bot-driven slot resales are deepening the crisis, disproportionately affecting young drivers and delaying vital reforms.

• The average waiting time for a driving test in the UK has reached 20 weeks, up from 14 weeks a year ago, with over 583,000 tests currently booked.
• Automated bots and unofficial brokers are monopolizing newly released test slots, reselling them at marked-up prices and further limiting availability for learners.
• Young people are particularly impacted, with delays preventing them from starting apprenticeships or jobs, especially in areas with poor public transport options.
• The DVSA is addressing the crisis with a seven-point plan and efforts to recruit 450 new driving examiners, though progress is hindered by an outdated booking system vulnerable to exploitation.
• Significant disparities in pass rates across test centres, ranging from 33.8% in Wakefield to nearly 90% in smaller centres, highlight systemic inequities in the testing process.

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