While it's widely recognised that booking driving tests can be a nightmare due to chaos and unfairness, there's another major hurdle making it even harder to get a driving licence: the shortage of driving instructors. This shortage means learners are facing waits of anywhere from two to six months just to schedule their first lessons.
Young Driver, a training organisation that helps young people develop driving skills before they can hit the road legally, reports that two-thirds of driving instructors are experiencing average wait times of about two months for new students.
Around 15% of the 150 instructors surveyed said they have waiting lists of four months, and 7% have six-month wait times. The main reason for these extended waits, according to 70% of instructors, is the lack of available driving tests, which keeps current learners waiting longer and prevents new ones from starting.
Over half of instructors believe things haven’t returned to normal post-Covid, and more than a quarter think there’s a shortage of instructors. Additionally, 20% of instructors noted that learners are needing more lessons to pass their tests.
Sue Waterfield, a spokesperson for Young Driver, said “Driving is a key life skill. When we recently questioned 1,000 members of the public, 36 per cent of people agreed it was vital, putting it in the top three life skills we should all have,”
“It’s a real problem when there are barriers to getting behind the wheel – whether that be financial or practical, including lack of availability of lessons and tests.”
According to the latest data from the DVSA as of July, the wait time for a car driving test in England is 19 weeks, and 14 weeks in Scotland and Wales.
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