More than half of all Isle of Man driving tests taken in the last 18 months have ended in failure, new government figures reveal.

Infrastructure Minister Dr Michelle Haywood confirmed the statistics in response to a question from Onchan MHK Rob Callister.

He had asked for a breakdown of how many tests had been taken and passed, as well as the most common reasons for failure.

According to the Department of Infrastructure, a total of 3,806 car driving tests were conducted over the period.

Of these, 2,154 candidates failed - equating to 56.6% - while just 1,652 (43.4%) managed to pass.

However, the department said it does not hold detailed records on whether the tests were taken in manual or automatic vehicles, nor does it track how many attempts a candidate needed before passing.

Mr Callister also sought data on the most common reasons for failing a test, but Dr Haywood explained that this information is only stored on individual test records rather than in a centralised database.

She said: ‘The reasons for failing are captured only on the individual test record, along with a description of the conditions and the reasons for failure.’

The figures suggest that many learners on the island are struggling to meet the required standard on their first attempt, although without further data, it remains unclear whether specific faults or trends are contributing to the high failure rate.

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