Where is the UK's toughest bike test centre?
Is your local test centre in the top ten toughest?
THE congested streets of north London make for the toughest bike test, according to statistics published by the Driving Standards Agency.
Just 53 per cent of bikers taking their module 2 test at the Enfield centre pass, compared with nearly 90 per cent at Newport on the Isle of Wight.
The parkways of Peterborough also make for a tougher test, statistically speaking, with just 56 per cent of bikers passing at its test centre.
Perhaps it's unsurprising that test centres in rural areas consistently award more passes than those in urban areas. The south of England seems to be the easiest place to take your test, dominating five out of ten of the top ten (disregarding smaller test centres with fewer than 100 candidates a year).
Ironically Failsworth in Manchester fails to live up to its name with an 84 per cent pass rate.
The Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) says instructors are regularly assessed to ensure tests are consistent across the country. But does that mean the test location is irrelevant?
According to Bern Adams, managing director of CAM Rider bike training which has 12 branches across England, it doesn't matter where you take your test, it's the quality of the candidate that counts.
Adams, an instructor with 20 years experience, believes people taking their test in rural areas are more likely to have road experience, be it in a car or on a 125cc. Whereas riders in urban areas - like Enfield in London - are less likely to own a car and would have spent more time on public transport.
He said: 'We can absolutely guarantee you do not need to know the test routes to pass your test, there is a marginal difference between some people. But CAM Rider has always had the belief you can train in one town and take a test in another and you'll be just as happy.
'You can get anybody to follow a carrot around a test route, but you need people to independently make safe decisions about the road their riding wherever it is. So I would dispute the notion of 'an easy place to pass your test'... instead get the skills so you can pass your test anywhere.'
Have a look at our top ten lists of the easiest and toughest test centres. We have disregarded any centres with fewer than 100 tests taken between April 2013 to March 2014.
TOUGHEST TOP 10
1) Enfield (London) 53.4
2) Glasgow 54.5
3) Basildon 56.6
4) Peterborough 56.9
5) Bathgate 58.5
6) Newport (Gwent) 59.9
7) Erith (London) 60.5
8) Uxbridge (London) 60.7
9) Elgin 62.6
10) Darlington 62.8
EASIEST TOP 10
1) Newport (Isle Of Wight) 89.3 (100 passes out of 112 tests)
2) Lee On The Solent 86.3 (678 passes out of 786 tests)
3) Exeter 86.1 (342 passes out of 397 tests)
4) Swindon 84.6 (417 passes out of 493 tests)
5) Failsworth (Manchester) 84.2
6) Greenham 82.8
7) Dorchester 82.7
8) Southampton (Maybush) 82.5
9) Lowestoft 81.5
10) Macclesfield 80.9
