Military driving examiners called in to help ease test backlog

Military driving examiners will help deliver up to 6,500 more tests in tough new measures to tackle the driving test backlog, the Government has announced.

There will also be a new limit on rearranging tests and a ban on third parties booking on behalf of learners in order to make the system fairer, transport secretary Heidi Alexander said.

The DfT, working in partnership with the Ministry of Defence (MOD), has announced 36 defence driving examiners (DDEs), made up of civilian MOD personnel, will help conduct driving tests one day a week for 12 months.

The extra personnel will be focusing primarily on car driving tests but with flexibility to carry out vocational tests, for bus and lorry drivers, if needed. They will be based at the driving test centres with the highest demand near their MOD base or home location.

Military driving examiners usually test service personnel, covering cars as well as fuel tankers and armoured carriers. The new arrangement will benefit both parties, helping tackle the driving test backlog and keeping DDEs skills sharp.

The Minister for the Armed Forces has authorised the deployment of military driving examiners to help bring down the backlog, with no negative impact on military operations.