The driving test centres where you are twice as likely to pass... and the ones that learners should avoid at all costs

By GREG HEFFER, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT Published: 15:00, 3 July 2026 | Updated: 15:04, 3 July 2026 Learners are twice as likely to pass at some driving test centres in Britain compared to others, new figures suggest. Data from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) reveals how pass rates at various test centres range from more than 70 per cent to less than 35 per cent. Those taking their practical driving test on the Isles of Scilly had a 75 per cent pass rate in the 12 months to March this year. The Isle of Mull (73.8 per cent), Gairloch (73.5 per cent), Pitlochry (73.3 per cent) and Benbecula Island (72.9 per cent) also had high pass rates. By contrast, learners taking their practical driving test in Wolverhampton had a pass rate of just 34.3 per cent between April last year and March 2026. Barking Tanner Street (36.3 per cent), Featherstone (36.4 per cent), Dunfermline Vine (36.4 per cent) and Wednesbury (36.5 per cent) also had low pass rates. The figures showed, across all testing centres in Britain, there was a national pass rate of 50 per cent from the nearly two million tests conducted in 2025/26. Males had a slightly higher pass rate of 50.8 per cent compared to females of 49.1 per cent. Your browser does not support iframes. The high pass rates in some of the more remote parts of Britain are likely to be due to the low number of tests conducted in those areas. In the Isles of Scilly - where cars are only found on the largest island of St. Mary's and are restricted to residents only - just eight practical driving tests took place in 2025/26. This compares to Wolverhampton where there were regularly more than 1,000 tests a month between April 2025 and March this year. DVSA data also reveals the top 10 faults made during practical driving tests in 2025/26. A fault was most commonly recorded during observation at junctions, followed by checking mirrors when changing direction, and when turning right at junctions. Response to traffic lights and steering control were also among the top 5 most common faults. These were followed by moving off safely, response to road markings, response to traffic signs, positioning, and maintaining speed. Of the nearly two million practical driving tests conducted in 2025/26, 5.1 per cent were passed with zero faults. The pass rate for those taking a practical test for the first time was 50.5 per cent, while 28,581 drivers passed at their first attempt with zero faults. The pass rate among 17-year-olds was 63.5 per cent compared with 37.2 per cent for those aged 60 and over. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.