Cancelled driving tests costs learner thousands

The family of a learner driver whose test has been cancelled three times in a row, say it feels like they're 'fighting a losing battle'.

Aimee Fallaize, 18, from Bicester, Oxfordshire, has been test-ready for the last year but Banbury's test centre has cancelled her driving test on multiple occasions.

With no certainty on when a test might next become available, the family said it has spent thousands to keep her lessons going whilst she waits for a test.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency said it apologises to those who've had their driving tests cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances and it is working hard to restore testing capacity at Banbury Driving Test Centre.

Her mother, Jane Fallaize said it's been a 'nightmare' from the start: "We had to wait 6 months from July 2025 to February for the first test, then in February, three days before her first test was due, she got it cancelled.

"We were understanding at that point, however then she got it cancelled once again at the end of February and since then we've had a further cancellation and now, we're just waiting to see if her fourth test will go ahead."

Fallaize said the unknown of when the test will go ahead is causing anxiety for her daughter and the family: "We're always on edge knowing and thinking that it could get cancelled again, it's been a tough journey…nearly 17 months now of driving."

But it's not just the emotional toll, Fallaize said the financial impact of test cancellations has been huge: "We've had to keep going with driving lessons and that's another factor of how many lessons we've had to pay for.

"We reckon we've spent well over £3,000, and we did raise this with the DVSA, but they don't reimburse costs like that."

Robert Wingrove, chair of the Banbury Association of Driving Instructors said the number of test cancellations is now impacting local driving instructors and their businesses.

"For the instructor, they lose out financially…Generally speaking, a 2 hour slot is allocated for each test, only for it to be cancelled which leaves an unpaid gap in their diary that they can't fill.

"The student then cancels further lessons, because they feel they are test ready and understandably, don't want to waste any more money, which leaves the instructor with an increasing list of students who are test ready loitering on their books, that should have passed and moved on with their lives.

"The result is a limbo situation."

A DVSA spokesperson said: "We apologise to those learner drivers who have had their practical driving test cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.

"We are working hard to restore testing capacity at Banbury Driving Test Centre.

"Learner drivers whose tests have been cancelled will be contacted to have their test rearranged at the earliest opportunity."