On 9 November the Department for Transport (DfT) published the official driving test statistics for 1 April to 31 October 2022.
The latest driving test data reveals the pass rate for October has dropped to 47.9% in October. There has also been an increase in how often driving examiners need to physically intervene to avoid a dangerous incident to every 1 in 8 tests.
Following the last lockdown in 2021, the driving test service was not at full capacity and needed re-establishing. Since then DVSA has taken unprecedented action to boost test availability, including out of hours testing and examiner recruitment campaigns. As a result of DVSA measures to provide more tests, the provisional data shows that 836,952 driving tests were carried out between May and October 2022 – an increase of 49,647 compared to the same period in 2021.
View the January 2019 to October 2022 statistics
Publishing monthly car driving test data
To help show you the impact the measures are having, DfT have agreed to publish DVSA’s monthly national car test driving data until driving test waiting times return to less than 6 weeks. This data will include:
- number of driving tests carried out
- number of car driving test passes
- percentage of passes
- number of car driving tests booked
From December, DfT will publish this data on a monthly basis.
Helping learners to check if they are ready
As result of the drop in the driving test pass rate DVSA are making an announcement to remind learner drivers of the importance of them only taking their test when they are ready.
To help learner drivers understand when they’re ready to take their test, and to reinforce the messages you are giving to your pupils, DVSA has launched the ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign at www.gov.uk/ready-to-pass.
In response to the recent survey on the demand you face for lessons and other challenges you face. You told DVSA that:
- 72.5% of you are aware of the campaign
- 45% of you share the campaign resources with your pupils with upcoming tests
- 28% of you share them with all your pupils
- 85% of you found the ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign resources useful
Encouraging parents to support learners with private practice
As part of this announcement, DVSA are also encouraging parents to take a more active role in their learners’ learning to drive process – by reading the newly published ‘supervising learner drivers’ guide on GOV.UK and supporting them with private practice.
For more information about this guide, the next phase of the campaign and how you can support to promote this guidance read Amanda Lane, Head of Driver Training and Testing Policy, latest blog post.
To help you promote ‘Ready to Pass?’ to your pupils DVSA have also published a communications toolkit for you that includes videos, images and GIFs for you to promote the campaign on your website and social media channels.
Thank you for your support
DVSA would not have been able to increase the number of tests without the support and help of you and our driving test examiners.
DVSA have said thank you for continuing to provide high quality training to your pupils, preparing them for their tests and encouraging them to delay it if they are not ready.
The work is not finished yet and DVSA will continue to work with you to help get more new qualified drivers on the road, helping them to have access to employment, education and the economic and social opportunities that will help support the country’s recovery.
3 thoughts on “Latest DVSA driving test stats show fall in pass rate”
The underlying message here is once again the DVLA are pointing the finger of blame towards the registered driving instructors for the falling pass rate! Methinks the DVLA need to do their maths as there are approx 9,398,907 people on provisional entitlement licences as against less than 40,000 registered driving instructors!! Probably by 2025 there will be less than 35,000 registered instructors! The DVLA and their encouragement of the ever growing School of Unqualified Joe Public need to take responsibility for the fall in pass rates and poor standards of driving being witnessed! The clause in the Highway Code allowing “supervision of a learner driver” effectively nullifies the ADI qualification and renders the Check Test as double standards! There are not enough registered instructors to even cover half of London. Along with the clause in the Highway Code is the growing abuse and disrespect from the public Instructors endure whilst on and off the road! The clause is the green light for “anyone can teach” and the fact they can take any car to the test as long as it complies! The clause is also the bread and butter of the DVLA at the expense of the registered driving instructors, but it also comes with a high cost of falling pass rates, poor driving standards and the ever growing abuse and disrespect of the general public towards the remaining registered instructors. The Highway clause effectively nullifies the need for an approved driving instructor!
THE DVSA are a complete joke and have kept the test pass rate under 50 % since 2008.
They are intervening more in test because the new examiners are clueless and not trained or experienced enough to carry out examinations. They are not trained long enough. 5 weeks of training does not an experienced examiner make . They don’t know how to examine students or when or when not to intervene.
Through no fault of their own the system is failing because the DVSA are not fit for purpose. RAN BY A CLOWN who doesn’t know the bonnet from the boot .
They’re defrauding the public and have been for years.
Some of this is down to the amount of people who take the test in their own cars.
There is a large Indian community near me and a lot of them come to me for a few hours lessons. They always have their tests books and they always take their tests against my advice in their own cars and fail 90% of the time.
If candidates had to come to the test with an instructor, it would certainly help the situation and stop so many test slots being wasted.