A complex road system dubbed the Magic Roundabout is proving to be a curse for learner drivers.
The mind-bending 1972 junction, with five mini-roundabouts, is a factor in Swindon, Wilts, having the UK’s worst first-time test pass rate at 21%. And the system, named after the trippy 60s and 70s kids’ TV show, can frustrate even experienced drivers.
Swindon driving instructor Mark Mascarenhas, 33, said: “The Magic Roundabout makes life challenging for learners as there is always so much going on. The town’s large number of roundabouts holds back learners and makes them anxious.”
Student and new learner driver Karen Evans, 21, said: “Roundabouts are everywhere, they make you tense. I’ve been round the Magic Roundabout when my dad was driving, it was terrifying.” Howden Insurance, using data from 2020 to 2023, found Speke in Liverpool, Doncaster in South York-shire and Erith in Kent were second-worst for first-go pass rates, on 32%.
England’s best pass rate was 66% in Kendal, Cumbria, while rates were significantly higher in Scotland and Montrose, Angus, was top on 75%.
Bottom five first time driving test pass rates in England
Swindon - 21 per cent
Liverpool (Speke) - 32 per cent
Doncaster - 32 per cent
London (Erith) - 32 per cent
London (Belvedere) - 33 per cent
Wolverhampton - 35 per cent
Featherstone - 37 per cent
Rochdale - 37 per cent
Top five first time driving test pass rates in England
Kendal - 66 per cent
Alnwick - 65 per cent
Chichester - 64 per cent
Dorchester - 63 per cent
Barrow-In-Furness - 63 per cen
Lee-on-Solent - 62 per cent
Yeovil - 62 per cent
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