Learners urged: book test now or face chaos

Learner riders must book their test this month or face chaos trying to get a licence, bike manufacturers have warned.

Anyone who books after July will not take his test until October, when 85% of test centres are set to close under new legislation, according to the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA).

Over 200 existing test centres across the UK were due to be replaced in October with 60 new “super test centres”. But the MCIA has warned that delays mean as few as 30 will be ready.

Honda issued a warning to learners stating: “New riders will have to travel further to take their test, perform additional tasks to pass their practical test and also pay more due to the additional training and time required.”

The MCIA’s policy director, Craig Carey-Clinch, said he feared it would impact on the number of people taking up motorcycling.

He said: “What we do know is traditionally you get a big build-up of tests taken before changes to the licensing regime and a dip afterwards.”