Cardington Driving Test Centre
The Cardington driving test centre is located in Cardington, England. Below are the official pass-rate statistics, multi-year trend, demographic breakdown, and how this centre compares against the UK average and its neighbours, all drawn from the DVSA quarterly statistical release.
Pass vs fail at a glance
2.4K passed, 1.1K failed, 3.5K total
How Cardington compares
Cardington performs well above the UK average. Learners passing here are more likely to pass than at most other UK centres, though this can also reflect quieter test routes and fewer challenging junctions.
Where Cardington ranks among 194 centres
Pass-rate trend by year
Most common faults at this centre
The fault categories most frequently recorded against learners on test. Knowing them lets you target practice on the things examiners are most likely to penalise.
- 1Junctions - observation10
- 2Mirrors - change direction9
- 3Move off - safely8
- 4Junctions - turning right7
- 5Response to signs - traffic lights6
Per-centre fault breakdowns are derived from the DVSA national fault distribution applied to centre-level test outcomes.
Pass rate by demographic
Estimated wait time and demand
Wait times at Cardington have remained broadly stable through recent reporting periods. Booking is achievable but not immediate: learners booking at Cardington typically wait around 11 weeks from booking to test day.
Wait time is estimated from regional demand patterns reported in the National Audit Office investigation into car driving test waiting times (Dec 2024) and the DVSA Despatch blog updates, combined with this centre's test volume. Real availability fluctuates with examiner staffing and cancellations, always check the official DVSA booking service for live slots.
Centre details
Address
Tests offered at Cardington
- Motorcycle Module 2
For other test types at this location, search the DVSA centre finder.
Accessibility & facilities
Parking, toilets, and disabled-access details vary by centre. Check the official DVSA find a driving test centre tool, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Cardington is one of the DVSA's motorcycle module 2 test sites in England, located in Cardington, Bedford. The choice of routes reflects the local mix of road types rather than any standard national template. Across 2013-14-2020-21 the centre handled 3.5K tests, a modest sample. The aggregated multi-year figure on this page is the most reliable read; quarterly swings deserve more skepticism here than at a high-volume centre.
Cardington passes higher than most. At 73% versus a UK average of 48.7%, it ranks #139 of 194 motorcycle module 2 centres, the lower half of the network. DVSA doesn't break out first-attempt figures for Cardington in DRT122C, so the split between first-time and retake pass rates isn't published for this centre.
All figures shown are aggregated from the DVSA quarterly statistical release covering the most recent reporting periods available. Pass-rate calculations exclude tests cancelled by the candidate or examiner. Sample sizes and methodology are described in the source attribution at the foot of this page.
What learners should know about Cardington
- Cardington passes higher than the UK average, but the marking sheet is identical to every other DVSA centre. The bias is in the routes (less traffic, simpler junction geometry); the standard is national.
- If you can, take at least one lesson with an instructor who specifically works the Cardington routes. Local instructors know which junctions are the centre's hardest and will drill them.
- If you missed the earlier slots at Cardington, the DVSA's official cancellation pool refreshes constantly. Check at off-peak times (early morning, late evening) for better odds.
Other test centres nearby
On the day at Cardington
Arrive at Cardington with about ten minutes to spare and know your parking options in advance, they vary site to site across the DVSA network. The DVSA centre finder maps the centre and its surroundings. Waits here run around 11 weeks at moderate demand, so you can usually pick a date without a long wait. Don't set off without your provisional photocard licence; the test cannot start without it, and your car needs L plates and a working interior mirror.
Expect about 40 minutes once you set off, to the same national DVSA script. It opens with an eyesight check at 20 metres and one show-me plus one tell-me question, after which the examiner rides along for the drive. Around 20 minutes of that is independent driving, guided either by a sat nav the examiner provides or by road signs to a named destination, with one of four set manoeuvres and a one-in-three chance of an emergency stop. The drive covers the local mix of road types within roughly a twenty-minute radius of the centre. Across recent DVSA marking, the fault logged most often at this centre is junctions - observation, worth drilling on the local routes before your date.
Results come immediately on return to the centre. The examiner talks you through any faults marked, prints the DL25 feedback form, and (if you passed) takes your provisional licence so the full one can be issued by post. A pass needs no more than 15 driving faults and zero serious or dangerous faults, the standard 73% of candidates at Cardington meet under current DVSA marking.
Frequently asked questions
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How does Cardington compare to the UK average?
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Data: DVSA quarterly statistical release, released under the Open Government Licence v3.0. PassRates.uk aggregates DVSA centre-level totals across reporting periods.
Edited by Vikas. DVSA data period: 2020-21.