At the end of 2017, changes were made to the driving test, with many believing the new test would be more difficult. It seems this theory may have been correct as the national average for pass rates has decreased by 1.3% since 2016, only reaching 45.8%. This means that if you’re hoping to learn how to drive, you might want to spend more time with your Driving Instructor Newcastle to make sure you can actually pass the new test first time.

Some of the changes included having to navigate for 20 minutes using a sat-nav, removing certain manoeuvres and learners being asked ‘show me’ and ‘tell me’ questions throughout the test, not just at the beginning. And even when people manage to pass their test, some of them still take extra driving courses to help them be a better driver (if this is something that interests you, then you can visit website here for more information).

Passing your driving test is a huge achievement and can be life-changing. Have you recently passed your driving test? Although you can drive before you get your driving licence photocard, you must still be properly insured. Any learner driver insurance you had will not cover you as a qualified driver, so you need to contact your insurance company to change it, or arrange new car insurance.

Using a car insurance comparison site such as https://www.mycarinsurancequote.com might, therefore, be your next step. Car insurance comparison sites are a useful resource for new drivers as they allow you to take a look at a few different policies from several insurers to find the coverage you need at the best possible price.

Following these updated driving test rules, leading vehicle finance provider, Moneybarn, analysed car driving test results across the nation, revealing which areas now have the highest and lowest pass rates.

The South West come up trumps with Dorchester (62.4%) and Yeovil (61.9%) in first and second places respectively for the highest pass rates.

Northallerton (61.8%), Ipswich (60.1%) and Durham (60%) complete the top 5 centres with the highest pass rates.

Newtown is the best place to take your driving test in Wales, placing seventh overall and boasting a 58.3% pass rate, followed closely by Barry in ninth place with a 58% pass rate.

On the other hand, Birmingham (The Pavilion) has the highest failure rate for driving tests, with just 28.6% of drivers achieving a pass. This is over 17% lower than the national average.

This may not surprise local residents as Birmingham is found to be one of the most congested cities in the UK.

Speke (32.5%), Birmingham South Yardley (32.8%), Erith (33%) and Belvedere (33.2%) complete the bottom five centres with the lowest pass rates.

Two Manchester-based centres – Rochdale (34.2%) and Bury (34.6%) – feature in the bottom ten as do three London test centres, which are Erith (33%), Belvedere (33.2%) and Barking Tanner Street (34.5%).

With this in mind, if you are hoping to pass your driving test as soon as possible, and need driving lessons Manchester based driving instructors might be able to offer you a better chance of succeeding when compared to instructors from London.

Overall, built-up urban areas tend to have lower pass rates, with quieter rural test centres having a higher number of positive results.

This could be because when test centres – like Birmingham (The Pavilion)- are in more congested areas, there’s a higher likelihood of challenging moments when driving. There are more distractions on busier roads, higher concentrations of traffic and complex road intersections to navigate.

It’s also been suggested there may be social factors which affect the pass rate disparity. Bigger, urban test centres are usually in areas where more people are on lower incomes. This may mean they have taken fewer driving lessons before their tests, which could be a contributing factor to the lower pass rates.