Labour to make major DVSA driving test change as | Tech News

Major new modifications to driving exams are set to come into impact below new plans set to be launched by Labour. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has confirmed the introduction of robust new DVSA driving test guidelines to clamp down on the exploitation of learners.

Under the plans, solely learner drivers might be in a position to e book a driving test, with third events banned from the DVSA reserving web site. It’s hoped that this measure will stop online “bots” from claiming test slots and reselling them at increased costs elsewhere. Ms Alexander made the announcement whereas addressing the Transport Select Committee as she was quizzed over the present state of exams within the UK.

The Transport Secretary stated: “We’re introducing a legislative change which will mean that only the driver themselves can book a test. This is to try to stop people being exploited by bots that are operating online. We are going to be limiting the number of times that a driver can move or swap a test, and we will also limit the area that they can move a test to once they’ve booked it.”

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, backed the transfer, suggesting that candidates ready for exams must be forward of these “hoping to make a quick buck”.

But, he referred to as on the Transport Secretary to tackle ready record considerations after Ms Alexander confirmed she might no longer commit to decreasing wait instances to below seven weeks by summer time 2026.

Steve stated: “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 the new DVSA recruits will help deliver.”

Ms Alexander confirmed that the Government had recruited an extra 316 driving examiners, however would depend on navy help. An further 36 Defence Driving Examiners (DDEs) will conduct exams in the future a week for 12 months in a bid to cut down on ready instances.

DVSA knowledge from September 2025 exhibits that as many as 668,128 people are presently ready for a driving test throughout the nation.

The Transport Secretary added: “We do need to see more progress there. We are giving driving examiners an extraordinary retention fee subsequent yr of £5,000, to be break up between a fee in March and a fee in September. Anecdotally, we’re listening to that that is stopping some driving examiners from retiring early or encouraging them to delay their retirement.”