The ‘DfI Driver, Vehicle, Operator, and Enforcement Statistics 2021-22 Quarter Two’ report, detailing statistics for July to September 2021, has been published.
The report, which is produced and published by NISRA Statisticians working within the DVA, contains summary statistical, performance, and trend information relating to the main business functions of the Driver and Vehicle Agency and other vehicle licensing activity.
During this quarter, DVA checked 605 vehicles; of these, the largest volume was for heavy goods vehicles (including trailers), accounting for over three in five of all vehicles checked. Enforcement checks in this quarter were lower than last quarter but almost double that for the same period in 2020 (310).
The DVA also conducted just over 194,800 vehicle tests (full tests and retests). This is 19,700 (11%) higher than the previous quarter (175,100), and 88.0% of the previous 5-year quarterly average (221,445). The majority of tests conducted (81.3%) were full tests for private cars (158,458).
During April to June 2021, the DVLA registered just over 15,100 new vehicles for the first time in Northern Ireland, 2,000 more than the previous quarter (13,100). Private car first registrations accounted for almost 75% (11,300) of all new vehicle registrations during this quarter. This is the third consecutive quarter that alternative fuel cars have outsold diesel cars.
At the end of June 2021, there were just over 1,248,600 licensed vehicles in Northern Ireland, an increase of 2.3% (28,600) compared with the previous quarter (1,220,000) and continuing the increasing trend from quarter two of 2020-21. The overwhelming majority (81.4%) of licensed vehicles were private cars (1,017,400).
Driver Theory Tests
From July to September 2021, the DVA received just over 28,000 theory test applications, the highest for a single quarter going back to 2012. During the same period, DVA delivered just over 22,300 theory tests, the second highest for a single quarter since 2009.
Driver Practical Tests
From July to September 2021, the DVA received just over 19,300 applications for a driving test; for the same period, DVA conducted over 17,600 practical driving tests, which is 22% (3,200) above the equivalent number in 2018-19 (14,400).
Driver Licensing
The DVA carried out just over 73,550 ordinary licensing transactions during July to September 2021, the highest number of ordinary driver licensing transactions since 2017-18, and almost 9% (5,900) higher compared to the same quarter in 2018-19 (67,600).
At 30 September 2021, there were just over 1,112,200 full and eligible licence holders with private cars/light vans entitlement, an increase of 1.1% (12,500) compared with the previous quarterly total (1,099,700). This is the second quarterly increase in a row and reflects the recent upward trend in driving tests conducted.
The number of licensed taxi drivers fell for another quarter by 105 (1.2%), to 8,450 as at the end of September 2021, the lowest number of taxi drivers recorded since our series began in 2013.
Performance Monitoring
In response to the pandemic, the DVA has continued to review its performance targets. For driver licensing this financial year 2021-22, online application performance was 98.1% processed within working five days (against a target of 95%), whilst paper application performance was 78.3% processed within ten working days (against a target of 90%).
