Boris Johnson unveiled his road map to lead the country out of lockdown this week and now people are looking to return back to normality as soon as possible.

Learner drivers in England have had to put their plans to pass their driving test and enjoy the freedom that brings on hold as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Now, it has been revealed learner drivers will have to wait a little while longer to earn their pink driving licence.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), which is responsible for driver training and testing, has confirmed the earliest date that tests can resume following the announcement of the Government’s roadmap out of lockdown.

During the Prime Minister’s Downing Street press conference on Monday night it was revealed driving tests will be able to resume during stage two of the government’s road map.

The DVSA has confirmed April 12 will be the earliest date for learners to book their practical and theory tests should the road map progress as planned.

Practical and theory tests have been suspended in England since the start of the year, with thousands of learners forced to wait for their test to be rescheduled.

The DVSA previously announced that all tests booked up to and including 24 February would be cancelled and the latest announcement extends that for at least seven more weeks.

Previously, the agency said that those whose practical tests were cancelled during the latest lockdown would automatically be given a new test date. It has not yet confirmed if this is still the case or when other learners will be able to book a test. Anyone whose theory test was cancelled was told to rebook the test themselves.

After the first lockdown the online booking service for practical tests struggled to cope as hundreds of thousands of people tried to secure an appointment. A similar surge is expected this time as desperate learners race to secure their licence.

Since the start of the first nationwide lockdown in March 2020, more than 400,000 learners have seen their driving tests postponed or cancelled, often more than once. This has created a massive backlog and led to calls for the DVSA to speed up the testing process.

New procedures during tests

When tests resume learners and examiners will have to follow guidelines designed to reduce the risk of infection.

All students will have to wear a face covering unless they have a legitimate reason not to. Examiners will also wear a face mask and may also use gloves and a disposable seat cover.

Learners will be asked to arrive no more than five minutes before their test appointment.

The car must be cleaned and clear of any unnecessary items before the test and the examiner will carry out an additional clean of some areas.

One window on each side of the car must be kept open at all times to aid ventilation.

Some driving test centres will remain closed while others will have social distancing measures in place.

Driving instructors will not be allowed to accompany students on the test and will only be able to listen to post-test feedback from the examiner if social distancing can be maintained.

The DVSA has yet to give a firm restart date for lessons but following the first lockdown lessons were allowed to restart two weeks before driving tests.

The planned resumption of driving tests is, like other elements of the roadmap out of lockdown, dependent on four key factors including the vaccine deployment programme continuing successfully, evidence that it is sufficiently effective, and infection rates remaining at a level that doesn’t put unsustainable pressure on the NHS.