Pandemic prompts rise in driving test pass rates

Driving test pass rates have improved since the start of the Covid pandemic, according to the latest figures.

While two years of lockdowns and restrictions severely affected learners and the driving test, the latest figures from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency show that overall pass rates are up 4% on pre-pandemic times while first-time pass rates have improved even more and are now at more than 50%.

Figures for 2020/21 show that 49.8% of all candidates learners passed their practical driving test - up from 45.9% in 2019/20 and higher than the 47% average for the preceding five years.

Pass rates for learners sitting their test for the first time were even better, at 51%. That compares with 43.2% in 2019/20 and a five-year average of 46.2%.

Theory test pass rates have also increased, to 55.7% in 2020/21 compared with 47.1% in 2019/20 and a five-year average of 48.2%.

Covid-related restrictions meant that far fewer practical and theory tests were carried out in 2020/21 than in a normal year but provisional figures for 2021/22 show similarly high practical pass rates as testing capacity rises.

In 2020/21 a total of 437,352 car tests were conducted, compared with between 1.6 and 1.7 million in previous years.

Experts have suggested that the ongoing delays and difficulties in securing test slots have made learners more determined to be fully prepared before sitting their tests, helping to improve the pass rate.

Seb Goldin, CEO of Red Driving School, believes that the problems caused by the pandemic - including tests being repeatedly delayed or cancelled - gave many learners more time to prepare and a determination to pass first time rather than face a lengthy wait to resit their test.

He commented: “With the backlog, which stood at over half a million in December 2021, so extensive, learners have been more determined than ever to pass their test first time.

“Additionally, learners with a test booked post-lockdown had longer to prepare, especially those able to practise in their own car outside of instructor lessons, which helped to reduce the number taking their test before being completely ready.”

He also suggested that quieter roads during the pandemic gave learners more opportunity to build their confidence at the wheel.