You may have read recent reports into the waiting time for driving tests. The DVSA are fighting back against those selling driving tests at inflated prices. The reality is there has always been a Black Market for driving tests. The wait for tests since I've been an instructor since 2003 has always been well over 4months or longer. I can recall one period where we may have enjoyed 6-8 weeks notice for a test. Since Covid very little has been done to get the waiting list down. The fight seems to be with driving instructors and making our job harder. That may not be the intention but it feels like it from the outside. Our jobs are very delicate. We have struggled during Covid being told not the work for 9months has made it hard to recover and grow our businesses. As instructors we are now responsible for the candidates we present for test. Each test is monitored and if we under perform this will trigger a Standards Check. What do the DVSA have planned?
The DVSA want to prevent a social divide. In some cases candidates are being charged upwards of £250 or more for driving test.
I personally fail to see how you can regulate those outside the profession and stop third parties booking and finding driving tests only to be sold later.
Driving Instructors spend many hours looking for driving tests for their clients, it only seems fair they should be paid for that time.
New measures are being put in place to stop Robots accessing the booking system, and they have reduced the number of times you can change a driving test from 10 to 6.
They have plans regulate driving instructors and the way they sell driving tests to their clients.
The problem is still there. Whilst it becomes harder to manage our businesses day to day nothing seems to be done solidly in reducing the waiting list and this is still the main problem. All the other problems will go away.
Driving instructors have access to what is known as an Online Booking System (OBS). It helps us manage the driving tests.
The DVSA are removing a loophole that meant anyone can open an account. These changes should have happened help before Covid. It seems that have enjoyed the fruits of missed driving tests and done nothing about them in the past.
More needs to be done in recruiting new examiners.
Whilst some of these changes are welcome, they will do nothing to help the waiting list. Instructors already have a tough job managing their clients expectations and diaries.
Blocking Cancellation Checkers is not the answer. They charge a nominal fee and this will only put more pressure on instructors to work longer hours or charge and higher hourly rate.
Stopping access to OBS from non driving instructors is a step in the right direction. Whilst this system has no extra tests it means those using the system can swap tests around with very little difficulty and also don't have the same delays associated with the normal booking system.
The current problem will not be going away in 2022 and we may see delays reaching as far as late 2023.