In many driving schools, waiting times to take your driving test are getting longer. In Franche-Comté, you sometimes have to wait 5, 6 or even 11 months to get a date. At issue: the lack of inspectors and the lowering of the legal age to 17 to take the exam.
To contact a driving school manager, we had to be patient. Their schedule is overloaded. They receive dozens of calls every day. Apprentices, students, trainees who are desperately looking for a date to take their driving test. Jawad Aboudate has managed the Saint-Pierre driving school in Pontarlier (Doubs) for 8 years. “I’ve never seen that! We have a drastic lack of inspectors. Currently, you have to wait between 4 and 5 months to get your permit”, he whispers. A situation which affects a majority of these colleagues throughout France. “Imagine, there are more than 1,300 inspectors throughout the country, for more than 800,000 candidates per year. The problem will not be solved until there are additional hires.”
In June and July, Jawad Aboudate has 30 places available in total to register his students for the exam. However, there are 80 on the waiting list. “We understand their distress, but we have no other solution to offer them. I am frustrated to provide training knowing that the student will not be able to pass the driving test”regrets the manager. “Just this morning, a mother called me about her son. In another driving school, she was told ‘not before December’. In the meantime, he will have to pay for new driving hours before the exam for don’t lose control. The bill will rise because of these blockages.”. The person who has been teaching for almost 20 years also deplores the implementation of the new method of allocating exam places. “With the old system, the student was automatically entitled to two places. The 2nd place was already awarded to him in the event of failure. However, today, a student who registers only has one only place. He had better put all the chances on his side to succeed because if he fails the exam, it’s back to six months of waiting!
We understand their distress, but we have no other solution to offer them. I am frustrated providing training knowing that the student will not be able to pass driving.
Jawad Aboudate, manager of the Saint-Pierre driving school in Pontarlier (Doubs)
As if the equation was not difficult enough, a new unknown was added: the lowering of the legal age for driving (B license) to 17 years. Indeed, dSince January 1, 2024, the age for obtaining a driving license test has been lowered to 17 instead of 18. According to the government website, “This measure […] aims to promote autonomy and access to employment for young people.” Obviously, this only made things worse.“It’s not a bad idea, but it would have been necessary, first, to make up for the lack of exam places”, tempers Jawad Aboudate. Because now, driving school managers must do more with less. This saturation concerns both the car and motorcycle license exams. “But to pass the code, we manage to organize ourselves. The situation is less serious”reassures the manager.
The solution according to this driving school manager is obvious: “hire inspectors on a massive scale. Hire instructors who want to practice this profession, train them and put them in the field. We would fill this gap, which risks increasing with the announced retirements”, warns Jawad Aboudate. In 2023, only 88 additional inspectors have been recruited nationally.
What about in the other departments of Franche-Comté? In the Jura, the situation is also very tense if we are to believe the driving school instructors and managers. But according to the Departmental Directorate of Territories (DDT, to which the inspectors are assigned) of Jura, nothing alarming. The median time between the first and second presentation for the exam is 58 days, compared to 59 in Burgundy-Franche-Comté. A figure considered stable, and below the national level (63 days).
In the Territoire de Belfort on the other hand, “Students have no room for error”warns one of the employees of MJ Auto-Ecole, located in the Lion City. “In case of failure, you have to wait between 4 and 6 months. We favor students who take the permit for the first time. When it comes to a second attempt, unfortunately, they are not a priority and have to wait a very long time”regrets the employee.
Every day, the establishment is contacted by candidates living in Nice, Paris and Montpellier. They come from all over France and are ready to travel to Belfort to win the precious ticket. Except that in Belfort, like elsewhere, things are stuck. “We have places at 9 a.m., at 9:02 a.m., everything is taken!”warns the employee. “The cause of the problem is the lack of inspectors. And with summer coming, that’s not going to get better. They too are going on vacation.”
To alert the competent authorities, some driving school managers and instructors are thinking of organizing demonstrations or snail operations. But for now, nothing is official.
Since May 19, 2024, the conditions for financing a driving license with your personal training account (CPF) have been tightened. It is now no longer possible touse your CPF to finance driving training if you already hold a license allowing you to drive another type of vehicle. It remains to be seen whether this will reduce the number of candidates passing through the door of driving schools.
