Learner drivers are being forced to wait six months or longer for an instructor or a test with some driving schools too busy to take more bookings.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the average waiting time for a test in the UK was around four to six weeks.

Lockdown caused a huge backlog of learners waiting to take their test, a backlog which is not coming down because ill-prepared learners are taking their tests prematurely and travelling to locations they are unfamiliar with.

The national average waiting time for a practical car driving test is currently 19.3 weeks. In Sussex the waiting times are even longer - 24 weeks at Burgess Hill, 20.3 weeks at Worthing and 24 weeks at Crawley.

The Lancing Driving Test Centre in Chartwell Road shut for good in August after reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) was found in the building.

The Driver Vehicle and Standards Agency (DVSA) said “low customer confidence” in driving test availability has changed “customers’ booking behaviour” and is responsible for lengthy waiting times.

Learners are now booking their tests far earlier, with 8.2 per cent booking after passing their theory test before even having any lessons. Some 26 per cent booked their test immediately after passing their theory test, having had some driving lessons. 

Round The Bend driving school in Brighton has closed its waiting list after it became too long to manage.

A spokesman said: “We were running a waiting list but it has now got so out of control that the wait is over six months and we are finding that we are responding to more and more messages and calls asking “where am I on the list?” …so we have decided to close it until the wait is more reasonable.”

With an average wait of six months for an instructor, a recommended period of six months learning and an expected wait of a further six months for a test, the average learner could face at least a year and a half waiting for a licence.

Some of those who book tests as soon as they start learning find they are not ready.

Peacehaven instructor Hayley Stunell has been teaching for four years.

She said: “When I first started, the test wait times were around a week. Currently it's six months and the tests that get released are booked instantly by pupils, instructors or robots for sites that sell them on for more money.

"My waiting list for pupils to start lessons is eight to ten months roughly but this is very hard to estimate with the constant flow of enquiries and pupils turning 17 coming in.

"I've always had a waiting list and constant flow of enquiries since starting, but I seem to get more and more.”