A teenager from High Wycombe said the closure of the town's driving centre two years ago has 'put his life on hold'.

Rocco Hyde, 19, took his driving theory test in the summer of 2021, thinking he would be passing his practical exam, finishing school and gaining his hard-won independence in no time. 

He was in for a shock, however, when he began searching for available driving test slots, with the soonest up to six months away. It didn't help that the test centre in his hometown of High Wycombe had closed the year before, with the closest alternative in Aylesbury, a place he had never driven in before.

Rocco booked a test slot for February this year in Aylesbury but the majority of the two-hour lessons leading up to his date were consumed by driving from High Wycombe, leaving him underprepared.

"It took me ages to book the slot for February but I ended up failing that mainly because it was an area I didn't know. It's so frustrating because I've been learning for three years now and I don't know when I'll be able to get another date.

"I was about to turn eighteen the summer I took my theory test and I was so excited and ready to go, but now it just feels like my life has been put on hold. If I'd been able to take my test in Wycombe, I imagine that I would have passed the first time and I'd be working in a full-time job with opportunity for growth.

"Instead, I'm approaching twenty in a state of limbo, working in jobs I don't see myself progressing in."

Rocco had plans to go into pharmaceutical marketing after finishing his A-Levels, but now that he has to rely on public transport to get around he does work for a landscaping company alongside shifts at Tesco.

"I have friends who are now twenty and have had to keep the supermarket job they thought would be temporary when they were seventeen because they can't book a test that would let them work further away.

"I think it is impeding the workforce a bit because this is a group of young people who aren't able to get out there."

He said he has been waking up before 6am every Monday for the last few months to get in a queue behind thousands of others trying to book a test slot. While he waits for an opening, he is also continuing to pay for costly driving lessons to keep momentum going.

"It's so expensive to keep paying for driving lessons but I've got no choice but to keep it up and hope to get a test soon. It's a really demotivating and awful situation to be in."

After public backlash, a new High Wycombe driving centre was approved by the DVSA this January, though an opening date has yet to be announced.

It comes as driving instructors belonging to the Public and Commerical Services union (PCS) are holding strikes this month, April 2023, over pay, pensions and redundancy terms. 

The action is expected to affect test centres in south-east England, including Aylesbury, on April 27 and 28.

Loveday Ryder, Chief Executive at the DVSA, said: "Following the pandemic, we know many learners have waited a long time to take their driving test, so alongside other measures we've recruited almost 500 examiners and are currently recruiting more to help provide more tests.

“Learners should only take their driving test if they are completely ready to pass. We strongly urge learners to use our Ready to Pass? checklist and make sure they’ve had enough lessons so they can drive safely and are ready to pass their test first time.”