Driving Licence Pass Rates in the UK
I’m a bit of an info junkie which is one of the reasons I made this blog and also why I love the informative graphics like the one below.
One of my favorite things about Britain is its brilliant mass transit system. (The British may complain about it, but compared to the States it’s marvelous.)
I used trains a lot when I lived in England yet I still owned a car. (You can take the girl out of America but….) This was twenty-five years ago when far fewer Britons drove. Some I knew didn’t even have a driver’s license and indeed my husband admitted to me that he had only gotten his because he was forced to as part of his job in the RAF.
Now things have changed as this graphic shows; more Brits own a car than not, despite cah-razy petrol prices. Maybe that’s a result of what Britons see as the declining efficiency of their transport systems? I’m looking forward to hearing what my British readers have to say about this.
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That bloody driving test was really hard, and I took it back in about 1978 0r 9. Now it’s even worse.
An American in London once told me that there are thousands of older Americans driving illegally in the UK because the test is too difficult for them. I’m not surprised – especially when you compare it to the US one. The Queenager took hers a few years ago and she was back so quickly I thought she had failed!
Comment by Expat Mum — February 25, 2012 @ 2:54 pm
My friend Denise just went thru the whole ordeal of getting her UK drivers licence. It meant taking driving lessons which aren’t a requirement for many states in the U.S. From listening to her ordeal it seemed like it was very difficult to pass. I was able to drive on a U.S. licence because I was a member of the Armed Forces. I failed our written test once and passed the driving portion the first time round. Ian breezed thru the written and failed parallel parking. Sometimes the driving bit depends on luck and how strict the tester is you get stuck with.
Comment by smittenbybritain — February 25, 2012 @ 3:41 pm
The theory test was fine – what I expected but the perception part was pure crap! For someone who has been driving 20+ years we see things quicker then a young kid, I still passed.
The driving test was normal but expensive in my opinion and I took the automatic only part which is dumb because now if I want to drive a manual I have to pay the exact same money to take the test again. I passed with flying colours though with an automatic.
I think the reason to not get a license here is that even if you get one you can’t afford to run the car or get insurance.
Then again the US is going up in rates as well.
Comment by Snow Wife — February 27, 2012 @ 8:51 am
The price of petrol would put me right off, also, poor parking options depending on where I live. MOT I used to pay and it didn’t bother me; not any different than paying your yearly car registration. I honestly can’t remember how much I paid for insurance.
Comment by smittenbybritain — February 27, 2012 @ 12:59 pm