Seven in 10 drivers believe they would pass their practical test if they retook it today

Seventy per cent of UK drivers believe that they’d pass their practical driving test if they had to retake it today, a new survey has revealed.

A study of 2,032 drivers by Volkswagen Financial Services found that this confidence only appears to increase with age, as 81 per cent of over-65s believe that they’d re-pass the test today if they needed to retake it.

Official figures from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) showed that there were 692,684 practical driving tests undertaken in the 2021/22 period, with an overall pass rate of 50.5 per cent.

The study also found that more than half of respondents think that they would re-pass their theory test if they had to undertake it, but confidence in this area decreases with age. Some 53 per cent of over-45s believe that they would pass, compared with 76 per cent of millennials.

Charlotte Cheeseman, head of marketing at Volkswagen Financial Services UK, said: “Most of us learn to drive when we’re teenagers and as the years go by I’m sure most people pick up bad habits along the way. So it’s interesting to see that so many drivers believe they’d re-pass their practical test at the drop of a hat, especially when you consider that a significant number of the population are likely to have sat their original test more than 20 years ago!

“But I think this research relates to a wider point about the British public’s undeniable love of driving. For me, it speaks volumes about our collective confidence on the road and that we feel safe, relaxed and comfortable in our cars.”

However, close to half of those questioned believed that they would still pass both parts of the test, though 17 per cent weren’t confident that they’d be able to pass either.

People in the Midlands were found to be the most confident about having to retake their test at 72 per cent of drivers, while those in Scotland were the least confident at 65 per cent of those questioned.