Military driving examiners are joining the effort to clear Britain’s driving test backlog. The waiting list has stood to attention and asked whether its advance needs approval from three separate departments.
The draft says the Department for Transport and Ministry of Defence announced the plan on 12 November. It says 36 defence driving examiners will conduct tests one day a week for 12 months. The scheme aims to deliver up to 6,500 extra tests at centres with the highest demand.
Military driving examiners meet the waiting list
It is a striking response to a problem that officials usually approach with consultations, coloured charts and a fresh noun for delay. Military driving examiners have received a backlog that cannot be surrounded, saluted or persuaded to reveal its position.
At the fictional National Office for Moving Things Along Eventually, administrator Petra Platform welcomed the operation. “This is a decisive intervention,” she said. “The waiting list is in a secure folder and is awaiting clearance to move into another secure folder.”
The examiners will work one day each week. Therefore, the scheme has the precision of a military operation and the availability of a dentist who has discovered that calendars are merely advisory.
Military driving examiners may bring discipline to the road. However, the surrounding process still wears a lanyard and explains why officials must pilot progress before they measure it. Each extra test arrives with a briefing note about the importance of delivering extra tests.
Officials also describe action against the reselling of driving tests. The system is fighting on two fronts. One front faces people trying to obtain a test. The other faces the remarkable idea that a scarce public service should not behave like a concert ticket with a resale value.
The announcement promises capacity, targeted action and a year of assistance. Meanwhile, a spreadsheet has been promoted to field commander. It is drawing arrows between boxes marked demand, pressure and further review.
By the end of the 12 months, the driving test backlog hopes to complete its own training, pass its theory test and receive a certificate confirming that it remains exactly where it was. It will simply have better paperwork.
That is the true military manoeuvre. The backlog has not moved, but it now has a chain of command.
Source: Department for Transport.
