UK Driving News This Week: A New Test Booking Platform, a Ready to Pass? Rewrite and Rising Drug Driving (13 July 2026)

Two announcements from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) dominated the past week, and both say something about where driver training is heading. The agency lifted the lid on the software that will replace the test booking system, and rewrote the learning advice on its Ready to Pass? website to talk less about the test and more about staying safe afterwards. Two sets of freedom of information figures also landed, one on drug driving and one on learners collecting penalty points before they have even passed.

DVSA sets out how the new test booking service is being built

On 8 July 2026 the DVSA published a progress update on the Driver Services Platform (DSP), the system being built to replace the car driving test booking service. Technology partner Kainos was appointed in September 2025, and design work has been shaped by research with the people who use the system: learner drivers, the staff who deploy examiners, and the advisers who pick up the pieces when a booking goes wrong.

The engineering challenge is less glamorous than the front end. The platform must check licence entitlement with the DVLA, confirm a theory test pass, take payment, push test details to examiners' iPads and send results back so a full licence can be issued. Getting those handshakes right is most of the job.

Before anything goes national there will be a pilot at Durham Driving Test Centre involving one examiner and a single day of tests, with local ADIs asked to put forward pupils who are ready. Further pilots follow later this year. One line deserves underlining, because it will disappoint anyone hoping this fixes the backlog: the DVSA has been explicit that the platform will not create additional test appointments. Better booking, not more capacity.

Ready to Pass? gets rewritten around safe driving, not just passing

The following day, 9 July 2026, the DVSA published a substantial update to the driving skills section of Ready to Pass?. It is now called "Learning the skills you need to drive safely", and the rewrite came from ADI feedback that the old content leaned too heavily on the test rather than the driving that follows it.

The 27 core skills remain, but they now sit inside a road safety frame. Each carries reflective "Things to think about" questions on habits, decision making and consequences, plus new "Ask your instructor" prompts to open up coaching conversations in the car. There is fresh guidance on choosing a qualified instructor, and updated material on driver assistance systems such as lane assist and emergency braking.

The most pointed change is the recommended learning sequence:

• choose an instructor first

• start studying The Highway Code

• begin professional lessons before taking the theory test

• do private practice only when your instructor advises it

• book the practical test only when your instructor agrees you are ready

That order is not arbitrary. The DVSA cites learner surveys showing that people who had not taken lessons before sitting the theory test were 16% more likely to fail the multiple-choice section first time, and 25% more likely to fail the practical first time. The agency wants instructor judgement back at the centre of the process, a notable position to take two months after learners were handed sole control of booking their tests.

Drug driving overtakes drink driving for the first time

Analysis published by IAM RoadSmart on 9 July 2026, using DVLA endorsement data obtained under freedom of information, found that drug-driving offences have passed drink-driving offences for the first time. There were 30,707 DG10 drug-driving endorsements issued in 2025 against 29,769 DR10 drink-driving endorsements, with drug-driving up 28% since 2022 and drink-driving down 17% over the same period.

Drivers aged 17 to 24 accounted for almost one in five drug-driving endorsements, far above their share of the licence-holding population. Separate RAC research using DVLA data found 12,391 motorists convicted of drug driving at least three times in the 11 years to 20 July 2025, against 2,553 with three or more drink-driving convictions. More than 4,000 of those caught still held a provisional licence. The RAC is pressing for a national drug-driving rehabilitation scheme like the one offered to drink-drive offenders.

192,560 learner endorsements in four years

The second FOI story of the week, published on 9 July 2026, came from Tempcover using DVLA data. It found 192,560 endorsements issued to provisional licence holders between 2022 and 2025, with the annual total climbing from 37,118 in 2022 to 53,502 in 2025.

Three offences account for more than 76% of them. Top of the list is LC20, driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence, on 52,748: no L plates, no eligible supervising driver, conditions of the provisional licence ignored. Next comes IN10, driving uninsured, on 50,013, then SP30, speeding, on 44,452.

The sting is in what happens next. Points picked up on a provisional licence stay on the record after the test is passed, and under the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995 a new driver who reaches six points within two years of passing loses their licence. Qualify with three points already on board and there is little room left.

Higher MOT service charges for HGVs, buses and trailers

On 6 July 2026 the maximum service charge that authorised testing facilities can levy for HGV, bus, coach and trailer MOTs went up. The DVSA confirmed the new ceilings in its consultation response of 22 June 2026: £70 for HGVs, £50 for trailers and £90 for buses and coaches. Of the 634 responses, 99% of testing facilities backed the rise, against 62% of vehicle operators. Most car learners can ignore this one, though it matters if a family business runs a minibus or a coach.

What this week means for you

If you are learning, the Ready to Pass? rewrite is worth an hour of your time. The reflection questions are what a good instructor asks anyway, and having them written down gives you something to work through between lessons. The sequencing advice matters too: booking a theory test before you have sat in a car with an instructor is a reliable way to make life harder for yourself, and the DVSA's numbers now put a figure on it. The Clutch app works on the same principle, scoring your practice drives against the DVSA competencies so you can see where you actually are, not where you feel you are. You can try it here.

The endorsement figures are the other item every learner should read. Driving to a lesson in a friend's car with no insurance and no L plates is not a technicality. It is six points and, quite possibly, a revoked licence.

For instructors, the DSP update is the one to file away. The Durham pilot means the replacement booking system is real and moving, but nobody should tell a waiting pupil that new software will conjure up an earlier slot. The Ready to Pass? changes are more immediately useful, and the DVSA wants feedback on the coaching prompts. Instructors who want a structured view of pupil progress between lessons can see how Clutch works for ADIs.

Frequently asked questions

Will the new DVSA booking system get me a test sooner?

No. The DVSA has stated plainly that the Driver Services Platform will improve the booking experience but will not create more test appointments. Capacity depends on examiner numbers, not software.

Do I have to pass my theory test before I start driving lessons?

You do not, and the DVSA's updated advice now recommends the opposite. Its learner surveys found that people who took no lessons before the theory test were 16% more likely to fail it first time and 25% more likely to fail the practical first time. Start lessons, then sit the theory.

Can I get penalty points before I pass my driving test?

Yes, and more than 53,000 provisional licence holders did in 2025 alone. Points earned on a provisional licence carry over to your full licence, and reaching six points within two years of passing means it is revoked.

What counts as drug driving?

It covers illegal drugs, but also prescription and some over-the-counter medicines if they impair your driving or exceed the specified limits. A conviction brings at least a 12-month ban, an unlimited fine and a criminal record.

Practise smarter this week: score your next drive against the DVSA standard with Clutch.