With driving tests restarting across the UK, and learners just getting back on their feet after several months of lockdown, waiting lists for lessons and tests are looking to be months long. Professional driving instructor group Local Driving School have analysed government data on pass rates, cancellations, and learner/instructor ratios across the UK, to reveal the fastest and slowest places to go from road novice to driving pro.
Overall, Yorkshire is the top county for passing your driving test the quickest, with the most cities/towns making the top 20. York ranks 9th overall, with a 52.9% pass rate – over 4% above the national average, and over 45 spaces freeing up per month for driving tests due to cancellations. If you’re based in West or South Yorkshire, Huddersfield and Barnsley are also featured in the top 20, with Huddersfield learners seeing just 147.2 learner drivers per instructor – a figure drastically below the national average of 203.3 learners per driving instructor.
Claire Davies, Marketing Manager at Local Driving School: “Rural areas generally have a lower population density, so a more favourable instructor to learner ratio, resulting in less waiting time for lessons. Quieter roads also tend to result in fewer unforeseen hazards, so fewer incidences where learner drivers can fail their test.
You may however get your test sooner in cities, as there are usually more cancellations in built-up areas. The DVSA doesn’t list reasons for these cancellations, however bad traffic and less accessible centres in industrial estates could result in more cancellations.
Certain areas strike this balance perfectly, such as market towns like Barnsley, where 54.5 cancellations per month combine with a ratio of 176.8 learners to driving instructors to reduce the waiting times for learners.
With pass rates, cancellations, and learner to driver ratios varying wildly between areas, it’s worth checking your area and neighbouring DVSA centres before booking in your test – you could save weeks of waiting time.”
