Britain’s largest driving school, the AA, is facing challenges in meeting the growing demand for driving tests as a backlog continues to build up. The AA has disclosed that it requires 300 new instructors to cope with the increasing demand, with pupil registrations rising by 5 per cent this year. The surge in registrations is particularly noticeable in certain regions, with a remarkable 127 per cent increase in Salisbury and 97 per cent in Oldham. Cities like Liverpool, Oldham, and Bristol are experiencing a pressing need for additional instructors.
Camilla Benitz, the managing director of AA Driving School, has highlighted the significant regional spikes in pupil registrations this year. Benitz suggested that the delays in driving tests are contributing to the surge in pupil demand, as existing instructors are taking longer to progress their current pupils through the test, consequently reducing the availability of slots for new learners. This bottleneck in the system has led to pent-up demand for driving instructors, especially in densely populated urban areas, necessitating the recruitment of more instructors to meet the escalating demand.
Statistics from the government indicate a 3 per cent increase in provisional licence holders between May 2023 and May 2024, with a doubling of the increase among 25-to-30 year-olds, which saw a 6 per cent rise during the same period. A survey conducted by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) found that 70 per cent of driving instructors are currently not accepting new students, despite 20 per cent of them having increased their working hours in the past year. In response to the high demand, 63 per cent of instructors have established waiting lists, with 10 per cent having over 20 people waiting for a slot. Surprisingly, 15 per cent of instructors anticipate maintaining this waiting list system for over a year.
Trish Hubbard, a franchisee of AA Driving School, expanded her teaching area to Bristol this year due to the unprecedented demand for driving lessons. Hubbard acknowledged the overwhelming demand for driving lessons, especially in Avonmouth, leading her to occasionally close her diary due to the inability to accommodate more pupils. She expressed empathy for students when having to turn them down or ask them to wait, as she prefers to work full-time to earn well and stay busy.
The top 10 areas identified as requiring new driving instructors are Liverpool, Oldham, Bristol, West London, Blackburn, Edinburgh, Harrow, Medway, Salisbury, and Motherwell. The shortage of instructors in these areas reflects the broader challenge faced by the AA and the driving instruction industry as a whole in keeping up with the rapidly growing demand for driving lessons and tests.