Of the 2.6 million learners who took theory tests last year, less than half passed.

Records show that in 2023-2024, the pass rate was only 45.2 percent. This means that of the 2,594,741 people who took the theory exam during the 12-month period, 1,421,196 failed, costing learners £45.5 million.

And official figures suggest the test is getting harder to pass over time.

Wind the clock back five years (2018-19) and the average pass rate was 47.3 percent.

Ten years ago, in 2013-2014, more than half (51.6%) of learners passed.

Going back the DVLA figures 15 years to 2008-09, they show that almost a third (65.4 per cent) of learners passed the theory test.

So, what questions do learners struggle with the most today? New analysis has identified the 10 things they get wrong most often.

AA Driving School analyzed 55 million answers to theory test questions on its dedicated app to discover which ones pose the biggest problems for learners.

Take our quiz to see how many of these difficult questions you can answer correctly (*percentage of learners answering incorrectly is shown in parentheses below).

Is the test really getting harder? What the statistics say

With an average pass rate of 45.2% in 2023-2024, it is clear that budding motorists are having more and more difficulty passing the theoretical part of their driving test.

Theory test pass rates have generally been in steady decline since the mid-2000s, although Covid has had an impact.

In the lockdown-affected financial year 2020-21, pass rates increased by 55.7 per cent (compared to 47.1 per cent in 2019-20). However, this was attributed to half as many tests being carried out.

That year, only 891,279 theory exams were taken – an annual drop of 52% – due to the closure of exam centers at the height of the pandemic.

Since then, the pass rate has gradually declined each year, reaching the lowest ever in 2022-23 of just 44.2 percent.

For the 1.4 million learners who failed in the last financial year, taking into account a theoretical £32 per attempt, the total cost was £45,478,272.

Would drivers be able to pass the theory test if they took it again today?

To pass the test today, learners must score a minimum of 43 out of 50 in the multiple-choice section – and 44 out of 75 in the hazard perception portion of the exam, which was introduced for the first time in 2002.

The introduction of new elements and more difficult questions leads many qualified motorists to doubt their ability to pass the theoretical test if they were forced to retake it today.

In fact, a survey by AA Driving School found that less than one A fifth of British motorists are adamant they could overtake it again.

A few 10,232 drivers were surveyed and only 18 percent of them said they were “extremely confident” that they would pass if they were forced to take the theory test today.

A further 41 percent said they were “confident” in their ability to take the test, while a third (32 percent) were unsure.

Only 10 percent said they thought they would fail (8 percent confident of failing and 2 percent extremely confident), suggesting that most motorists tend to think the test has become more difficult since that they succeeded.

Male drivers are almost twice as confident as women (21 percent versus 12 percent) in their ability to successfully recover. However, DVSA records suggest that women are statistically more successful than men today.

Young drivers were twice as likely as older drivers (65 and older) to be extremely confident in passing another attempt (33 percent versus 16 percent), knowing they would have taken the test under a more difficult form. recently.

The study also found that male drivers are almost twice as confident as female drivers (21 percent versus 12 percent) in their ability to successfully recover.

However, DVSA records suggest that women are statistically more successful than men.

The average pass rate for women in 2023-2024 was 47.2 percent, while for men it was only 43.7 percent.

In fact, looking at each year up to 2007-08, women have always had a higher pass rate, according to DVSA records.

Camilla Benitz, chief executive of the AA driving school, said the results of her theoretical research were “fascinating”.

She explained to us: “The main question for students is how to get back onto the roadway safely after stopping in an emergency zone. It’s clear that knowing how to do this correctly is essential to your safety as a driver.

“Qualified drivers, many of whom are unsure whether they have enough knowledge to pass a retake of the theory test, may want to review the highway code to ensure they have the information they have necessary to drive correctly and safely.”

The AA Driving School Theory app was launched in October 2023 and since then users have taken over 33,000 mock tests and passed over 17,000 of them.

It contains more than 700 theoretical questions and numerous clips on danger perception.

Learners can use a flashcard feature for quick review sessions, access content offline, take timed mock tests, and track their progress.