Despite an intense campaign of communication from the DVSA across many different channels, it is STILL the case that pupils are booking up driving tests with the expectation that their driving instructor is going to agree/accommodate it. It has been stated many times previously and repeated here, “if you intend to use your driving instructor’s vehicle for the purposes of taking a driving test, you MUST seek their approval before making a booking”.
The problem has always been that due to the waiting times for test slots, people book up their test without any instructor approval, expecting that come what may, no matter what their level of competence is, they will still be going to test on the date booked. Driving instructors are held to account for their pass rates – they can have their badge removed (effectively lose their job), if their pass rate is too low. Therefore, long gone are the days when pupils can expect their instructor to take them to test, regardless of the chances of them passing or not. This situation has now been the case for years, and yet still, pupils are booking up driving test slots, expecting that their instructor will allow them to use the driving school car – regardless of ability.
This is the primary reason why so many people now take driving tests, at a time of their choosing, in their own personal cars. The DVSA would always recommend that you seek the approval of your driving instructor prior to taking a test in any vehicle, but the point is, should a pupil want to ignore their instructor’s advice (which is actually quite common as evidenced by the number of private cars now seen in driving test centres), then there is nothing stopping them from taking their test in their own personal car.
There is a very good reason why the national driving test pass rate is anchored at 50%, and that reason is that 1 in 2 people who take the test are quite simply not ready to pass the test at that stage. The consequence of this problem is that it pulls a drain on the DVSA test centre resources across the UK, because so many people are failing the test. The consequence of that, is that the booking system is entirely clogged up with so many “retakers”.
In summary, this insistence of the public to book up tests without instructor approval is maintaining a very low pass rate, that is feeding the demand for more tests, which in turn extends the availability of driving test slots on the system. It is entirely avoidable if the public would just take the advice of the DVSA, and only book up a driving test when approved by the instructor.
The above message has been clearly communicated by the DVSA for quite literally years now, and still it goes ignored. The amount of ill-feeling, discontent and frustration felt between pupils, parents of pupils and driving instructors just because this message is being ignored is immense. Here at BIG TOM, every single week we get numerous enquiries from the public who have a test booked, and their instructor is unwilling to take them to test and so they are wanting a driving school car to take the test. If the public can read the above information, and understand it, they would realise what a waste of time it is to just ring around instructors asking them to take them to test.
