The UK’s driving test has been made far tougher in recent times, in a bid to boost safety. Some people take up to 21 attempts to pass their practical test, according to data from the Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). The information covers every year between 2009 and 2018.
In 2016, one driver passed at the 21st attempt in one year. Another driver took 19 attempts to pass in 2018. Meanwhile one learner failed 19 tests in 2009, 2015 and 2017.
The car driving test pass rate was 45.8% for the 2018/19 period. This was the lowest figure since 45.3% for the 2008/9 period. In all 18,922 learners passed the practical test with zero faults for the 2018/19 period. This was an improvement over 18,410 for the 2017/18 period.
