Military examiners to help cut L-test backlog

MILITARY driving examiners are to be mobilised to cut the test backlog for civilians, the Government has announced.

- NEIL LANCEFIELD Press Association

Up to 6,500 more tests will be made available over the next year at locations with the highest demand, the Department for Transport (DfT) said.

A total of 36 defence driving examiners (DDEs) will conduct public tests one day a week for 12 months.

DDEs are civil servants at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) who usually test service personnel.

The DfT said deploying them to public test centres will “benefit both parties” as it will keep their “skills sharp” while also tackling the backlog. They will be focused primarily on car driving tests but can carry out tests for bus and lorry drivers, if needed.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told the House of Commons' Transport Select Committee that the DfT's target of reducing the average waiting time for booking a test to seven weeks by summer 2026 will not be met. The figure was 21.8 weeks at the end of June.