The government has announced that military driving examiners will help deliver up to 6,500 extra driving tests across England over the next year, in a joint initiative between the Department for Transport and the Ministry of Defence.
Under the plan, 36 defence driving examiners, who normally test military personnel on vehicles ranging from cars to armoured carriers, will conduct civilian driving tests one day a week for 12 months. The initiative aims to reduce waiting times at the busiest test centres and address the national backlog of learner drivers.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the measures form part of wider efforts to make the system fairer and faster. “We inherited an enormous backlog of learners ready to ditch their L plates, who have been sadly forced to endure record waiting times for their tests. Every learner should have an equal and fair opportunity to take a test,” she said. “We’re taking decisive action and these new measures will deliver thousands of extra tests over the next year, helping learners get on the road sooner.”
The Ministry of Defence confirmed that the deployment will not affect military operations. Minister for the Armed Forces Al Carns said the decision highlights the adaptability of defence personnel. “The Armed Forces and civilians working within the Ministry of Defence have always been ready to step up when the country needs them, and this is another example of that commitment in action,” he said. “By supporting civilian testing, they’re helping to get more learners on the road, keep Britain moving and deliver for the public.”
Alongside military support, new government rules will be introduced to curb the reselling of tests and limit multiple rebookings. Learners will be allowed only two changes to their test booking and will be restricted to centres near their original location. Third-party bookings will be prohibited to prevent inflated resale prices.
Steve Gooding, Director of the RAC Foundation, welcomed the measures. “It is good to see steps being put in place to put a stop to those touting tests to frustrated learners,” he said. “What will really deter the touts and tackle the queues would be a return to the more reasonable pre-COVID waiting time for tests, which we hope the arrival of a platoon of military examiners alongside new DVSA recruits will help deliver.”
According to the Department for Transport, the initiative aligns with the government’s Plan for Change and its goal to reduce waiting times, increase examiner capacity and improve access to driving tests, particularly in rural areas where driving is essential for work and education.
” What are you driving, a Tank” ?
“You can get a truck through there”.
“Where did you learn to drive, the Army ?”
“Think Bike”. (that’s the important one).
Well if DST has spare capacity why not. A miracle they’ve not cut them as well.
I don’t think there’s that much spare capacity TBH. Took me ages to do my Cat B.
Thanks for this. I was surprised at the thought that there might have been, given the cuts.
As the article says, as long as there’s no impact on the primary customer.
“Cat B”, I bet you almost wrote it off !
The thing I found amazing was the part about “multiple bookings” then being sold on. How did they even let that happen. It’s so long since I did my test (just short of 50 yrs), so I have no recollection whether it was booked by my instructor or myself. MSM seems to indicate that you could book a test spot without even listing the person who was taking the test.
I can’t find out how that happened.
I think it was perhaps something that just developed as online bookings became practical – a secondary market just developed. It had perhaps not been doable anything like so easily before, so it was not expected.
And as with so many other things, the only item the previous Government was resolute about was resolutely sitting on its bottom and ignoring things that needed to be addressed, until the genie was out of the bottle and chaos had been created. See, also, for example, regulation of dangerous fire hazard lithium batteries which means that people with mobility aids built to British Standards with safe batteries are now being caught up in insurance bans on “lithium batteries” in blocks of flats.
From a personal perspective this is great news, as I wasn’t looking forwards to waiting 6 months for a test after waiting 4 months for my Theory.
And the reselling crackdown will make the system much easier to handle, as it usually crashes at 8am on a Monday with all of the bots trying to buy up tests.
Good luck. I Passed first time when I was 17….no pressure mate! 😉 No bots then either, things were simpler.
The theory side then I think was also pretty simple compared to now….Just some questions while sitting in the drivers seat after the test!
I had the pleasure of having both my examiner and the area chief examiner along for the ride for my test, he sat in the back, just to add to the pressure. I almost sent him through the windscreen as I did the emergency stop all too well and he wasn’t expecting it.
Wasn’t any pressure at all, I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it.
Were you in a Diesel Electric or was it still Steam driven in them days ? 🚂🚂🚂.
“All Aboard”.😁
Chuff chuff! You know….I actually don’t remember now what make it was…it wasn’t a choo choo, neither was it a DE Class 73, nor a diesel Class 33, 47, or 37. It was smaller and had 4 wheels with tyres…bigger than a golf buggy though.
Mine was a Vauxhall Chevette but I learned in a Viva !
The Bike test was simple, you just had to ride around the block and stop when you hit the twat with the clipboard !
I passed and my first trip was to visit him in Hostiple !
Took me three tries to pass…
Took my wife five! As long as you get there in the end.
Well, I’ve passed the Theory so halfway there I guess
Good luck, I tried a dozen times then gave up.
That was 1981, I must re-book sometime 🫡😁
I do remember being asked which side I should drive on, I said I never take sides.
I did my driving test in Paderborn in the early 80’s. The R.A. Master driver took us out, I was first up. Barely made it out of the gates before a half-shaft broke (Landy). As I was R.E.M.E. he asked if I could fix it! I politely informed him in words of one syllable that was not an option. He then said if I could get back to Barker barracks I’d pass my test, BANG! 4WD and off we went. Passed 1st time.
🙂
Good news.
My experience (passed in September) was lucky, to say the least. I started learning in June 2024, failed my first test in March 2025, had to wait till July 2025 (much better than most people have to wait, luckily), failed that one too. After that, the tests were booked out till January 2026. I got very lucky with a cancellation at the end of September, and managed to pass.
For those who don’t have the luxury of a personal or family car to practice, maintaining readiness for the test across half-year long waits is a financial nightmare.
I’ve got friends who turned 17 in August and are having their tests this month, mostly because they were really quick with finding cancellations. I was too slow to book my theory, which is why I’ll probably have to wait until next spring for my test if I don’t get lucky.
Oh for the joys of 56 Dvr Trng SQN RE at Church Crookham😂 LR,Bedford RL,Foden 8 wheeler and 10 tonner( militant)last but most importantly Scammell Crusader👍all course dvr instructors civvies!