In a controversial move, the RAC Foundation is recommending that learners who don’t pass their driving test after multiple attempts should face higher fees for any subsequent test.

The charity believes this will encourage every candidate to be absolutely sure they’re really are ready to take their test. And judging from official stats, the RAC Foundation may have a point.

For instance, 93,204 practical driving tests taken in the year ending March were made up of learners on at least their SIXTH attempt at scoring a pass.

Causing congestion

Crucially, learner drivers constantly attempting to pass their driving test is one factor contributing to the long waits for a driving test – times that have increased by 20% month-on-month in 2024 with the average wait now 17.8 weeks.

The RAC Foundation believes that charging higher fees will help reduce waits: “An improved pass rate would help drive down the understandable backlog,” explains the charity’s director Steve Gooding.

“If you incentivise people to pass first time there is also a case for adding a modest premium to the test fee for those who have already failed on several occasions… A higher fee might persuade [the learner driver] not to resit their test until they are more likely to pass.”

The idea of making learners think twice before booking their test is an approach that the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency hoped to address last year by increasing the rebooking wait time for those who failed their test from 10 to 28 days.

“If you can improve the pass rate, this means more learners avoiding the financial and time costs associated with repeated disappointments at the test centre.”

• Steve Gooding, Director, RAC Foundation

Concerns raised

However, some are not quite so enthusiastic about the RAC Foundation’s call.

For instance, Nichola Lyes from road safety charity IAM RoadSmart believes that introducing such a system would add further costs to learning to drive and the threat of “higher subsequent test costs could be unnecessary pressure we’re adding to somebody’s first test.”

With a new Labour government now ensconced in Westminster, perhaps now is the time to look at fresh ways of dealing with the test backlog. Otherwise, the issue is set to run and run.

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