Mandurah’s Driver and Vehicle Services Centre is the toughest centre in Australia to pass a practical driving assessment, according to a recent study.
A study by driving instructor booking company EzLicence, which analysed more than 30,000 driving test results from January 2022 to December 2023, found Mandurah had a pass rate of just 27 per cent for learner drivers, the lowest in the country.
The next closest Driver and Vehicle Services Centre in Rockingham was found to be the joint third-hardest centre to pass the test.
Rockingham and Midland Driver and Vehicle Services Centres both had a pass rate of 32 per cent, behind Mandurah and Mirrabooka Driver and Vehicle Services Centre at 30 per cent.
Mandurah L-plater Noah Baker is in the process of logging his required hours before he takes his practical assessment to get his manual driver’s licence later this year.
The 17-year-old said he was not surprised to hear that the Mandurah centre had been identified as the hardest location to pass at in the country because it had an anecdotal reputation for being difficult.
Mr Baker said some of his friends had made the trip to Bunbury for their test in the hope it would be easier to pass there.
“I’m not nervous for my test, but I reckon I’m going to fail at least once,” he said.
“I know a girl who failed six times (at Mandurah).”
The study found overall WA was the State with the least successful pass rates, with an overall pass rate of 35 per cent, compared to an Australian average of 62 per cent.
In WA, no licensing centre had a pass rate above the Australian average, with the Success centre having the highest in the State at 49 per cent. This was followed by the Butler centre at 46 per cent and Cannington centre with a rate of 41 per cent.
Experienced WA driving instructor Patrick O’Connor said he believed WA’s low pass rate was a reflection of WA learner drivers not being required to log as many hours as learners in other States.
“Pass rates in Perth are indicative of less experienced learners taking the driving test,” he said.
“In WA, only 50 mandatory hours are required before sitting the driving test, which is 50 per cent lower than the 100 minimum required hours in Queensland, and 58 percent lower than the 120 minimum hours required in Victoria and New South Wales.”
