That’s according to the latest missive from the National Associations Strategic Partnership (NASP), the organisation that represents approved driving instructors, after meeting with the government agency responsible for the driving test, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).

This is obviously a concern as NASP says the situation is arguable getting worse as test availability is lower than in 2024.

What’s gone wrong?

The main reason highlighted is a lack of driving examiners, even after a campaign to source more candidates for the job.

While the headline figures sound promising – 400 offers have been made to new examiners – the number of examiners available is actually dropping. This is for two reasons:

  • The DVSA is losing up to a third of its examiners each year (12-13 a month).
  • New examiner recruits are dropping out partway through training.

It means while there should have been 400 new examiners, the figure is actually closer to around 300.

However, when asked by NASP how many examiners were needed to drive down waiting times to an acceptable level, the agency said that 300 new examiners would be enough to reduce waiting times down to seven weeks. Time will tell if this expectation will be met.

Action needed

To combat the loss of new recruits, the DVSA is looking to speed up the training process so less trainees decide to drop out. However, while the agency may want to speed things up, it doesn’t want the move to impact on standards.

For instance, for the last batch of applicants going through the training process, a theory test was introduced to ‘weed out candidates who may not be able to meet the high standards expected of examiners’.

NASP has also recommended in the past that pay for examiners should be improved to attract more candidates. However the DVSA is still waiting on the findings of a report before making any comments on the potential pay issue.

Be ready

What does this all mean for you? While the waiting time issue remains hugely frustrating, the best way to get a pass on the big day – when it does finally arrive – is to ensure you really are test-ready.

Check out our guide here to see if you’re good to go – or if more lessons and private practice are required to get you over the line.

Know Your Code

Double your chances of theory test success with Theory Test Pro. Sign up for free here.

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