Learner drivers in limbo as postcodes dictate pass rates

Figures show that odds of passing can double – depending upon your location that is...

- 

Learner drivers are facing a "postcode lottery" when it comes to passing their test, with success rates varying wildly depending on where candidates book, new figures show.

Data obtained through Freedom of Information requests to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) and its Northern Ireland counterpart reveal that between 2021 and 2024, only 49% of tests ended in a pass. More than 6.2 million practical tests were taken across the UK over that period-yet just 3.05 million were successful.

Behind the national average lies a striking regional divide. Some of the lowest pass rates were recorded at test centres in the North West, Midlands and London. At Speke in Liverpool, just 33.4% of candidates passed, while Wolverhampton saw a rate of 34.6%. In Belvedere, southeast London, it was 35.1%, with other centres in Rochdale, Bury and Crawley also struggling to see even two in five learners through.