As you’d expect, it’s quite a controversial idea… but it may not be that much longer before it effectively becomes a reality. The RAC Foundation, a UK transport research organisation, has suggested that additional fees should be levied against learner drivers who fail their test a certain number of times. It’s not an idea that’s come from nowhere, but obviously it’s not been particularly welcomed by some learner drivers, including people searching our online car auctions for second-hand vehicles to serve as their first set of wheels.
So what’s behind the idea, and how likely is it to become law?
The “unacceptable” backlog
Essentially, a lot of it comes down to the years-long backlog of delayed driving tests that steadily built up during the pandemic, and has yet to be cleared. Driving tests were prohibited during that time, so there were thousands of tests backlogged. Not long afterwards, there were thousands more cancelled or deferred because of strikes by driving examiners, unhappy with their working conditions.
In the view of some experts, the effort to clear that backlog is being complicated by some learner drivers who are re-taking their tests before they’re fully ready to. For context, 93,204 practical car driving tests taken in the year to the end of March were at least the candidate's sixth attempt at passing. That’s a lot of attempts. Particularly notable is the learner driver who failed their theory test nearly 60 times.
At the moment, the test backlog (understandably described as “unacceptable” by some senior industry figures) means that there are lots of candidates who are forced to wait months for a slot. According to the AA Driving school, the average wait time for a practical driving test was more than 18 weeks.
How will new fees help that?
The idea behind introducing new fees for frequent fails is that it could help ease the backlog by effectively encouraging learners to wait until they’re ready to pass.
RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding said Labour should consider introducing rebates for learners who pass the test first time, and additional fees for those with several previous failures. He said the figures suggest some learners "keep throwing themselves back into tests without being properly prepared".
"An improved pass rate would help drive down the understandable backlog,” he continued, “and if you incentivise people to pass first time there is also a case for adding a modest premium to the test fee for those who have already failed on several occasions.”
There’s already some tacit support for the move. The DVSA for example has already said that it would increase the length of time candidates who fail the test have to wait before they can book another. This period would go from 10 days to 28 days, to encourage them to wait until they are ready to pass.
Understandably though, it’s not welcome news amongst some learner drivers, many of whom are under enough pressure to pass as it is – without the worry about successive tests getting more expensive. However, if you’re one of them it’s worth noting that there are a lot of calls within the industry for it to happen though, it’s yet to actually become official – so if you’re a learner driver planning to take your own test, you’ve still got time!
And speaking of which, if you’re looking for a salvage car to serve as your first set of wheels, you’re in exactly the right place. Here at RAW2K, we’ve got a huge range of Category N cars in our online car auctions for used, seized and salvage cars, including from popular manufacturers including Peugeot, Toyota, Ford and Volkswagen. Why not take a look around, and see what you can find?
