LEARNER drivers sitting their test for the first time were twice as likely to pass on Barra than in East Kilbride, according to data which highlights the gulf in pass rates between urban and rural areas.
The Outer Hebrides community has earned a reputation as one of the easiest places in Britain to sit a driving test as the island has no traffic lights, roundabouts or pedestrian crossings, and has become a draw for frustrated urban learners who have failed on multiple attempts in busy cities such as London or Edinburgh.
Barra had a 100 per cent overall pass rate in 2014/15 - the highest in Scotland. The figure includes people passing on repeat attempts. Of the 11 candidates sitting a test for the first time, however, two failed, leaving the island with an 82 per cent first-time pass rate.
Meanwhile in Gairloch, a Highland village with a population of 950, all 21 candidates who sat their driving test for the first time passed. Among the six candidates who were re-sitting the driving test, only one failed.
In Scotland as a whole, the driving test centres have an average pass rate of 77 per cent and a first-time pass rate slightly above the UK average, at 54 per cent.
But the test centres which rank highest are overwhelmingly remote and rural, with Orkney, Mallaig, Benbecula and Arran also among the top ten.
Their figures are in stark contrast to driving test blackspots such as Livingston and East Kilbride, where as few as four in 10 learners pass first time and total pass rates hover barely above 50 per cent.
Neil Greig, policy director for the Institute of Advanced Motorists, said: "It's been an issue for a while and you do hear about people going out into the countryside to find a test centre.
"I think in some ways it is just a reflection of the reality of taking a test in a busy urban environment where there's a lot going on, a lot more potential for mistakes to be highlighted and for errors to be made as opposed to a rural location where you might not have the same level of interaction with other traffic.
"Ultimately, we would like a system that gives people experience of both - urban and rural - before they pass their test."
Country roads accounted for more than half of all fatal road crashes in Scotland in 2014, the most recent year where data is available.
A spokesman for the AA said the discrepancy was not necessarily unfair, as candidates were trained for the driving conditions where they live.
He added: "Unless you export everyone who is going to take their test in a quiet place to somewhere busy, and vice versa, you're not going to get complete parity.
"But you have to look at it both ways. If someone is used to the cut and thrust of driving in the south-east and move to parts of the remote and rural Highlands of Scotland, the hazards they experience would be very different - for example, dealing with the weather, single-track roads, animals."
A UK-wide consultation on modernising the learning process closed, with policymakers considering cash rewards to encourage learners to pass first time amid fears that too many candidates rush to sit their test before they are ready.
An average learner requires 45 hours of lessons to pass, at a cost of more than £1000, plus £23 for the theory test and up to £75 per practical test.
Lesley Young, chief driving examiner for the DVSA, said: “The driver testing and training regime tests candidates’ ability to drive safely and responsibly as well as making sure they know the theory behind safe driving.
"All candidates are assessed to the same level and the result of their test is entirely dependent on their performance on the day.”
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