L-test sites to head out of town

Learner drivers are being forced out of town, in a move that could mark the end of test-taking on familiar roads.

The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) is systematically replacing old-style test centres with all-new super sites, which could be up to 30 miles away from home, according to the latest Department for Transport (DfT) guidelines. The Government agency has already shut down 32 sites nationwide, but the DfT has now revealed a further 26 are set to follow.

Bosses say the closures, which will save the DSA around £1million in total, will help cover the £71m cost of building a sprawl of all-new multi-purpose test centres across Britain – 15 of which have already been constructed. But it admits the bulk of the bill will be covered by increased test fees, and that it now costs motorists an average £1,500 to learn how to drive.

The new sites will not only put car drivers through their paces, but also test motorcyclists, while some centres will even assess HGV drivers.

Traditionally, pupils get a head-start if they sit the test in their home town. But the move could make that advant­age less likely. The DSA refused to be drawn on whether the new supersites would remove any variation in stan­dards, however. Its spokeswoman argued: “There is no disparity in ‘fairness’ at different test centres.”

Instead, she said the changes were designed to meet new EU guidelines. These include rules on building layouts at test centres, which need to comply with the Disa­bility Discrimination Act.

However, the spokeswoman added: “The Driving Standards Agency encourages motorists to learn in areas which are unfam­iliar to them, rather than simply get to know the possible circuit of their test area.”