RSA update on driving test waiting times

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) has today confirmed that the average national waiting time for a car driving test now stands at 10.4 weeks, a significant improvement but still in excess of its Service Level Agreement.  

In a statement, the RSA says it has been working intensively to reduce waiting times following unprecedented demand.

“This reduction, down from 27 weeks at the end of April, reflects the impact and progress of the RSA’s action plan of additional tester recruitment, reallocation of resources, and focused management of test centre capacity,” the statement said.

The RSA emphasised that while this is an important step forward, it does not mark the end of the Authority’s efforts.

Waiting times remain above the RSA’s Service Level Agreement of 10 weeks, and some individual test centres are still experiencing delays.

“We are steadfast in our commitment to bring the average down to 10 weeks and below.

“This is not the finish line — we know that some learners are still waiting longer than they should, and we are determined to fix that.

“A number of centres continue to have an unacceptable wait time and our priority remains ensuring more equality, uniformity and balance between supply and demand across the country.”

The RSA pointed to the full deployment of new testers and the opening of additional test centres in the coming weeks as key measures to drive waiting times down further.

The Authority also acknowledged the temporary impact on waiting times for other vehicle categories, such as buses and trucks, due to the focus on training and mentoring for new testers.

“Our focus remains firmly on sustained improvement, supporting learner drivers, and meeting our commitments across all licence categories.”