LEARNER drivers are travelling nearly 700 miles to sit "easier" tests in Scotland. Thousands of young motorists undertake the nerve-wracking exam every year in a bid to ditch their L-Plates. 1 Learner drivers are travelling nearly 700 miles to sit "easier" tests in Scotland Credit: Getty And some frustrated hopefuls down south are even flocking to test centres in the Western Isles because they believe it will be "easier" to pass.
One driving school say half the available tests in Benbecula are booked up by learners from further afield, The Press and Journal reports. But locals say most of the wannabe drivers fail because they have no experience navigating rural and single-track roads. Angela Campbell of Isle Drive, based in Benbecula, warned driving in the Western Isles requires a "new set of skills".
Read more motors NO-GO ZONE We can’t take kids to the beach thanks to tourists ruining our beauty spot home NO TANK YOU Drivers still being fleeced by fuel retailers despite cheaper wholesale costs She said: "It can often happen that someone will book up a test from London. "And they think they are coming up here that they will pass easily. "But I guarantee you the majority of them will not pass.
"For one thing – they will have no experience of single-track roads. Most read in Motors COP OUT Watch moment driver receives 'instant karma' for scary undertake on busy road PICK IT UP Drivers rush to Aldi middle aisle to snap up bargain car products from just 89p NO TANK YOU Drivers still being fleeced by fuel retailers despite cheaper wholesale costs CARAVANTASTIC Caravan owner reveals how he saves cash & why he'd not live in a house again "People think the test will be easier, but there are different things that people are tested on. "Unless you have been instructed in driving to these island conditions, and the hazards you might need to think of – it is a new set of skills that people need to be competent enough to pass a test.
" Watch agonising moment learner driver fails test within seconds - a push of a button would have saved her Huge backlogs in waiting times mean frustrated learners are having to twiddle their thumbs for weeks and sometimes months until they can sit the exam. In Oban, it's understood there are no new driving test slots until January next year. And third party organisations are using bots to beat the bookings.
Graeme Cowie, from Bill Plant Driving School in Oban, added: "What people tend to do is book a driving test and then maybe they realise they don’t have a car available to sit the driving test. "It is a shame because somebody who is ready for the driving test and can sit the test could otherwise have had it. That causes a big backlog.
"It is very frustrating that people do actually have to wait quite a long time for their driving tests." Why do most learners fail their test? NEW figures have shown the most common mistakes drivers make during their test which cause them to fail. According to the new learner driver report , the ten most common DANGEROUS faults that lead to an instant driving test fail were (last 12 months): Loss of control while forward parking – (25%) Insufficient observation while at a junction (17%) Failing to use mirrors when changing direction (10%) Loss of steering control specifically (7.
2%) Insufficient observation while forward parking – (6.6%) Failure to leave sufficient clearance when passing obstructions (4.5%) Failure to judge risks at a crossing (4.
5%) Failure to judge risks when meeting another car (3.8%) Failure to move off safely (2.5%) Failure to maintain control of the car when moving off (2.
1%) It comes as Scotland's hardest driving test centre where more than HALF of learners fail their test was revealed. Read more on the Scottish Sun MONEY WOES Popular Glasgow restaurant collapses into liquidation as staff left 'unpaid' ROUTE RAGE I travelled NC500 - spectacular scenery amazed me but locals are rightly angry New data from the DVSA has disclosed the test centres which have the highest fail rates. Scotland's driving test centre with the lowest pass rate was revealed as the Sheildhall centre in Glasgow, which saw more than 59 per cent of drivers fail.
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