UK driving test centres with the highest and lowest pass rates revealed

The test centres where you’re most likely to fail or pass your practical driving test in England have been revealed and the differences in pass rate are staggering. 

According to pass rate data issued by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency 1.2million people took their test between April and December 2022 and only 48% of them passed. 

The test centre with the lowest pass rate across the country is Liverpool’s Speke facility. 

From April to December 2022, 6209 learner drivers took on a test with only 1684 coming away with a pass. 

This gave the centre a pass rate of just 27.1%. 

Take a look at how your nearest test centre fared with our interactive map below.  

These are the easiest and hardest places to pass your driving test in England according to the DVSA

By contrast, the centre with the highest pass rate in England was the Kendal centre on Oxenholme Road.

The Cumbrian facility had a pass rate of 67.4% over the same period with 874 drivers passing their test out of the 1242 that attempted it. 

Other centres where people struggled to pass their test included  Erith (32.2%) Wolverhampton (35.3%) and Crawley (35.6%). 

Those who fail to pass their driving test will face a hefty wait to mull over their frustrations. 

Earlier this month, a shocking investigation by The Mail on Sunday into ‘backlog Britain’ revealed learner drivers must wait for 15.5 weeks on average for a test appointment

This is compared with just six weeks before the pandemic.

And if you’re under the age of 25 when you pass, you may not be able to carry young passengers under a ‘graduated driving license’ to combat peer pressure deaths.

Road safety charity Brake say drivers of that age are four times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash if they are driving with others – claiming peer pressure leads to young motorists showing off.

New restrictions would see amendments made to the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act to ban passengers under the age of 25 in drivers’ first year or six months.

The Act already bans drivers if they get six points in their first two years of driving.

It has been backed by Support for Victims of Road Crashes – an advisory to the Department of Transport – and National Police Chief’s Council Roads Policing lead Jo Shiner.

Learners face endless waits for driving tests due to a huge backlog Pictured: DVLA building in Swansea, Wales

Shiner has even suggested placing technology in new drivers’ cars to highlight weaknesses in their driving style.

It will be considered at a meeting on May 16.

Proposed schemes to set extra restrictions on newly qualified drivers were thrown out in January 2022, which would have seen curfews and limits on passengers in the car. These were cancelled by the Department for Transport due to a need to use cars for employment.

According to the RAC, government statistics show as many as a quarter of new drivers are involved in accidents in their first two years on the road.

And in 2021 926 people were killed or seriously injured in accidents involving a young driver.

In written evidence submitted to the Transport Select Committee’s Inquiry into Young and Novice Drivers in 2020, Ms Huddleston added: ‘I strongly believe that a Graduated Driving License Scheme should be implemented in the U.K. to help reduce the colossal amount of death and serious injuries in ‘Young and Novice Drivers’ and their passengers aged between 17-25 years of age.

‘Road deaths are the forgotten epidemic. They kill more young people in the U.K. than anything else.

‘Death from Road Crashes don’t receive the coverage in the same way as illness and disease often do. For people working in Road Safety this is baffling.’