Women overtake men for driving test pass rates at Kirkcaldy test centre

Figures from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency show male drivers took 3,355 tests at Kirkcaldy Test Centre in 2023, 1,458 of which were successful – a pass rate of 43.5%.

Meanwhile, 44.9% of the 2,684 tests taken by women were passed over this period, giving a gap of 1.4 percentage points. In 2019, 46.6% of women gained their licence at the centre compared to 54% of men – a gap of 7.4 percentage points in men’s favour. This meant females have now overtaken males in pass rates.

The overall pass rate at Kirkcaldy for 2023 was 44.1% – down from 50% four years before. This was lower than the average rate across Great Britain of 48.2%.

Camilla Benitz, managing director of the AA Driving School, said: “Learners can only book their practical test once they have secured that all important theory test pass.

“Given the long waits many learners are still facing to book their practical driving test, it is good to see the overall practical test pass rate has risen slightly, meaning fewer will face a lengthy wait to re-book another test.”

However, she added the pass rate for the theory test “is stubbornly low” and has fallen by a third since 2007-08. Across the country, women proved better than men at theory tests. They had a pass rate of 46.8%, while 43.5% of tests taken by men were successful.

Ms Benitz said while young male drivers are statistically more likely to be involved in a crash than young female drivers, this is not considered when it comes to insurance prices. It is currently illegal for insurers to take gender into account when calculating premiums.

However, the Confused.com car insurance price index for the latest quarter of 2023 shows on average men were paying £177 more than women.

Louise Thomas, motor expert at the comparison site, said: “Generally, men tend to drive powerful, more expensive cars. They also tend to have a higher claims and conviction rate than women, all of which contributes to reasons why prices might be higher.”