Less than HALF of new drivers pass their theory test – and ‘humiliating’ road signs are to blame

LESS than half of potential new drivers pass their theory test, according to recent figures.

And the UK's overuse of road signs could be to blame for the high failure rate.

A recent report saw the Department for Transport call for a number of traffic signs to be binned after it found the overuse of signage around the country was too complicated, labelling many "humiliating".

Just 48 per cent of the 1.9million potential drivers taking their theory test in the last year passed, with many attributing failure to confusion over road signs.

Information provided by the Driving Vehicle Standards Agency revealed that from April 2016 to March 2017 a staggering 1,952,226 people took their theory test, with just 950,210 people passing.

The highest percentage of women passing were 17-years-old, with a 54 per cent success rate, while 33-year-old men were most successful.

The written theory test for cars was introduced on 1 July 1996 when it replaced questions asked about the Highway Code during the practical test.

Costing new drivers £23, the exam now consists of 50 multiple-choice questions (43/50 to pass) followed by a skills test involving 75 hazard perception situations (44/75 to pass).

And with just over a million people failing in the last year, the Government raked in a whopping £23million from those who needed to re-sit.

Scrapcarcomparison.co.uk said the confusion over road signs and traffic rules is demonstrated in the number of cars that are written off.

A representative from Scrapcarcomparison.co.uk, said: “Many cars are written off because people misjudge a situation on the road.

"Data collected by our team shows that many of our customers have admitted making a wrong decision which caused an accident.

"With the theory exam only being introduced in 1996 it would make interesting reading as to how many people would pass it having never taken it.”