It’s one of the most stressful experiences we might face, a rite of passage for those aged 17-plus and a gateway to many careers.

Learning to drive can be an expensive commitment - with the average instructor charging £40 an hour - but does the town where you take your test affect your chances of passing? Local democracy reporter Gabriel Morris investigated.

A nerve-wracking 40 minutes, putting months of practice to the test and trying to stop the anxiety leading to mistakes.

The pressure to pass these days is compounded by the long waiting lists to just get an exam in the first place.

Then if they fail you have to start all over again - a painful experience for anyone - so how do your chances vary across the county?

There’s an almost 20% difference between the “easiest” and “hardest” test centres in Kent - going by the latest Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) pass rates.

Across the eight centres: Maidstone, Tunbridge Wells, Gillingham, Herne Bay, Folkestone, Ashford, Sevenoaks and Canterbury - learners are more likely to pass than fail, with 52 out of every 100 students gaining their certificate.

Tunbridge Wells has the highest pass rate at 59.9% - making it the “easiest place” to pass in the 12 months leading to last March.

However, figures reveal Folkestone is the “hardest” with 58% of learners failing.

Pass rates across the county for the 2023/24 period were: Tunbridge Wells - 59.9%; Gillingham - 56.4%; Herne Bay - 56.2%; Maidstone - 53.9%; Ashford - 49.3%; Canterbury - 49.2%; Sevenoaks - 49% and Folkestone - 42%.

Why is there such a difference between test centres?

Although the geography of a town and routes will vary, the tests themselves are like-for-like.

They’re split into five parts: an eyesight check, “show me, tell me” questions, general driving ability, reversing the vehicle and independent driving.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service spoke to two driving instructors with 30 years’ experience between them.

Addressing the difference in pass rates, Aylesford-based Ian Brett said: “It’s not a difference in instructors or a difference in examiners.

“It might be a money thing, it might be a timing thing, so people may be more ready in Tunbridge Wells or Folkestone.”

Similarly, Mr Brett’s colleague Chris Benstead says the 20% difference between Tunbridge Wells and Folkestone could be down to the number of people who can afford more driving lessons being more successful.

He said: “You’ve got other things like whether you have a lot of the people who are taking tests in that area who have English as a second language, so they might have found their learning process or even the test process more difficult.”

If I live in Folkestone will taking my test in Tunbridge Wells improve my odds?

It might be an inconvenience to drive from Folkestone to Tunbridge Wells, but with driving tests costing up to £75, an increased chance of passing could be tempting.

Learners going to DVSA centres in a different area isn’t uncommon - particularly when it comes to the long waiting lists.

Mr Brett believes taking a test in an area you don’t know can have benefits: “I’ve taken a lot of driving tests, and I find I work better in areas I don’t know because I’m not expecting things around the corner.

“So if there’s suddenly some new roadworks or a diversion, I’m not surprised by it.”

Mr Bensted added: “So there are ways that you can improve your odds.

“My experience would say if they’re confident enough to take a test where they don’t know, so they’re probably a better driver, they’re more likely to pass.

“But generally speaking, if you look at why people fail, whatever you’ve got wrong that caused the fail is probably something you would have got wrong anywhere.

“So, you know, it doesn’t tend to be down to the area. It’s down to the driver.”

Can road conditions influence your chance of passing?

Learners can achieve a certificate with 15 or fewer “minors”, but any “majors” - such as poor observation, like checking mirrors - just one of those will result in a fail.

Tunbridge Wells is known for its traffic, can that play a part in being successful or not?

Mr Brett says an exam can often take longer when there’s congestion on the road - this is because you’re still required to carry out all the elements of a test.

The 38-year-old added: “You might have a slightly easier test because you’ve got less chance of stuff going wrong when you’re driving at a lower speed, but then you’ve got a longer time being examined.”

How have tests changed since the pandemic?

We know there have been long backlogs since the pandemic with learners waiting six months or longer for a test, pre-2020 the wait was around eight weeks.

DVSA data suggests pass rates have increased in that time too by around 6% - instructors Ian and Chris say that’s for a number of reasons, but generally, learners are going for tests when better prepared.

Instructors say the issue is “among the worst” in Kent with learners taking “six months beyond” for the backlog to clear.

And will the backlogs be reduced?

The government has recently unveiled plans to reduce this backlog in a seven-point plan - it’ll ultimately train 450 new instructors among other measures.

Minister for the Future of Roads, Lilian Greenwood, said: “The scale of the backlog we have inherited is huge, but these measures are a crucial step to tackle the long driving test wait times, protect learner drivers from being exploited, and support more people to hit the road.”

Reacting to this, Mr Brett believes: “If we’ve got more instructors on the road, then hopefully the pass rate will improve so people will take fewer attempts, which again will reduce the backlog because there’s less demand.”

What about theory tests?

So far we’ve only discussed the practical, but Mr Benstead says the theory test is a “bit of a poor cousin”, you have to pass the theory before even thinking about getting in a car with an examiner.

You might have a slightly easier test because you’ve got less chance of stuff going wrong

Mr Benstead specialises in coaching learners to pass their theory sooner.

The 45-year-old added: “People tend to get a theory app or they get the book from the DVSA with the revision questions, but they don’t necessarily do any learning.”

He says instructors are now telling students: “I can only take you on if you’ve already passed your theory.

“So you do get people that will go away and take the theory without ever having driven a car.

“Your understanding is always going to be less because you can’t put it into practice. So the two running alongside each other makes far more sense.

“But with the current practical waiting lists, that’s not necessarily going to work for people at the moment. So, you know, we’re stuck between a rock and a hard place.”

What’s your experience with learning to drive? There are many booking bots and test scams trying to take advantage of the long waiting lists. Let us know what you’re experiencing by emailing gmorris@kmtv.co.uk