Edinburgh driving: Women overtake men in driving test pass rates at Edinburgh's two test centres

Women in the driving seat at Edinburgh’s test centres

Women overtook men in driving test pass rates at Edinburgh’s two driving test centres last year, new figures show.

Figures from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency show male drivers took 4,409 tests at the Currie Test Centre in Edinburgh in 2023, 2,009 of which were successful, giving a pass rate of 45.6 per cent. Meanwhile, 47.6 per cent of the 3,351 tests taken by women were passed over this period, giving a gap of two percentage points in women’s favour.

In 2019, 47.3 per cent of women gained their licence at the Bryce Road centre compared to 52.1 per cent of men – a gap of 4.8 percentage points in men’s favour. So females have now overtaken males in pass rates at Currie.

There was a slightly bigger gender gap in women’s favour at the Musselburgh Test Centre of 2.5 per cent, with the average male drivers pass rate at 43.2 per cent from  4,302 tests in 2023, compared to a 45.7 per cent pass rate from the 3,641 tests taken by women.

Musselburgh Test Centre, at Newhailes Industrial Estate, Newhailes Rd, Musselburgh. Photo: Google Maps.

In 2019, 36.6 per cent of women gained their licence at the Newhailes Industrial Estate centre compared to 44.8 per cent of men – a gap of 8.2 percentage points in men’s favour. So there has been a turnaround of more than 10 per cent in the amount of women passing their driving test at Musselburgh compared to men four years before.

The overall pass rate at the Currie Test Centre for 2023 was 46.4 per cent – down from 49.6 per cent four years before. This was lower than the average rate across Great Britain of 48.2 per cent. The overall pass rate at the Musselburgh Test Centre was also below the UK average for 2023, at 44.3. Although this was up from 40.2 per cent four years before.

Camilla Benitz, managing director of the AA Driving School, said: “Learners can only book their practical test once they have secured that all important theory test pass.

“Given the long waits many learners are still facing to book their practical driving test, it is good to see the overall practical test pass rate has risen slightly, meaning fewer will face a lengthy wait to re-book another test.”

However, she added the pass rate for the theory test “is stubbornly low” and has fallen by a third since 2007-08.

Across the UK, women proved better than men at theory tests. They had a pass rate of 46.8 per cent, while 43.5 per cent of tests taken by men were successful. In Edinburgh, this stood at 52.5 per cent and 48.7 per cent, respectively.

The Currie driving test centre at Bryce Road. Photo: Google Maps.

Ms Benitz said while young male drivers are statistically more likely to be involved in a crash than young female drivers, this is not considered when it comes to insurance prices. It is currently illegal for insurers to take gender into account when calculating premiums.

However, the Confused.com car insurance price index for the latest quarter of 2023 shows on average men were paying £177 more than women.

Louise Thomas, motor expert at the comparison site, said while gender is not considered, prices are based on other factors such as the type of vehicle, any modifications made to it, as well as claims and conviction history.

“Generally, men tend to drive powerful, more expensive cars. They also tend to have a higher claims and conviction rate than women, all of which contributes to reasons why prices might be higher.

“But under the EU law, if a man and woman have the exact same insurance details, then they should return the same prices,” she said.

A DVSA spokesperson said: “DVSA's priority is to continue to reduce waiting times, and thanks to the measures we introduced since October 2023 we have reduced waiting times by more than four weeks and are on the way to reaching our target to provide an additional 150,000 tests.

“We continue to urge learners strongly to book their driving test only when they are ready to pass as it’s essential that all drivers demonstrate they have the right skills, knowledge, and attitude to drive safely.”