UK government cracks down on test touts as driving test backlog hits record levels.
A major shake-up is underway at the Department for Transport (DfT) to tackle a severe backlog of over 670,000 learners waiting for practical assessments. As part of these reforms, bots and third-party intermediaries will be banned from booking driving tests, leaving only learner drivers themselves able to make bookings.
The new rules are aimed at curbing the practice of touts reselling test slots at inflated prices, which has been causing frustration among those trying to pass their exams. Learners will now be restricted to making limited changes to their test bookings - a maximum of two - before it must be cancelled and rebooked.
Additionally, learners will only be able to book tests at driving centers located close to the original booking location, in an effort to reduce congestion and improve accessibility.
The government has also announced plans to recruit more examiners, including military personnel, to help tackle the backlog. The recruitment drive aims to increase the number of available test slots by up to 6,500 annually.
However, critics have raised concerns about the feasibility of meeting the government's original target of reducing average waiting times for driving tests to seven weeks by summer 2026. The current wait time is 21.8 weeks, and the new targets may prove challenging to achieve.
Driving experts have welcomed the new measures, saying they will help prevent those seeking to make a quick profit from exploiting learners' desperation. "It's good to see steps being put in place to put a stop to those touting tests to frustrated earners," said Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation.
The government has taken significant strides to address the issue, with over 168,000 tests carried out in September - an increase of 14% compared to the same month last year. However, the recent drop in pass rates has raised concerns about the long-term sustainability of these reforms.
A major shake-up is underway at the Department for Transport (DfT) to tackle a severe backlog of over 670,000 learners waiting for practical assessments. As part of these reforms, bots and third-party intermediaries will be banned from booking driving tests, leaving only learner drivers themselves able to make bookings.
The new rules are aimed at curbing the practice of touts reselling test slots at inflated prices, which has been causing frustration among those trying to pass their exams. Learners will now be restricted to making limited changes to their test bookings - a maximum of two - before it must be cancelled and rebooked.
Additionally, learners will only be able to book tests at driving centers located close to the original booking location, in an effort to reduce congestion and improve accessibility.
The government has also announced plans to recruit more examiners, including military personnel, to help tackle the backlog. The recruitment drive aims to increase the number of available test slots by up to 6,500 annually.
However, critics have raised concerns about the feasibility of meeting the government's original target of reducing average waiting times for driving tests to seven weeks by summer 2026. The current wait time is 21.8 weeks, and the new targets may prove challenging to achieve.
Driving experts have welcomed the new measures, saying they will help prevent those seeking to make a quick profit from exploiting learners' desperation. "It's good to see steps being put in place to put a stop to those touting tests to frustrated earners," said Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation.
The government has taken significant strides to address the issue, with over 168,000 tests carried out in September - an increase of 14% compared to the same month last year. However, the recent drop in pass rates has raised concerns about the long-term sustainability of these reforms.
they're literally preying on people who are already stressed and anxious enough just trying to get their license. It's not like they're making some crazy profit off one test slot or anything... they're just taking advantage of desperate learners who can't even get a decent price for a ticket to the zoo 
, let alone a driving test. I mean, come on, if you're gonna ban bots and touts, why not also crack down on people reselling tickets? It's all about fairness and equality... or something 
. And yeah, 6,500 new examiners isn't gonna cut it when you've got over 670k learners waiting for tests. I hope the government knows what they're doing 'cause I'm low-key stressing just thinking about this 
Ugh, can u imagine having to wait 21.8 weeks for a driving test? That's like, forever! 
. The new rules seem pretty reasonable too - limiting changes to test bookings and making sure learners can only book tests at nearby centers. It's about time we got some sense into this driving test system! 
.
. More examiners sounds like a great idea too - maybe we'll actually see some progress now. The only thing that worries me is all this change happening at once...it's gotta be stressful for learners trying to book tests in the first place 
. I just hope they can make it happen without causing too much inconvenience for learners.
. The government is trying to address a major issue, and while there might be some teething problems along the way, at least they're taking steps in the right direction 
i had to deal with these touts trying to sell me a test slot for like 3 times the price lol, it's just not fair. so yeah i guess the gov is taking steps in the right direction by cracking down on them. but omg the wait time is still so long... my friend has been waiting for like 20 weeks and she's literally losing her mind 