Drivers travelling almost 700 miles to Scotland to sit ‘easier’ tests

LEARNER drivers are travelling nearly 700 miles to sit “easier” tests in Scotland.

Thousands of young motorists undertake the nerve-wracking exam every year in a bid to ditch their L-Plates.

And some frustrated hopefuls down south are even flocking to test centres in the Western Isles because they believe it will be “easier” to pass.

One driving school say half the available tests in Benbecula are booked up by learners from further afield, The Press and Journal reports.

But locals say most of the wannabe drivers fail because they have no experience navigating rural and single-track roads.

Angela Campbell of Isle Drive, based in Benbecula, warned driving in the Western Isles requires a “new set of skills”.

She said: “It can often happen that someone will book up a test from London.

“And they think they are coming up here that they will pass easily.

“But I guarantee you the majority of them will not pass.

“For one thing – they will have no experience of single-track roads.

“People think the test will be easier, but there are different things that people are tested on.

“Unless you have been instructed in driving to these island conditions, and the hazards you might need to think of – it is a new set of skills that people need to be competent enough to pass a test.”

Huge backlogs in waiting times mean frustrated learners are having to twiddle their thumbs for weeks and sometimes months until they can sit the exam.

In Oban, it’s understood there are no new driving test slots until January next year.

And third party organisations are using bots to beat the bookings.

Graeme Cowie, from Bill Plant Driving School in Oban, added: “What people tend to do is book a driving test and then maybe they realise they don’t have a car available to sit the driving test.

“It is a shame because somebody who is ready for the driving test and can sit the test could otherwise have had it. That causes a big backlog.

“It is very frustrating that people do actually have to wait quite a long time for their driving tests.”

It comes as Scotland’s hardest driving test centre where more than HALF of learners fail their test was revealed.

New data from the DVSA has disclosed the test centres which have the highest fail rates.

Scotland’s driving test centre with the lowest pass rate was revealed as the Sheildhall centre in Glasgow, which saw more than 59 per cent of drivers fail.