A MOTORIST in Ipswich took a total of 12 attempts to pass their practical driving test, figures have revealed.
Information released by the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) following a Freedom of Information request shows that in 2005/06, a learner driver passed the practical car driving test in Ipswich, following a previous 11 failed attempts.
In the financial year 2011/12, two learners passed their tests on the tenth attempt, one on the eighth and one on the seventh.
The figures also revealed that between April 1, 2008 and December 31, 2012, an individual candidate in Ipswich incurred a total of 10 serious and dangerous faults during a single practical car driving test.
Despite these figures, the overall pass rate for practical tests taken at the Ipswich test centre in Ransomes Euro Park has steadily improved in the last six years – from 47.7% in 2007/08 to 54.1% by the end of 2012.
However, a gender gap emerges when the figures are broken down for males and females – with the pass rate for women between 5% and 8% lower than the pass rate for men.
When it comes to theory tests, the gap is sharply reversed, with men consistently below the overall average pass rate for the last five years and women consistently above.
In 2011/12, the overall pass rate for theory tests taken at the Ipswich centre at Crown House in Crown Street was 61.32% for 9,368 tests.
Breaking the results down by gender shows that the pass rate for women was 63.46% while the pass rate for men was just 59.18%.
Do you think there should a limit to the number of practical driving tests a learner can take? What do you think about the gender difference?
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