- UK test backlog pushes learners toward fraud and risky workarounds.
- Cheating spans Bluetooth help to paid impersonators earning thousands.
- Officials warn unqualified drivers now pose serious road threats.
If you think your local DMV test is a headache, the UK’s driving exam might make getting a US learner’s permit feel like a warm-up lap. It’s become so hard to pass and the waiting list is so long that thousands of British learners are now resorting to cheating just to get behind the wheel.
For American readers, some context here probably helps. In the UK, learners must pass a theory test and a separate on road practical exam. Fail either and you wait months for another try. Right now, the average wait is about 22 weeks, and that pressure is pushing people to do stupid things.
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According to official Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) data accessed by the UK’s Press Association, nearly 2,900 attempts to cheat were recorded across England, Scotland, and Wales in the year to September 2025.
That number represents a 47 percent jump in just 12 months. Authorities say cheating is getting more sophisticated, but also easier to spot, thanks to better detection.
It’s Me, Honest
The most common trick involves making use of everyday tech. You’re not allowed to have your phone with you when taking the theory test, but offenders in more than 1,100 of the cheating cases used Bluetooth earpieces linked to hidden phones, allowing someone else to feed answers during the theory test.
Others went old-school and simply sent someone else in their place. There were over 1,000 impersonation attempts for theory exams and nearly 650 for practical tests.
Yes, people are literally paying strangers to pretend to be them. UK courts heard impersonators can earn up to £2,000 ($2,700) per pass, which explains why some offenders did it again and again.
Qounain Khan from Birmingham received an eight-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to impersonating learners at theory test centres 12 times. Other punishments available to courts include issuing driving bans and orders to carry out unpaid work, The Guardian reports.
Slipped Through the Net
Officials and safety experts are alarmed, and for good reason. Passing a test without knowing how to drive puts everyone at risk. More accidents, insurance nightmares, injuries, and worse are all on the table when unqualified drivers get licenses.
And though authorities have caught almost 3,000 people cheating this past year using metal detectors, closer scrutiny of photo ID pictures and asking people to roll their sleeves up to check for devices, you have to wonder how many they didn’t catch.
Why the Wait Keeps Growing
The theory test – a combination of multiple choice questions and a series of real videos where the test sitter has to click when they recognize a hazard – is notoriously hard, some people needing dozens of attempts before passing. But another problem is the long waiting times for a slot.
That’s the result of pandemic disruptions, examiner shortages, and bot driven third party booking sites have stretched the system to breaking point. The government now admits the backlog may not be cleared until late 2027, and leaner drivers don’t want to wait that long to get on the road.
