Passing the test can be tough but booking a test can be harder (Image: Getty)
TOUTS are buying up scarce driving test slots and sell them on to desperate learner drivers at inflated prices.
The latest figures show an increase of nearly 1,200 per cent in the number of driving tests booked and then swapped from one licence to another since before the pandemic.
In January 2019, 5,162 slots were swapped. Last month the figure was 66,448.
This month it was revealed that people are now waiting at least four months on average for a test. In the Midlands, the South West and the South East, the average wait is five months.
Would-be drivers have been urged to only book tests through the Government’s official online portal and warned that they could fall victim to scams if they go elsewhere.
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The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has deployed Artificial Intelligence to identify “bots” – computer programs used to snap up test slots when they become available – and block them from the official website.
But those on the frontline of testing crisis say that wider action is needed to tackle the testing backlog.
Camilla Benitz of the AA Driving School said more examiners must be hired to end the long waits.
Warning that being able to drive is an “absolute necessity” for many people to get to work, education and employment, she said: “Efforts to tackle the backlog to date have not produced any long-term improvement. We need to see additional driving test slots made available, but also a focus on recruiting and retaining more examiners.”
Carly Brookfield, chief executive of the Driving Instructors Association, said that the shortage of tests has led to people “panic buying slots” before they are ready. She suggested that the problem could be tackled by only allowing approved driving instructors to book tests.
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A spokeswoman for the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency said: “Tackling the re-selling of driving tests is a key priority, which is why we’ve deployed measures to protect learner drivers and removed nearly 5,000 accounts not linked to approved driving instructors.”
She stressed that the “gov.uk” website is “the only official way to book your practical driving test” and urged people to “report any social media channels or posts offering unofficial test slots or bookings to the social media network”.
“To ensure a level playing field for all customers, we limit the number of times a driving licence number can be used to swap a practical car test online,” she said.