The best place to pass a driving test is… Newtown!

The best place in the United Kingdom to pass a driving test has been revealed as Newtown, where Welshpool drivers also go to take their practical test.

Route-Led, an app that provides detailed driving test routes for learners, reviewed the average waiting times at each test centre (between April 1, 2022 to March 31 2023) and combined it with the first-time pass rates (published quarterly by DVSA) to identify the best - and worst - places to take a practical driving test. 

This is against a national average wait time of more than four months (17.3 weeks) and first time pass rate of just under half (49.3%). 

Newtown topped the list with an average wait time of just 6.5 weeks and a 73.5% pass rate, according to information published in The Daily Mail.

It is followed by Galashiels in Scotland, where learners can expect to wait up to 10.4 weeks for an available test slot and a 67.2% chance of passing first time.

The test centre in Lee-On-The-Solent on the south coast of England is third overall, with a 16.7-week delay for a slot and a 67.1% chance of passing first time, based on 2021/22 records.

Also among the top 10 are test locations in Peterhead, Chichester, Dorchester, Yeovil, Kendal, Abergavenny and Aberdeen South.

It is a very different picture at the opposite end of the scale, with Erith in south east London named the test centre learners should consider avoiding.

Like the rest of the capital, there's a long wait time. This is 16.2 weeks, based on the data supplied by DVSA.

And drivers who have taken a test there in the last 12 months had a low success rate of just one in four, with a first time pass percentage of just 26.2%. 

, This is Money approached DVSA to understand why the pass rate at the Erith centre was so low compared to the national average of 49.3% per cent.

According to The Daily Mail, a spokesperson at DVSA said: “All candidates are assessed to the same standard and the result of their test is entirely dependent on their performance on the day.”

Route-Led said the list of best and worst test centres will not only empower learners when choosing locations that increase their chances of successfully getting their licence, it could help ease pressure on locations with long waiting lists by encouraging more to take their test where there are fewer delays.

David Hesketh, co-founder of Route-Led, said: “We’ve had enquiries from both driving instructors and learner drivers who want to find driving test centres with shorter waiting times and higher pass rates. Smart Test Finder will help them identify these test centres with confidence. 

“Learner drivers and instructors can then use our app to practise the test routes even if the test centre is not in their local area.

“This ensures learner drivers are well prepared for their tests as demanded by the DVSA and get a driving test at a centre of their choice.”