A would-be driver from Leicester has shelled out £2,852 on 92 driving theory tests costing up to £31 each – but without a pass, he cannot take the practical test.

The information, produced from a Freedom of Information request to the Driving Standards Agency (DSA), also showed there is a 46-year-old man who has failed his practical test 20 times.

The hour-long theory test includes multiple-choice questions about road rules, plus a hazard-perception test where participants have to spot developing road dangers on a driving video.

But the theory tests are to get harder – which won’t be good news for the doggedly determined learner. The DSA is to stop publishing the answers, to prevent candidates learning by rote.

Just 15 months ago, the practical test was changed with the introduction of a ten-minute independent driving section. Examinees are told to follow road signs to a place or landmark rather than just be guided by the examiner telling them to turn left or right.

The driving test was introduced in 1935 although it was suspended during the war and the 1956 Suez crisis. Hand signals were abolished from the test in 1975 and the written test introduced in 1996. In 2011, 63% of candidates passed their test.

source: Charlotte Beugge – www.carfinance.co.uk/news