Guide to driving test centres in the UK with the highest pass rate (%) for Q1 of 2020

 

When you begin to learn to drive, most of us often want to pass in the quickest possible time – so we can explore the world and gain a new sense of freedom.

Well, unfortunately, as many young learner drivers will know, driving lessons and driving tests in the UK were postponed for quite a few months by the Government to help slow down the spread of Coronavirus.

Fortunately, across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, for a couple of months, these had fully resumed and were back to near-full testing capacity for many centres; until the announcement on 31^st October which suspended driving lessons and tests for a provisional month-long period.

But, as you also may know, there is incredible demand for driving tests in particular, by an entire cohort of young drivers, eagerly awaiting their driving test pass certificate and that pink licence card.

Roughly 1.6 million driving tests are taken each year across the entire UK[1], so that roughly means that 400,000 young drivers will take their test each quarter of the year.

But, the latest figures, released by the Government have revealed that only 6,264 drivers actually took their driving tests in Q1 of 2020[2].

Don’t worry – it’s not all bad news. There are some positives we can take out of this – for the first time in years, the recorded pass rate was over 55% for early 2020[3]; almost 10% higher than the previous year.

 

Where is the best place in the UK to take your test?

So, it’s possible you may have a small delay in waiting for a test – so, to give yourself the best chance at success on the day, we take a look at the best places to take your driving test, with the highest first-time pass rates in the UK:

#	Location	Region	Pass Rate (%)
1	Llandrindod Wells	Powys	76.3
2	Crieff	Perthshire	74.5
3	Ballater	Aberdeenshire	72
4	Montrose	Angus	71.2
5	Berwick-On-Tweed	Northumberland	70
6	Lerwick	Shetland	67.1
7	Arbroath	Angus	67
8	Malton	Yorkshire	66.4
9	Alnwick	Northumberland	65.9
10	Whitby	Yorkshire	65.7

 

Well, it seems that the in 2018/2019 the North dominated the top spots for best locations for first-time learner drivers.

Driving tests aren’t passed based on your geographical location – luckily.

But, with a higher demand for driving tests than we can ever (that we can remember), geography has quite a lot of say on how quickly you can take, and pass your test.

 

What are the busiest test centres in the UK?

Ok – so it doesn’t take a genius to guess where the busiest test centres may be…

Yes, London.

The English capital city may be home to the Queen and Corgis, but it’s also home to more people than any other UK city.

So, it’s expected to see London dominate the top spot, but which ones are the worst for number of tests taken?

#	Test Centre	City	No of tests taken (18/19)
1	Goodmayes	London	11,253
2	Morden	London	8468
3	Pinner	London	6702
4	Isleworth	London	6312
5	Hither Green	London	5881
6	West Didsbury	Manchester	5694
7	Farnborough	Farnborough	5629
8	Reading	Reading	5332
9	Norris Green	Liverpool	5246
10	West Wickham	London	5015

*According to Go Compare’s analysis of busiest test centres[4]

So, whilst we don’t have any figures (yet) of where the busiest locations are in the UK this year, we think it would be safe to assume that one or two of these busy locations will feature on the list.

But what about if you are looking to find a quieter location where you’re more likely to pass in a quicker period of time?

 

What are the least busy test centres in the UK?

Holy Cowal (Peninsula) – you’ll get it when you look at the table.

As you would imagine, areas of outstanding natural beauty often have fewer residents – and subsequently a lesser demand for driving tests.

Who knows – post-Covid times may change all of this, but as they stand, if you are lucky enough to live near one of these less busy test centres, chances are, you’ll have a higher likelihood of avoiding long wait times.

#	Test Centre	Region	Number of tests taken (18/19)
1	Ballater	Aberdeenshire	100
2	Crieff	Perthshire	110
3	Thurso	Caithness	127
4	Dunoon	Cowal Peninsula	131
5	Kelso	Roxburghshire	139
6	Girvan	Carrick	139
7	Iverness	Iverness	144
8	Banff	Aberdeenshire	153
9	Buckie	Banffshire	160
10	Callander	Stirling	164

*According to Go Compare’s analysis of busiest test centres[5]

To book your driving test, click here to be re-directed to the Gov.uk website.

 

As test centres, and driving instructors keep up with meeting the massive demand for driving tests this year, we would recommend all learner drivers to familiarise yourself with all relevant test resources, to help make sure that when you do manage to book a test, you feel confident knowing that you’ll pass first time round.

Usually, the recommended advice would be to look at available slots in test centres located within an area you are highly familiar with, for your best chances at success.

But larger wait times will force some to look elsewhere – if this is the case for you, then perhaps ask your instructor to take you on the roads surrounding the test centre, to help let you get accustomed to those routes you would be driving.

Best of luck!

 

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[1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/301253/number-of-driving-practical-tests-taken-and-passed-in-the-united-kingdom/

[2] http://www.dft.gov.uk/statistics/series/driving-tests-and-instructors-statistics

[3] https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-transport/series/driving-tests-and-instructors-statistics

[4] https://www.gocompare.com/motoring/reports-statistics/driving-tests-uk/

[5] https://www.gocompare.com/motoring/reports-statistics/driving-tests-uk/