Lleida will introduce Saturday practical driving exams from the second half of May as part of a pilot scheme to reduce extensive waiting lists. The Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT) proposed this measure to local driving schools yesterday, aiming to cut the backlog of 5,000 people waiting to take their driving test in Lleida.
The DGT's emergency plan, which will also be trialled in Navarra, includes using itinerant examiners to increase the number of available test slots. José Crespín, the central government's sub-delegate, and M. José Soler, the provincial head of the Traffic Department, announced the plan at a meeting with the Lleida Driving Schools Association. The association had previously described the situation as "unsustainable" in mid-April, with waiting times reaching up to four months, according to Segre.
Joint Effort to Tackle Delays
Crespín stated that this "emergency plan requires a joint effort from both the DGT and the driving schools to organise this operation from the second half of May." To help with this, the DGT has asked driving schools to provide a list of candidates ready for their practical driving test. These extra exams will be exclusively for Class B (car) licences and will be made possible by the additional itinerant examiners.
The Driving Schools Association acknowledged the DGT's "willingness to try and improve a situation that has been absolutely unsustainable for years." However, the association added that the plan is "insufficient if it is not accompanied by real structural measures, because it does not address the underlying problem."
Concerns Over Pilot Scheme Conditions
Regarding the Saturday exams, the association views the proposed conditions "as an absolute joke." Their concerns stem from the fact that the measure is limited to Lleida, excluding students from other areas such as La Seu, Solsona, Vielha, or Puigcerdà. They also noted that it is only for Class B licences and was communicated with "absolutely insufficient" notice.
In the first quarter of this year, a total of 3,299 driving tests were conducted in Lleida, which is a 1.02% decrease compared to the same period in 2025.
