Residents of a small village dubbed the UK’s “easiest place” to pass a driving test have voiced their frustrations as their roads have become inundated with learner drivers, transforming their peaceful streets into a “nightmare”.
Miskin, located in south Wales not far from Cardiff, has reportedly seen an influx of learners from London and northern England, reports WalesOnline, drawn by online chatter about its seemingly simpler test route compared to other places. Despite assertions from test officials that the pass rate at the nearby Llantrisant Test Centre is only marginally higher than the national average, locals argue that the poor driving skills of learners are turning their tranquil Valleys village into a motorist’s “hell”.
One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, expressed concern: “It’s bringing danger onto the roads. They come from all over – London and Manchester – because it’s the easiest place. We live in a really small village and there are hundreds and hundreds coming practising. You can see around our village that they’re driving incredibly slow.”
Dudley Newbery, a 68-year-old TV chef who operates The Miskin Arms, the village’s sole pub, added: “People have been coming from England for tests since they moved the tests here. The roads have got a lot worse since. It’s hell for people living here. The village is like an obstacle course. It needs to be monitored in some way.”
It’s also suggested that candidates from further afield are lured by the high availability of test slots, given the significant demand in other regions of the UK. The Llantrisant Test Centre, which takes its name from the neighbouring town despite being situated nearer to Miskin, began issuing driving licences in 2018, having previously been reserved solely for HGV examinations.
Selwyn Davies, 82, resides along the test route on School Road. The retired engineer reports that learner drivers regularly pull up opposite his property to practise parallel parking, causing traffic delays and prompting hazardous manoeuvres from impatient road users.
He said: “I would suggest there are about 20 lessons a day who call in here to do their reversing. It’s difficult when we try to get in and out because it takes some time. You must be fair to the people that are doing tests but there’s an inordinate amount of traffic that uses this road now. Because of the congestion on the A48, everyone cuts down this way to get to the Miskin Interchange roundabout. They race down here ignoring the speed limits on the wrong side of the road because the learners are there.”
Femi Genebi, a Cardiff University student, had made the journey from the Welsh capital to Miskin to prepare for his upcoming test. He said: “I came here because I found out online that it was one of the easiest centres. It’s quite straight-forward here.”
However, the 21-year-old maintained he hadn’t witnessed any poor driving behaviour along the route.
Matthew Reid, a tattoo artist and ex-driving instructor, revealed he’d observed an “unusual” volume of learner drivers on the village’s roads since relocating there six months previously. The 30-year-old explained: “I used to be a driving instructor in north Wales. That was near Chester – it’s a city and there’s loads of them (learners) – but here there’s an equal amount in a little, tiny town. When we go to the petrol station, it’s jammed with learners all the time.”
Nevertheless, he noted the standard of driving in the locality “isn’t terrible”.
At the examination centre, situated alongside the busy A48, one mother revealed her teenage son had made the journey from Bristol to take his test there because securing an appointment in their home city was “impossible”.
Driving instructor Jimmy Jones disputed claims that Llantrisant was the “easiest place” to obtain a licence, though he suggested it might be the simplest location to secure a test booking. He mentioned that numerous candidates from northern England were known to sit their examinations there.
A spokesperson for Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council confirmed the local authority had received “no specific complaints” regarding the test centre.
Meanwhile, a Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency spokesperson indicated that examination numbers at the facility had remained consistent. He stated: “DVSA has operated car driving tests from Llantrisant since 2018. Average test volumes at the site have not risen since then.”