The effects of Coronavirus on the Driver Training industry

Driving lessons and driving tests have been seriously disrupted since March 2020. At the time of writing this post we are in our third national lockdown.

People who had driving tests booked which unfortunately overlapped with a national lockdown or Tier 4 restriction found that their driving tests would no longer be going ahead.

All driving test candidates would normally be notified by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency regarding their test cancelation and sent an alternative driving test appointment free of charge.

The postponement of driving lessons, cancelation of theory tests and practical driving test appointments has created a number of issues:

• People have had to wait for up to a few months for a new driving test or theory test appointment. The number of tests needing to be rebooked has now pushed up overall theory and driving test appointment waiting times.
• Some learner drivers have unfortunately experienced repeated driving test cancelations which meant that each time they were ready for their driving test they were unable to take it through no fault of their own. The knock on effect of these test cancelations resulted in learner drivers having to purchase more driving lessons each time to be ready to take their rescheduled driving test appointment.
• In the unfortunate circumstance that your theory test certificate was due to expire and it wasn't possible to have a rescheduled driving test appointment, you would be expected to undertake your theory test again at your own expense.
• Not all driving instructors were entitled to government support and some have struggled financially throughout the lockdown periods.

With the government vaccination programme currently in progress hopefully the situation regarding the driver training industry will become more stable towards the end of 2021.

In response to the current situation Manchester Driver Training have launched the following services:

An out of area driving test service - Sometimes your local driving test centres may have a long wait for driving test appointments. We offer a service whereby we can take you to a different area to undertake an earlier appointment for a driving test. E.g. you want to travel from Manchester to Leeds or Manchester to Sheffield for a driving test appointment. (This service is available when travel between areas is permitted)

An intensive driving crash course service - Some people want to accelerate their learning and require an intensive driving crash course. We now have a dedicated team of instructors who specifically focus on providing intensive driving courses for those who want to learn at an accelerated rate.

A new career opportunity - If you are currently out of work, hold a driving licence and are looking to be part of something new, Manchester Driver Training are offering you the opportunity to train up to become a driving instructor and work as a team member. This is an investment opportunity whereby you pay for your training once you start delivering paid driving lessons. We are offering this opportunity to help people to get back into work.