Melton learner drivers who took a test last month had to wait an average of 23 weeks
Learner drivers who took a test at Melton Mowbray in August had to wait, on average, more than 23 weeks from booking it to taking it.
New figures, highlighted by Drive Test Finder UK, show the town test centre, at Phoenix House on Nottingham Road, also recorded a major increase in average wait times during last month compared to the month before.
The data reveals the average waiting time for a test at Melton increased by nearly 14 weeks for appointments booked in August compared to those made in July – the largest monthly rise in this figure in all test centres in England, Scotland and Wales.
Drive Test Finder UK, told the Melton Times that these latest statistics ‘suggest that local learners continue to face considerable pressure when trying to secure a test’.
Comparative waits locally are 6.4 weeks at Leicester (Cannock Street), 8.3 weeks Nottingham (Chilwell) and 16.3 weeks Grantham.
The Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) say the long wait for tests at Melton were due, in part, to the town site being regarded as just an ‘outstation’ of Grantham Driving Test Centre.
Melton uses a ‘book-to-hold’ approach for most of its driving tests which means that instead of booking a specific test slot, learner drivers book a ‘holder’ for a test.
Once sufficient tests are booked in this way, DVSA makes an examiner available, and the learner driver is given the time and date.
This system enables DVSA to provide tests in areas with low demand without wasting test capacity on un-booked driving tests.
A DVSA spokesperson told the Melton Times: "DVSA is working hard to improve and maintain its testing capacity across the whole of Great Britain.
“To manage capacity in some areas, such as Melton Mowbray, DVSA uses a book-to-hold system.
"This allows us to effectively manage demand and deploy resources in the right areas to support local learner drivers.
“Due to the way tests are booked, this can cause waiting times to fluctuate more than at test centres where driving examiners are permanently based on site.
"We were unable to deploy sufficient examiner resource to Melton Mowbray in August.
"We have since addressed the shortage and waiting times at the test centre have fallen to four weeks.”