Learners left frustrated at being unable to book driving tests

Thousands of learner drivers were left frustrated after the online system for booking a test was closed just six hours after reopening.

Some said they attempted to log on to the website when it went live at 8am on Tuesday but were unable to secure a slot before it was suspended at 2pm.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) said more than 19,000 tests across England and Wales were made available and apologised to people who missed out.

It acknowledged that “many of you have been waiting a long time to book a test”.

A number of learners sent messages to the DVSA on Twitter to express their frustration.

One wrote: “Waited six hours to get to the front of the queue and be able to search, for what? No dates available at all?

“What a joke this is doing the whole country through one system, sort your system out by postcode or at least county, just about had enough of this.”

Another posted: “Waited in a queue for six hours and had only just passed half way before you closed the booking system. Sort it out to queue by postcode for next week!!!!!!

“The people who had tests booked before lockdown should have been given priority like we were supposed to! Disgrace isn’t the word.”

Prior to Tuesday the booking website had been offline since August 26 and the DVSA had warned learners there would be “very high demand for relatively few tests” when it reopened.

More than 200,000 tests were cancelled and tens of thousands more were delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic, leading to huge pent up demand.

A “limited number” of tests will be available on September 7, with nearly 400,000 added to the system on September 14, according to the DVSA.

Candidates in Scotland will also be able to book tests from September 7.