Doncaster is one of the hardest places in the UK to pass your driving test

The study, by insurance experts at Howden Insurance, examined the pass rate percentage of major driving test centres for first time test takers in the UK that have conducted driving tests from January 2020 to December 2023; The lowest success rates were used to determine the ranking.

Swindon was revealed to have the lowest percentage of pass rates out of all test centres in the UK. This test centre has an average pass rate of 21.5% – of 209 tests taken, just 45 were passed. Females have a higher pass rate of 25% in Swindon, as opposed to men with only 20.1%.

Speke is second, with a pass rate of 32%. The Liverpool based test centre has assessed 23,180 prospective drivers since the start of 2020, deeming only 7,410 of them ready to drive. Females in Speke narrowly miss out on being more successful at passing their driving test than males as they obtain a pass rate of 31.6%, males slightly higher 32.3%.

Doncaster is the third hardest test centre for someone to pass their driving test in the UK, with a pass rate of 32.5%. Out of 314 tests taken, only 102 learner drivers passed first time. Males have a higher pass rate in Doncaster at 39.5%, and females are much lower with a pass rate of 23.4%.

A spokesperson from Howden Insurance said: “Taking a driving test is always a daunting task, but perseverance is key when it doesn’t go your way the first time around. It is interesting to see the vast differences in success rates between the different test centres across the UK. It is also interesting to see that males seem to have a higher success rate than women overall.”