Driving Licence: Government Announces 80,000 New Test Places by the End of the Year to Reduce Waiting Times

François-Noël Buffet, Minister to the Minister of the Interior, announced on Thursday, July 31, the opening of 80,000 new places for driving tests by the end of the year in order to shorten waiting times.

"Faced with the current high pressure on driving test places, the government is taking rapid measures to ensure better access to this essential test, particularly for young people," he said in a press release .

These measures include the recruitment of 108 inspectors and the mobilization of retired inspectors, Mr. Buffet specified on RMC . The minister did not wish to make a "commitment on the timeframe," but he mentioned a period of one month "when the system is fully operational."

Meeting with the Ministry of the Interior in mid-July, driving school representatives stated that 200 additional inspectors would be needed to reduce the average wait of eighty days between obtaining the highway code and taking the practical exam. There are significant disparities between departments.

The government also wants to improve the success rate for the driving test, which is only 59% on the first attempt and therefore contributes to the congestion of the process. "It is essential that candidates taking the exam have all the necessary skills and that the exam is no longer experienced as a destabilizing ordeal for many of them," said Mr. Buffet.

"With this plan, we are providing an immediate response to the current crisis, while preparing a deep reform to improve the success rate without ever compromising safety on our roads," he added.