Back in December 2019, there were reports of a viral outbreak in China, most countries did not think it would affect  the world , then, as we all now know  it would indeed and lockdown started for the UK.

All previous clients  that were learning with our instructors , close to being a safe and confident driver almost at test standard with their test booked, had their tests suspended from 20th March 2020 onwards  as the whole of the United kingdom went into lockdown.

Towards the end of lockdown, all registered driving instructors were emailed by the DVSA on how they were going to address the pre lockdown tests that had been cancelled.

The information revealed that the DVSA will ONLY focus on pre-lockdown tests. The public booking system for getting new tests is currently suspended with no confirmed date as to when they will reopen.

 It is now more than ever critical that all learner pupils with any UK driving school are not on the cusp ready for a driving test, but they are  safe, competent, and confidant driver so that they can pass their test with maximum advantage first time. It is also true at the moment that if you do fail your practical driving test, then you CAN NOT rebook a retest until public bookings are open. It could be many, months to achieve, with rumours of a time frame to being end of the year possibly into next spring.

Why is this? When the DVSA recommenced driving tests on July 22nd, 2020, they were only operating at 50% capacity with the remaining examiners still off due to shielding and some who have left the industry altogether. Now most examiners are back bar the few who have left the industry and those who are still high risk and have yet to return.

Already this has extended how long the DVSA will be to clear their 4-month backlog of driving tests. With this, the DVSA had also reduced the number of tests an examiner conducts per day, before lockdown it used to be between 7-8 tests a day, now it is only 4-5 tests.

In light of this, our fantastic team are actively encouraging all our pre-lockdown clients to take lessons bringing themselves back up to test standard and maximize their chances of passing their tests.

Don't be easily fooled into thinking when you hear from the DVSA about a test date when you get your code from DVSA to rebook your driving tests and do this immediately without speaking to your instructor, as you, or the instructor may not be ready or available. When you click on this code from the DVSA, you are given two options. Quick test withing 5days, or to book your driving test for a few weeks or months later. We highly recommend you to go for the latter option, mainly because our fantastic team of Instructors are already at maximum capacity and may or maybe not be able to move things around to prioritize you with multiple lessons per week or a short notice test.

In essence, we are advising to continue to learn to drive the usual way you were before this global pandemic happened. Be calm, don't rush yourself. We are more than sure you want to pass your driving test first time, and not be at the bottom of the list if you unfortunately fail your test. This could mean many months of waiting until the DVSA reopen their system for bookings again to the general public.

INTENSIVE COURSE'S AND WHY THEY HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED!

Why has BubbLe driving school suspended intensive courses? The reason, as explained above, is simple: DVSA has delayed public access to buying a driving test, with no announced date as to when they will reopen this system. It also extends to driving instructors of not being able to book a driving test for their pupils as well.

As you may or may not know, an intensive course aims to learn to drive and be safe on the roads in a short time. It is usually over the space of 1-2 weeks by doing a driving test at the end. The standard criteria is to have passed your theory to achieve this. But, as said both you, the pupil, and us, the instructors can’t book new driving tests, and there is no set date for them to reopen to the public for the foreseeable future. This one factor is why we have decided to suspend intensive courses until tests become available again.

As a driving school, we genuinely pride ourselves putting our learner pupil’s successfulness / happiness first and are fully aware of how expensive learning to drive can be. As a company we want you to not waste money going through an intensive course with no test being able to be booked at the end of it.
We aim to provide the highest standards in training and service and help you succeed in your independence of travelling. We do not want you the client paying for all the training, and then unable to sit a driving test at the end. It would be a waste for you, then when tests are available, you'll then be spending more money on extra lessons to refresh or top up your training because of the long waiting from the end of a course and doing a test.

Honesty and transparency is vital to us.

CRITICAL/EMERGENCY WORKERS

The only exception to this is if, you, are a critical/emergency worker. The DVSA will continue during the clearing of their backlog to conduct emergency driving tests for an essential/emergency worker. To be recognized, you'll need to go on the government website and apply for an emergency driving test. You can also apply for an emergency theory test for those who haven't passed their theory.

We are only conducting an intensive course’s with those who have been giving the recognition of an emergency driving test by the government. But you must not have booked your test, as we will need to find room in the diary’s to accommodate you.

At the time of posting this blog this is all the relevant information we can issue out to all regarding driving tests, and how the current testing system is working, and how we are adapting to the new way of teaching during these unsettling times.