How free driving tests could help motorists pass sooner
There is a growing backlog of learner drivers waiting to take their practical driving test
Free driving tests could be introduced to help learner drivers secure their licences sooner, MPs have heard, under a proposal that would see higher fees imposed on those who fail.
The suggestion comes amid a growing backlog for test slots, which is reportedly forcing people to put their lives on hold.
Labour MP Alex Mayer, who disclosed she failed her own driving test "about five times", told the Commons that constituents are facing waits of up to nine months for a test slot, a situation she described as "utterly ridiculous".
Ms Mayer highlighted that many learners are booking tests regardless of their readiness, as it is "cheaper sometimes to book that driving test time than it is to book a couple of lessons – and that cannot be right".
The MP for Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard told MPs: “How about we do put up the fee, but we give everybody one free go at it?
“So basically, if you pass your driving test, you get a refund, so that would encourage everybody to only go for it when they really thought that they were going to pass it.
“I think that we could probably make it cost-neutral, and it would free up slots because – as I said – only those people who thought that they were definitely ready would go for it, then offset it by putting up the charges for everyone who fails again and again.
“(It) probably wouldn’t have done me any good – I failed my driving test about five times.”
MPs laughed as she continued: “I eventually managed it.”
Britain’s driving test backlog reached a new high last month. Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) figures state 631,472 future practical driving tests booked as of the end of May.
The figure stood at 527,368 a year ago.
Responding, Commons Transport Committee chairwoman Ruth Cadbury described Ms Mayer’s idea as an “innovative suggestion”.
Ms Cadbury, the Labour MP for Brentford and Isleworth, said it “should be noted” by transport minister Mike Kane, who was in the chamber.