Learner drivers 'hire impersonators' to cheat test
BBCLearner drivers are hiring impersonators to pass their practical test because of lengthy waits for an exam, an expert has warned.
Carly Brookfield, of the Driving Instructors Association, said she feared "reckless" motorists were being let loose on the road as a result.
Fifteen people were caught in Essex posing as somebody to sit a practical test in 2024, according to figures obtained by the BBC.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) said detecting and preventing fraud was a "top priority".
The data, obtained via a Freedom of Information request, showed a further 127 incidents of cheating were detected at Essex theory test centres last year.
Of those, 95 cheats were suspected to have been using covert devices to assist them, while the others used impersonators.
None of the cases reported in Essex have led to prosecutions.
Ms Brookfield said five-month waits for a driving test in the UK was steering people towards desperate measures.
"They're thinking 'if I don't pass first time, it's going to be a very long wait until I get my next driving test slot'," she said.
"They are calculating that risk and thinking it's worth cheating to try and ensure they pass."
'Risky behaviour'
National figures provided to the BBC showed 2,059 incidents of cheating were recorded by the DVSA in the 2023-24 financial year.
Sentences for impersonators or those caught using them range from prison terms to community orders.
Theory tests cost £23 to sit and practical exams £62 - before extra money spent on hiring an instructor's car in most cases.
Ms Brookfield called on the DVSA to implement more robust deterrents to crack down on those cheating the system.
"If somebody is cheating their way to a pass, that is risky behaviour in a person that's going to manifest itself in risky behaviour on the road," she said.
"Where it looks like a very long wait [for an exam], there is temptation to take a risk you wouldn't normally take."
The government has been working to cut wait times for tests by hiring hundreds of driving examiners.
Lilian Greenwood, minister for the future of roads, said in December that learners were being denied the chance to get their licence.
Marian Kitson, the DVSA's director of enforcement services, said the authority was committed to tackling fraud "to protect other road users from unsafe drivers".
She added: "We work with driving examiners and test centre staff across the country to help them better identify candidates suspected of cheating and explain how to report these cases.
"Our dedicated counter-fraud team carries out robust investigations into suspected fraud, working with the police to bring fraudsters to justice."
She said many impersonation cases in Essex were awaiting the outcome of either an investigation or prosecution.
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