Under plans to mobilise the Military of Defence, up to 6,500 more driving tests will be made available over the next year at locations with the highest demand
Military driving examiners will be sent out to the country as part of a package of measures to help learner drivers get on the road.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander today pledged “decisive action” including new rules to stop bots and third parties from booking up tests and reselling them at hiked prices.
The Cabinet minister set out the plans as she admitted a target to reduce the average waiting time for booking a test to seven weeks by summer 2026 is on track to be missed. The figure was 21.8 weeks at the end of June.
Under the new plans, military examiners will be able to test civilians, which the Government said would create up to 6,500 more tests will be made available over the next year at locations with the highest demand.
The Department for Transport also announced it was bringing in a change that would mean only learner drivers can book their own test, not instructors on their behalf. Limiting who can book a test and the number of changes made will mean third-parties will no longer be able to resell tests at inflated prices.
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It comes amid horror stories of teenagers getting ripped off by scammers who pose as third party driving test sellers on social media. Lucy Sturt, 18, from Bishops Waltham, Hampshire, told the BBC she lost £200 to scammers after she tried to book a test through an unofficial website.
Elsewhere, new rules will also see learner drivers only be able to make up to two changes to their driving test – including moves, swaps and location changes – before it must be cancelled and rebooked. They will also be restricted to a limited number of test centres which are located close to the original booking.
DVSA figures show the number of learner drivers in Britain with a future test booking as of the end of October was 642,000.
The Department for Transport said 36 Defence Driving Examiners (DDEs), made up of civilian Ministry of Defence (MoD) personnel, will help conduct driving tests one day a week for a year. Military driving examiners usually test service personnel, covering cars as well as fuel tankers and armoured carriers.
The extra personnel will be focusing primarily on car driving tests but with flexibility to carry out vocational tests, for bus and lorry drivers, if needed. They will be based at the driving test centres with the highest demand near their MoD base or home location.
Ms Alexander said: “We inherited an enormous backlog of learners ready to ditch their L-Plates, who have been sadly forced to endure record waiting times for their tests. Every learner should have an equal and fair opportunity to take a test.
“We’re taking decisive action, and these new measures will deliver thousands of extra tests over the next year, helping learners get on the road sooner.”
The MoD will charge the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) £100,000 for using the DDEs.
Armed Forces minister Al Carns said: “The Armed Forces and civilians working within the Ministry of Defence have always been ready to step up when the country needs them – and this is another example of that commitment in action.
“Our military driving examiners bring skill and professionalism from testing service personnel to prepare them for some of the toughest conditions imaginable. By supporting civilian testing, they’re helping to get more learners on the road, keep Britain moving and deliver for the public.”
Emma Bush, managing director of AA Driving School, said: “Learners up and down the country still face excessive and restrictive waiting times to book a driving test. Additional support from military driving examiners should help alleviate some of the pressure on the system and the tightening of the booking system should reduce the wiggle-room that is allowing unscrupulous test resellers to profit from learners’ misery.
“Long term, sustained action is what is needed to bring waiting times back to pre-covid levels. As well as recruiting more examiners, there needs to be a focus on retaining existing examiners so a greater number of tests can be delivered sustainably.”