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MPs seek answers from government on driving test ‘turmoil’

The Transport Select Committee is demanding answers from the government on what it plans to do to bring down long waiting times for driving tests.

Chair of the Transport Committee Ruth Cadbury has written to Department for Transport Under Secretary Lilian Greenwood saying the current situation "needs to be tackled with urgency."

While some steps have been taken, there has been "modest sustained impact on waiting times… we are concerned that new or more radical ideas will be needed to bring about a meaningful difference."

The Transport Committee has now fielded a number of questions it wants the DVSA to answer.

MPs are seeking a timescale to complete an "overdue" IT upgrade that would protect the driving test booking system from bots. These are used to book up mass test slots, which are resold later for higher prices – something the MPs describe as "unscrupulous."

The MPs have asked for clarity on whether a commitment to recruit 450 driving examiners was a restatement of an existing commitment.

How to pass the driving test

Interestingly, they have noted Freedom of Information requests that show pass rates vary dramatically between driving test centres across the country. Candidates in some areas are 15 times more likely to pass, says Cadbury.

They also want the DfT and DVSA to find ways to make the job of a driving examiner more attractive. This is in light of previous evidence that it is "not possible" to increase examiners’ pay without also increasing the pay of all other DfT staff on the same pay grade.  

The MPs want to increase the focus on the ‘Ready to Pass’ campaign, which helps learner drivers assess their readiness to take a driving test – which can help improve their likelihood to pass first time.

In total, the MPs are seeking urgent answers from the government on a total of 11 points.

"Getting a grip of the DVSA must be a priority for the government," says Cadbury. "People’s lives can’t be kept on hold while waiting absurd amounts of time to take a driving test they’ve paid through the nose for."

The Transport Committee now wants the DfT to report back every two months on waiting times for tests and progress being made. 

Ask HJ

What is a suitable electric car for a driving instructor?

I am currently undergoing training to become a driving instructor. Once I have qualified, I am looking to buy my own vehicle rather than lease from one of the major national driving schools. I am looking for a vehicle that is totally electric as opposed to a hybrid and that has lots of safety features such as front collision prevention as this will be crucial for instructing learners, even though I plan to have dual controls fitted. My budget is about £10,000, I'm not that worried about vacant age providing it is no more than 7 years old. What electric vehicles would you recommend that would be suitable for driving instruction which have lots of safety features as standard as opposed to optional extras which might be difficult to find used?
There are plenty of electric cars available that come with plenty of safety features, but things such as autonomous emergency braking are only standard on more recent vehicles, and with a budget of £10,000 it means you will have a limited choice of used EVs. However, cars like the Volkswagen e-Golf, Nissan Leaf and Hyundai Ioniq may be available within your budget, so it would be a matter of checking the specification of the available examples to see which have the safety systems you need.
Answered by David Ross
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