Around a half (51.9 percent) of learner drivers fail the driving test at the first attempt. At £75 for an evening, weekend or bank holiday test, this means they’re out of pocket to the tune of £150, before taking into account any extra lessons.
A driving test during normal working hours costs £62, while a theory test costs £23.
New research suggests that failed driving tests are just as harmful to the planet as they are to a learner’s wallet. An energy company has used Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) data to uncover how much carbon dioxide (CO2) is emitted from failed tests.
From April 2019 to July 2020, the CO2 emitted from failed driving tests in the UK reached 2,222,257kg. That’s the equivalent of 449 return flights from London to Melbourne, according to SaveOnEnergy.com.
The number of male test failures in the past two years (428,261) is the equivalent of 126,193,249 smartphone charges.
A significant number of driving tests were cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. From April to June 2019, a total of 210,856 tests were failed in the UK. Comparing this to the same period in 2020, there were only 2,816 unsuccessful tests.
This led to an 86.4 percent reduction in the total CO2 emissions from failed driving tests.
Predictably, London has a high concentration of failed driving tests and CO2 emissions. The Goodmayes test centre produced 44,722kg CO2 emissions between April 2019 and July 2020. Other figures came from Pinner (23,306kg CO2), Morden (22,041kg CO2) and Isleworth (21,770kg CO2)
Looking at individual test centres outside of London, Norris Green in Liverpool was responsible for the highest CO2 emissions. Around 8,800 drivers failed their test between April 2019 and July 2020, producing CO2 emissions of 20,328kg. That’s the equivalent of catching the train from London to Edinburgh 1,013 times.
Just behind is Garretts Green in Birmingham (19,451kg CO2), Kingstanding in Birmingham (19,339kg CO2), West Didsbury in Manchester (19,295kg CO2) and Wigston in Leicester (17,606kg CO2).
Driving tests are suspended due to the current lockdown restrictions in place across the country. Around 57,500 people have signed a petition calling for driving instructors to be able to pass learners unable to book a test.
In response, the Government said: “There is no provision within legislation that allows an approved driving instructor (ADI) to conduct a driving test for a learner driver. The Government has no plans to lay legislation to amend this.”
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