Learning to drive in the UK right now is crazy hard. Instructors have waiting lists of hundreds, people are booking tests six months out and logging in every day to change them, a two hour lesson in my area is about £60-65.
I’ve been learning for a year now at 29 and, before rules changed, so many lessons were cancelled due to covid contact tracing, then lessons have been cancelled due to the fuel crises when my instructor had to ration his petrol for tests, its been crazy. It has taken so long and cost so much more money. I can’t even imagine how a 17 year old, who might be on an apprentice wage at under £5 an hour, or minimum wage at under £7, can afford any of this if they’re not fortunate to have parents or carers to pay.
I was lucky to buy a second hand car before the prices for those sky rocketed so I’ve had private practice and, after failing one test last week for a stupid turning mistake that was absolutely my fault, I’ve managed to book another for the end of June, but I was expecting to wait until autumn.
We have two, going on three years, of learners who just can’t learn and nothing is happening really to help. There’s a consultation going on about extending the time that you have to wait after a failed test to retake, bur that’s about it…
Standard. Business’ see an opportunity to make a fortune out of a shit situation and grab it.
well that sounds stupid, they should be non-transferable – people are going to be selling doctors appointments at this rate.
Hope this is allowed here, but I recently used
“Driving test cancellations 4 all” to get driving test cancellations recently, (it’s not that expensive and it automatically searches for cancellations like the article says) its really your only shot at getting one at the moment.
It really sucks at the moment as if you fail then otherwise you would have to wait 6+ months to get a test, by which time you have forgotten a lot and are really rusty and have to spend £100’s more on lessons just to keep you fresh. A lot harder than before where if you failed you could get one after 10 days, meaning you would still be fresh.
Good luck out there to anyone learning!
Personally I feel like there is an over reliance on private cars in our country, and all the infrastructure for cars and people parking their private vehicles in public space has corroded the quality of life here. It’s not some inherent right to own a car and have a license so I don’t really have any sympathy for people on these waiting lists. Have some patience.
Scalping for beginners
The future is here, and it’s arrived in the form of bot scalper hell.
Bots are ruining everything online:
* Social media.
* Online purchases.
* Online gaming.
* And now driving licenses.
We don’t deserve to have nice things like the internet.
Has anyone noticed that the Government introduced ID requirements to vote then defunded the passport office and then made it impossible to get a drivers licence this is specific disenfranchisment of demographics they know don’t vote tory explicitly to retain power.
Conservative ideology is anti-democratic ideology.
The DVLA don’t even answer the phone anymore. Just a robot voice telling us they couldn’t take calls and put the phone down on us.
I’m glad this doesn’t effect me at the minute.
I’ve never been able to pass my theory test. I’ve failed hazard perception five times.
Took one of those mock ones online. How the hell can you determine a hazard “too soon!?”
Slightly unrelated, but I think driving is a perfect example of how the poor and those trying to build their life from nothing get shafted and have less opportunities to better their life in the UK.
1. You need £400-£500 for driving lessons and tests.
2. You have a better chance of passing first time if you have a private car to practise in, which requires you to know someone with a car and them or you to be able to afford the insurance.
3. First-time insurance even in your 20s is likely to be over £2000 for your first year in cities, for a 1L car. This is over 10% of the minimum wage for those aged 23 and over, assuming you’re paid for 37.5 hours a week. An even higher percentage for those aged under 23. And that’s without tax, MOT and the cost to buy the car.
4. Many job opportunities, especially ones that don’t require a degree, require a driving license. Many of these are jobs that pay a little bit more.
5. Your first-time insurance will be lower if you can name another driver on your policy, again requiring to know someone with a car who will be willing to go on your policy.
6. Your insurance will cost more in a high-crime or high vehicular traffic area, which in many cases is a poorer area.
7. Your insurance will often be more expensive if you have an older car.
8. Your car insurance will be higher if you rent your home rather than buy it.
9. Insurance is considerably cheaper if paying for the whole year upfront, rather than monthly. This requires either to have lots of money saved up, people to borrow money from or a good enough job to get the bank to lend you over £2000.
10. Many job opportunities, especially ones that don’t require a degree, require a driving license.
11. Many jobs, including better-paying ones, require your own transportation to do the job (eg estate agent, many jobs in the local government that require you to visit multiple sites). Many better-paying jobs are in the countryside, which typically takes 2-4 times longer to get to by public transport on the way to work and back from work, including the time waiting for the bus/train on the way home (eg 30 min vs 1.5-2 hours).
It’s so much more laughably easy, from a financial perspective, to be driving on a basic level in the US (I have teen/early 20s cousins there), Canada or a lot of mainland Europe (check AskEurope threads), say.
Why is there a shortage of everyone? Where the hell has everyone gone? We never used to have these kinds of backlogs with pretty much everything did we?
13 comments
Learning to drive in the UK right now is crazy hard. Instructors have waiting lists of hundreds, people are booking tests six months out and logging in every day to change them, a two hour lesson in my area is about £60-65.
I’ve been learning for a year now at 29 and, before rules changed, so many lessons were cancelled due to covid contact tracing, then lessons have been cancelled due to the fuel crises when my instructor had to ration his petrol for tests, its been crazy. It has taken so long and cost so much more money. I can’t even imagine how a 17 year old, who might be on an apprentice wage at under £5 an hour, or minimum wage at under £7, can afford any of this if they’re not fortunate to have parents or carers to pay.
I was lucky to buy a second hand car before the prices for those sky rocketed so I’ve had private practice and, after failing one test last week for a stupid turning mistake that was absolutely my fault, I’ve managed to book another for the end of June, but I was expecting to wait until autumn.
We have two, going on three years, of learners who just can’t learn and nothing is happening really to help. There’s a consultation going on about extending the time that you have to wait after a failed test to retake, bur that’s about it…
Standard. Business’ see an opportunity to make a fortune out of a shit situation and grab it.
well that sounds stupid, they should be non-transferable – people are going to be selling doctors appointments at this rate.
Hope this is allowed here, but I recently used
“Driving test cancellations 4 all” to get driving test cancellations recently, (it’s not that expensive and it automatically searches for cancellations like the article says) its really your only shot at getting one at the moment.
It really sucks at the moment as if you fail then otherwise you would have to wait 6+ months to get a test, by which time you have forgotten a lot and are really rusty and have to spend £100’s more on lessons just to keep you fresh. A lot harder than before where if you failed you could get one after 10 days, meaning you would still be fresh.
Good luck out there to anyone learning!
Personally I feel like there is an over reliance on private cars in our country, and all the infrastructure for cars and people parking their private vehicles in public space has corroded the quality of life here. It’s not some inherent right to own a car and have a license so I don’t really have any sympathy for people on these waiting lists. Have some patience.
Scalping for beginners
The future is here, and it’s arrived in the form of bot scalper hell.
Bots are ruining everything online:
* Social media.
* Online purchases.
* Online gaming.
* And now driving licenses.
We don’t deserve to have nice things like the internet.
Has anyone noticed that the Government introduced ID requirements to vote then defunded the passport office and then made it impossible to get a drivers licence this is specific disenfranchisment of demographics they know don’t vote tory explicitly to retain power.
Conservative ideology is anti-democratic ideology.
The DVLA don’t even answer the phone anymore. Just a robot voice telling us they couldn’t take calls and put the phone down on us.
I’m glad this doesn’t effect me at the minute.
I’ve never been able to pass my theory test. I’ve failed hazard perception five times.
Took one of those mock ones online. How the hell can you determine a hazard “too soon!?”
Driving examiners were on full pay throughout the pandemic despite not having to do any tests, and as soon as they got back and were asked to do one extra a day to start clearing the backlog they went on strike https://www.civilserviceworld.com/professions/article/dvsa-driving-examiners-set-to-strike-next-week. Now we are a year on and the backlog hasn’t dropped at all.
Slightly unrelated, but I think driving is a perfect example of how the poor and those trying to build their life from nothing get shafted and have less opportunities to better their life in the UK.
1. You need £400-£500 for driving lessons and tests.
2. You have a better chance of passing first time if you have a private car to practise in, which requires you to know someone with a car and them or you to be able to afford the insurance.
3. First-time insurance even in your 20s is likely to be over £2000 for your first year in cities, for a 1L car. This is over 10% of the minimum wage for those aged 23 and over, assuming you’re paid for 37.5 hours a week. An even higher percentage for those aged under 23. And that’s without tax, MOT and the cost to buy the car.
4. Many job opportunities, especially ones that don’t require a degree, require a driving license. Many of these are jobs that pay a little bit more.
5. Your first-time insurance will be lower if you can name another driver on your policy, again requiring to know someone with a car who will be willing to go on your policy.
6. Your insurance will cost more in a high-crime or high vehicular traffic area, which in many cases is a poorer area.
7. Your insurance will often be more expensive if you have an older car.
8. Your car insurance will be higher if you rent your home rather than buy it.
9. Insurance is considerably cheaper if paying for the whole year upfront, rather than monthly. This requires either to have lots of money saved up, people to borrow money from or a good enough job to get the bank to lend you over £2000.
10. Many job opportunities, especially ones that don’t require a degree, require a driving license.
11. Many jobs, including better-paying ones, require your own transportation to do the job (eg estate agent, many jobs in the local government that require you to visit multiple sites). Many better-paying jobs are in the countryside, which typically takes 2-4 times longer to get to by public transport on the way to work and back from work, including the time waiting for the bus/train on the way home (eg 30 min vs 1.5-2 hours).
It’s so much more laughably easy, from a financial perspective, to be driving on a basic level in the US (I have teen/early 20s cousins there), Canada or a lot of mainland Europe (check AskEurope threads), say.
Why is there a shortage of everyone? Where the hell has everyone gone? We never used to have these kinds of backlogs with pretty much everything did we?