Driving
test: Hardest and easiest places to pass
About
45% of drivers pass their driving test first time, while some others need more than 30 attempts. But does it matter where in Britain you take your test?
Every
three months, pass rate data is published on
all driving test centres in England, Scotland and Wales. The rates vary from
below 30% to more than 80%.
According to the latest stats - for
April to December 2018 - Britain's highest pass rate and lowest pass rate are
listed below. Driving test centres with
highest pass rate were in Inveraray, in Argyll and Bute, where 83.3% of learner
drivers passed their test..
Top places with highest pass rate
Test centre
|
Number of
tests Apr-Dec 2018
|
Pass rate
%
|
|
1
|
Inveraray
|
53
|
84.9
|
2
|
Mallaig
|
18
|
83.3
|
3
|
Gairloch
|
24
|
83.3
|
4
|
Pitlochry
|
93
|
78.5
|
5
|
Isle of Mull
|
18
|
77.8
|
Source:
DVSA
The lowest, meanwhile, is the
Pavilion test centre in north Birmingham, at 29.6%.
Top places with lowest pass rate
Test centre
|
Number of
tests Apr-Dec 2018
|
Pass rate
%
|
|
1
|
Birmingham (The Pavilion)
|
2,338
|
29.6
|
2
|
Birmingham (South Yardley)
|
6,916
|
32.3
|
3
|
Speke (Liverpool)
|
4,858
|
32.6
|
4
|
Enfield (Bancroft Way)
|
67
|
32.8
|
5
|
Erith (London)
|
4,710
|
33.5
|
-
Source:
DVSA
At first glance, it appears pass
rates are generally higher in rural areas and lower in busy cities. This might
sound obvious: less traffic and fewer hazards. But driving instructors say it may be more complex than this.
In Pitlochry, Perthshire, the pass
rate there is 78.5%. It is one of the highest in the country, although the test
centre is small with an average of 11 learners sitting the exam each month.
Is the high pass rate because of the
rural setting? a
driving instructor in 2016 after quitting her job running a restaurant
"Definitely through the winter
it's an easier place to pass," said one driving instructor . "It's
very quiet. But in the summer, it's worse than driving in the centre of London .
"Because these are a tourist
town, the place is heaving. And driving through the main street is like running
the gauntlet. People are not really engaging their brains, they are on holiday.
People go out in the middle of the road taking pictures. There are lots of
tourists who are driving. They don't know where they are going. It can be
incredibly hazardous."
In more rural test centres, the
hazards are "different" - for example bad parking, narrower roads,
tractors and cyclists.
"Interestingly, a couple of
people who I have taught say driving in Pitlochry is 10 times harder than in
Glasgow," she said. "In Glasgow they are following the person in
front, whereas in Pitlochry there are not as many traffic lights, so at the
junction the pupil has to make the decision themselves."
Almost 400 miles away, Belvedere test
centre in south-east London is near the other end of the scale. It has a pass
rate of just 33.8%.
August last year was particularly
bad, when only 28.5% of the 403 candidates managed to ditch the L-plates.
Driving Instructor from Belvedere, believes "people simply
go to the test too soon".ho was
born in Poland, now teaches people to drive in south-east London
"Here we have a very large mix
of many nationalities and some people's beliefs of standards are not the
same," . "You have to make sure you're at a good enough standard of
driving to pass the test."
Meanwhile, one instructor from
Birmingham - where pass rates are below average at all test centres and as low
as 29% at one - said he did not think "the standard of instruction in
Birmingham is very good".
He blamed the Driver and Vehicle
Standards Agency's checks - instructors are required to deliver a lesson under
observation every four years - for being not rigorous enough.
And the instructor - who did not want
to be named - said he believed "50% of the instructors in the area should
not be teaching".
Many do not care about getting
students through the test, he said, but "are doing it purely for the
money".
DVSA-approved driving instructor
registrar Jacqui Turland said it monitors "the performance and standard of
instruction".
"Where instructors are bringing
candidates to test at an unsatisfactory level, our enforcement managers will
investigate and help educate them, in order to achieve best practice."
According to the AA Driving School,
although the highest pass rates tend to be in rural areas and the lowest in
urban areas, the difference should not be solely attributed to the type of
traffic.
There are "probably other social
factors that may be playing a part in the pass-rate disparity", it said.
So are learner drivers flocking to
rural Scottish areas, in an effort to boost their chances?
The DVSA doesn't believe so.
"All candidates are assessed to
the same level and the result of their test is entirely dependent on their
performance on the day," said chief driving examiner Mark Winn said.
"It's essential that all drivers demonstrate they have the right skills,
knowledge and attitude to drive
safely.
"The driver testing and training
regime tests candidates' ability to drive safely and responsibly as well as
making sure they know the theory behind safe driving."
