Driving tests: Looking to pass your driving test? Maybe better avoid Musselburgh

On average 1.6 million people take a driving test each year across Britain, but some test centres have far higher pass rates than others.
The coronavirus pandemic severely hampered the number of tests carried out.The coronavirus pandemic severely hampered the number of tests carried out.
The coronavirus pandemic severely hampered the number of tests carried out.

The difference is so stark that around two-thirds more learner drivers are passing their test at the ‘easiest’ test centre in and around Edinburgh as at the ‘hardest’ one, according to the latest data.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, who oversee the test centres, says that the rules are applied in exactly the same way in all test centres and that results are “entirely dependent on (candidates’) perfromance on the day”.

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In Musselburgh, where 2,385 sat their test in 18 months, less than half of those trying to get their license (45 per cent) qualified. Those looking to improve their chances might want to motor down to Peebles, where a whopping 78 per cent of the 106 learners who were examined over the same period passed.

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The coronavirus pandemic severely hampered the number of tests carried out. In the 12 months to March 2021, just under 440,000 tests were conducted, with half of drivers (217,000) passing.

The most recent figures available for this year, covering the six months from April to September 2021, shows a big increase in the volume of tests carried out.

Some 700,000 tests were completed, again with about half (350,000) of drivers passing.

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A Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency spokesperson said: “DVSA’s priority is to help everyone through a lifetime of safe driving.

“The driver testing and training regime tests candidates’ ability to drive safely and responsibly as well as making sure they know the theory behind safe driving.

“All candidates are assessed to the same standard and the result of their test is entirely dependent on their performance on the day.”

In Scotland there were 81,678 tests conducted between April 2020 and September 2021 and 43, 920 passes, amounting to a pass rate of 54 per cent. The test centre in Currie saw above average passes (59 per cent), but not as high as the 61 per cent who passed in Haddington. The pass rate in Livingston was 57 per cent.

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