Publication of DfI Driver, Vehicle, Operator and Enforcement Statistics Quarter 2 2017-2018

Date published: 21 December 2017

The DfI Driver, Vehicle, Operator and Enforcement Statistics Quarter 2 2017-2018, containing statistics for July to September 2017, is now available.

Statistical press release

The publication is produced by the Analysis, Statistics and Research Branch (ASRB) of the Department for Infrastructure and contains summary statistical, performance and trend information relating to the main functions of the DfI’s Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) and other vehicle licensing activity.

The publication is available on the ASRB website at:

Key Points

The key points for Quarter 2 2017/18 are:

Driver Testing

  • Nearly 15,000 Driving Test Applications were submitted to the DVA and just over 14,400 Tests Conducted representing a decrease of 4% and 3% respectively on the equivalent period last year. This is the first consecutive quarterly comparison decrease in applications recorded since the series low in 2013/14.
  • The pass rate for all categories of Driving Tests was approaching 59%, up by nearly 2 percentage points on the rate recorded in the equivalent quarter last year.

Vehicle Testing

  • Nearly 272,000 Vehicle Tests were carried out by the DVA (Full tests and Retests), an increase of over 5% compared to the equivalent quarter last year. The vast majority of these (84%) were Full Tests.
  • The most popular booking method for vehicle test applications was the internet booking system which received almost 65% of all applications, up nearly five percentage points on the previous year.
  • The overall pass rate for Full Tests was approximately 81%, a slight decrease compared with the same period last year.

Theory Testing

  • The number of Theory Tests Conducted fell by over 4% to nearly 18,700. This decrease follows on from the 10.5% decrease seen in the previous quarter and is the first consecutive quarterly comparison decrease in tests conducted since 2012.

Vehicle Licensing and Registration

  • The number of new vehicle first registrations in the period April to June 2017 showed a decrease from the last equivalent quarter, down by slightly less than 12%. Within this new car first registrations decreased by a greater 14% which is over two thousand less registrations than that seen for the quarter in 2016.
  • The top make for private cars registered for the first time during the April to June quarter was Ford, accounting for nearly 1,700 such registrations, the second largest make was Volkswagen at just over 1,250 first registrations. All makes in the Top Ten for car first registrations during the period showed a decrease in numbers when compared to the same period in 2016.

Driver Licensing

  • Nearly 85,000 ordinary licensing transactions were carried out by DVA during July to September 2017. This represented an increase of approximately 18% in comparison with the volume carried out in the corresponding quarter of 2016.

Road Transport Licensing

  • At the 30th September 2017, there were nearly 11,800 licensed Taxi Drivers in Northern Ireland, down by 8% when compared with the same point of 2016. This is a continuation of the declining trend with numbers down by over a quarter on the series high of around 15,800 recorded at the end of 2013.

Enforcement Activities

  • During July to September 2017, DVA Enforcement staff checked over 1,400 vehicles; of these, the largest volume was for Taxis, accounting for nearly half of all the vehicles checked (47%).

Performance Monitoring

  • For the 12 month period up to end-September 2017, both vehicle and driver testing waiting time performance, at around 98% and 97% respectively, have been above Agency target levels to provide 92% of appointments within their target number of days or, upon request, at a later date.
  • Over the same period driver licensing processing performance stood at just under 73%, still well below the Agency target of 95% of complete driver licence applications to be issued within 10 working days. Performance had been adversely impacted by the introduction of the new Replacement Driver System in November 2016 and specifically on performance up until the end of March, the more recent data reflects a substantial increase in performance in the period April to September 2017.

Notes to editors: 

Background to Driver & Vehicle Agency ‘DfI Driver, Vehicle, Operator and Enforcement Statistics'

  1. Background - This is the latest quarterly edition of the Driver & vehicle Agency ‘DfI Driver, Vehicle, Operator and Enforcement Statistics’ relating to July to September 2017. The release is written and issued by Analysis, Statistics and Research Branch in the Department for Infrastructure. This is the fifth edition of the quarterly publication under its new departmental title having previously been released by the former DoE.
  2. Quarterly comparisons are included within the release to give some indication of change since the same quarter the previous year; however this is within the context that DVA schedules its operations across the business year to meet its business objectives. Timing and scheduling differences between individual quarters within different years will occasionally produce apparent large movements in trend. For a better understanding of changes in DVA volumes and performance over time, annual trend data should be reviewed. Historical trend information is available from the DfI website
  3. Data sources - The figures are derived mainly from administrative sources held within the DfI’s Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) and its Transport Regulation Unit.
  4. Vehicle Registration - Although no longer the responsibility of DVA, for completeness and to provide continuity of reporting, detailed figures have been included in this publication relating to NI vehicle first registrations and vehicle licensing. DVA statisticians receive, on a quarterly basis specific quality assured vehicle registration and licensing extracts from the DVLA/DfT for the purposes of producing Official Statistics. The DVLA/DfT are, and continue to be, responsible for all vehicle licensing and registration enquiries. Due to publication timing differences with the DfT, who release the headline UK figures; the latest available NI vehicle first registration figures are up to end-June 2017.
  5. Future publication dates - The Driver & Vehicle Agency ‘DfI Driver, Vehicle, Operator and Enforcement Statistics’ is published every quarter at pre-announced release dates, which are available from the GOV.UK website.
  6. Publication copies - Electronic copies of the ‘DfI Driver, Vehicle, Operator and Enforcement Statistics’ Quarter 2, July to September 2017 is available at: Driver & Vehicle Agency - Activity Statistics
  7. Infographic – a companion Infographic is also available on our website.
  8. Official Statistics - This is a National Statistics publication and therefore follows the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. You can find further information about the Code of Practice.
  9. For further information please contact: Analysis, Statistics and Research Branch (DVA), DVA Statistics, Belfast Test Centre, 66 Balmoral Road, Malone Lower, Belfast BT12 6QL.

All media queries should be directed to the Department for Infrastructure Press Office on 028 9054 0007 or e-mail: press.office@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk or out of hours please contact the duty press officer via pager number 07623 974 383 and your call will be returned.

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