Increase in lorry driving tests suggests driver shortage stabilising

Statistics from the Department for Transport reveal that the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) carried out 74% more lorry driving tests between 1 January 2022 and 31 March 2022 compared to pre-pandemic levels.

This could be down to the changes the government made to simplify the process to become a heavy goods vehicle (HGV) driver to help deal with the HGV driver shortage introduced in 2021.

These included allowing the off-road part of the lorry test to be carried out by non-DVSA assessors; allowing drivers to take one test to drive both a rigid and articulated lorry; and removing the need for drivers to do a separate car and trailer test

In addition to these changes DVSA recruited more vocational driving examiners to help make more tests available in the areas of where demand was highest.

The sector is now starting to recover and industry bodies are reporting positively on the number of HGV drivers stabilising.

They indicate that the initiatives introduced by government and industry have started to yield results, showing that perceptions of the industry are changing as a result of government support and more people are looking to train and qualify as HGV drivers.