‘I travelled 10 hours for a driving test’: Desperate learners taking extreme measures over long waiting list

With lengthy waiting lists set to spiral into next year, many learner drivers are turning to booking any test they can get – even if it means going to extreme lengths by travelling to distant locations

A woman claimed she had to book a driving test 10 hours away as learner drivers are becoming increasingly desperate to book tests, with long waits expected to continue into 2026 and beyond.

The latest figures from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) show that, according to the latest figures from November, the current average waiting time for a driving test nationally is 22 weeks, with 638,270 people on the forward bookings list.

Experts warn the backlog could continue for another two years, after an estimated 1 million tests were prevented during the Covid lockdown restrictions of five years ago. The DVSA said issues persist due to increased demand, people booking tests early, and bots and middlemen snapping up slots immediately to sell on.

Transport secretary Heidi Alexander previously said the Labour government “inherited an enormous backlog” and was “acting fast” to tackle the issue, but admitted in November that the government would not meet a target of reducing waiting times to seven weeks by summer 2026.

With lengthy waiting lists set to continue into the new year, many learner drivers are taking extreme measures to make sure they can get a test.

Colette Bodde, 29, told The Independent that she eventually passed her test in Fort William, a town in the Highlands, almost 10 hours away from her home in London.

Colette Bodde passed her test last year in the Highlands, nearly 10 hours from where she lives (Supplied)

She said the government’s booking system was “just a dead end” and the tests “were immediately unavailable” when she tried.

Opting for Scotland so she could borrow her mother’s car instead of having to pay for an instructor’s vehicle, Ms Bodde was keen to get her licence because it “felt like a useful life skill” which “by the age of 28 felt like something I should be able to do”.

Londoner Rafa James, 18, booked his test 200 miles away in Carmarthen, Wales, after feeling “under time pressure” to pass as he is travelling in January, and doesn’t want to be “set back” and have to start again upon his return later in the year.

He described the DVSA booking system as “clunky and frustrating due to the consistent lack of available test dates indefinitely”.

Mr James said he spent “a significant amount of money on train tickets” and felt he was at “an immediate disadvantage” as he wasn’t used to driving in the area.

Londoner Rafa James, 18, booked his test 200 miles away in Carmarthen, Wales, and felt he was at a disadvantage in the unfamiliar area (Supplied)

Halima Abdi, 21, said she has been waking up at 5am every Monday for five months to try and book a test, and eventually landed one almost three hours away in Birmingham.

Saying the situation was “extremely difficult”, the Londoner added: “I was told by family and friends it’s best to pick somewhere further because they are more likely to have space for me.”

Ms Abdi, a student journalist, explained that having to carry a heavy-duty camera kit on trains is “stressful” and called on the DVSA to put those who need a driving test for work on a priority list.

The National Audit Office (NAO) warned earlier this month that the backlog will not be cleared until November 2027. The watchdog revealed that nearly one in three learners are resorting to paying third parties up to £500 to secure a test slot.

Head of the NAO Gareth Davies said: “The current system for providing driving tests in England, Scotland and Wales is not working satisfactorily, with long waiting times and exploitation of learner drivers by resellers of test slots.”

Student journalist Halima Abdi, 21, explained that having to carry heavy-duty camera equipment on trains is ‘stressful’ (Supplied)

The forward booking figures have so far come down by 29,858 from a 668,128 peak in September this year, and the government said it is taking “decisive action to reduce driving test waiting lists by making more tests available”.

The DVSA told The Independent: “We carried out just over 14,400 more tests in October 2025, compared to October 2024.

“Following our recent consultation, we’re also changing the driving test booking system to help make sure that it works fairly for everyone and make it easier for genuine learners to book their test.”

The changes include ensuring only learner drivers can book tests instead of instructors, and only two edits to the test can be made – including moves, swaps and location changes – before it must be cancelled and rebooked, in a bid to beat resellers.

Learner drivers will be restricted to a limited number of test centres located close to the original booking, and 36 military driving examiners will also help deliver up to 6,500 more tests over a year.

But Emma Bush, managing director of the AA Driving School, warned that learner drivers are seeing their “mobility and job prospects” affected due to continuing “excessive and restrictive waiting times”.

She said the situation next year may improve slightly due to the additional support from military driving examiners. “The tightening of the booking system should [also] reduce the wiggle-room that is allowing unscrupulous test resellers to profit from learners’ misery,” she added.

But she stressed that for the backlog to really improve in 2026, “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.”