Driving examiners facing verbal and physical abuse from learners

BBC News

15 hours ago

Driving test examiners have suffered 70 physical assaults in five years, according to new figures obtained by the BBC.A Freedom of Information request showed there were also 1,668 cases of verbal abuse recorded on staff across Great Britain between April 2020 and March 2025.Body-worn cameras are now routinely worn to protect staff against abusive candidates, while the Driving Instructors Association (DIA), which carries out advanced tests for taxi and fleet drivers, no longer gives out its test results in person.The Driving Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) said it took a zero tolerance approach to physical and verbal assaults.
Gary, who is not employed by the DVSA, has been an examiner for 20 years and conducts advanced tests for drivers of taxis, buses and lorries.He said he heard of examiners being punched and chased across car parks."I've heard of a car chasing after an examiner, verbal abuse and people spat at, which is something I've experienced," he said."I was carrying out a test for someone who wanted to be a taxi driver, when I delivered the result and it was a failure, he became very abusive, got out of the car, faced up against me and followed me down the street."If I'd have reacted it could have escalated, it was a worrying experience."
Examiners have previously told the BBC how some of them had even suffered death threats.Carly Brookfield, from the DIA, said she was aware of a number of alarming situations."Cases I've heard about include staff having a brick thrown through the window of a test centre by a disgruntled person who hadn't passed their test," she said."Some of our examiners faced verbal abuse and on one occasion an examiner was actually followed back to the hotel where they were staying and the candidate and their friends hung around that location, trying to intimidate the examiner."
'Protect our examiners'
The DIA, which is based in Crawley, West Sussex, conducts advanced tests for many taxi and private hire drivers. However, due to verbal abuse it no longer gives out test results in person."We changed our policy on giving out test results, from giving the result on the day directly to the candidate, to giving the result by email 24 hours later," said Ms Brookfield."It's to protect our examiners and to deliver a uniformity of results and feedback in writing for the candidates."
Ms Brookfield believed delays in getting a driving test could be affecting the issue.BBC Verify found in April that three quarters of the 319 driving test centres across Great Britain had hit the maximum average waiting time - of 24 weeks - to book a practical test.Ms Brookfield said incidents were exacerbated because people were "angry they've had to wait so long to get a driving test and to get their licence"."When they fail they will have to wait even longer to get a re-test, so some of that frustration is bubbling over into physical and verbal assaults on examiners and that's just completely unacceptable," she said.
'Punched to the floor'
Teresa Allen, a driving instructor of 17 years from Tonbridge, said she had heard of cases of both physical and verbal abuse against examiners."I have heard of examiners being punched to the floor which is just beyond the pale," she said."Verbal abuse is actually pretty common I believe."
Ms Allen told BBC South East about a case where a learner driver had been abusive on a previous test."He then had to have two examiners on this one and when he didn't pass, he stopped the one in the back of the car from getting out, and as he was eventually removed and driven away by his accompanying driver, he was screaming and yelling," she said."Examiners are only doing their job and if they feel that a person has done something that's proven they're not quite ready to make good decisions themselves on the road, then they must fail them."However, she doesn't believe delays in securing driving test slots are fuelling these cases."I don't think abuse is directly linked to delays in accessing tests, although I do think that trying to get examiners and retain examiners must be getting more and more difficult," she added.
The DVSA said learners who were abusive faced the possibility of having their record marked and restrictions placed on them for their next test. This could mean it will take longer for them to get a future test, as test centre managers may deem them enough of a risk that they need two examiners in the car as a safety precaution.
In December, the DVSA said it was consulting on new proposals to increase the standard waiting time to book another test if candidates physically or verbally assault their driving examiner. A DVSA spokesperson said: "Although the majority of people are courteous, we employ a number of measures which seek to keep our examiners safe and shielded from abuse."Our message is clear – whatever has happened, don't take it out on our staff. If you do, we'll press for the strongest possible penalties."