MILITARY driving examiners have been brought in to help deliver up to 6,500 more tests to tackle the driving test backlog, the Government announced this week.
There will also be a new limit on rearranging tests and a ban on third parties booking on behalf of learners in order to make the system fairer, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said.
The Department for Transport, working in partnership with the Ministry of Defence, has announced 36 Defence Driving Examiners (DDEs), made up of civilian MoD personnel, will help conduct driving tests one day a week for 12 months.
The extra personnel will be focusing primarily on car driving tests but with flexibility to carry out vocational tests, for bus and lorry drivers, if needed. They will be based at the driving test centres with the highest demand near their MOD base or home location.
Military driving examiners usually test service personnel, covering cars as well as fuel tankers and armoured carriers.
The Minister for the Armed Forces, Al Carns, has authorised the deployment of military driving examiners to help bring down the backlog, with no negative impact on military operations.
Mr Carns said: “The Armed Forces and civilians working within the Ministry of Defence have always been ready to step up when the country needs them – and this is another example of that commitment in action.
