SCOTLAND is the easiest place in the UK to pass a driving test, with more than 70 per cent of resulting in success in some rural parts, it has been revealed.
Data from the DVSA found that 57.4% of learners in Scotland passed their practical test in 2017/18 – the highest pass rate anywhere in the UK.
Learners in Golspie, Sutherland, have the highest pass rate of any test centre in the UK, with some 76.7% of those tested driving away with their licence between April 2017 and March 2018.
Pitlochry, Perthshire, was second top with 73.6%, while other rural areas also enjoy some of the highest success rates in the UK.
Duns in the Borders (72.7%), Inveraray in Argyll (72.2%), Mallaig in Lochaber (71.4%), and Islay in the Inner Hebrides (71.4%) all enjoyed higher success rates than anywhere in England.
But Scotland’s biggest cities were less successful.
While nearly half of those sitting a test at Edinburgh’s Currie (48.8%) and Musselburgh (46.9%) passed, the highest pass rate in Glasgow was in Baillieston, with just 42.8%.
Knightswood in Glasgow had the lowest pass rate of any test centre in Scotland, with only 37.5% of tests resulting in a pass. The city’s Shieldhall – previously the lowest – fared only marginally better, with 37.6%.
Berwick-upon-Tweed was second highest in England with a 64.3% pass rate, only beaten by, Malton in North Yorkshire, where 68% of tests were passed.
The lowest in the UK was Erith, in London, where fewer then one in three (30.6%) pass their test.
Meanwhile, research by Confused.com reveals that August 4, is the day when learner drivers across the UK are most likely to pass their driving test. The driver savings site has created an interactive calendar using DVSA data from the past five years to help learners identify the best dates of the year to sit their test.
The calendar also identifies the most successful times of day, and days of the week.
Some 50.33% of those who sat a driving test on August 4 passed, according to the research.
Amanda Stretton, motoring editor at Confused.com, said: “Taking a driving test is always a daunting experience for learner drivers. So we have tried to take the pressure off a little bit by creating an interactive calendar which helps identify the best date, month and time.”
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