Driving Test Routes: Practise the Real Roads at All 316 UK Test Centres

Driving test routes — also called practical test routes — are the roads a DVSA examiner can take you on during the UK practical driving test. The DVSA stopped publishing the official routes in 2010, so the way to prepare is to practise the real road network around your test centre. SteerClear builds scored practice routes for all 316 UK DVSA test centres, on iOS and Android.

Last reviewed 2026-10-01 · by SteerClear editorial

The short answer

There are no official DVSA test routes to download; they were withdrawn in 2010.
Examiners pick from several routes around each centre, using the same local roads again and again.
A typical UK test route is about 8.5 miles and 30 minutes, with around 6 roundabouts.
The best preparation is driving those roads with a supervising driver, then a full mock test.
SteerClear gives you turn-by-turn practice routes for your centre and scores every drive live.

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Are driving test routes still published?

No. Until 2010 the DVSA (then the DSA) published the official test routes for each centre as downloadable documents, and learners would memorise them. They were withdrawn to stop people rote-learning a single route instead of learning to drive safely. Today examiners pick from several routes around each centre on the day and there is no official list to download — so anything advertised as "the official driving test routes" is a best-effort reconstruction, not an official DVSA document.

What a UK driving test route looks like: the numbers

We analysed 3,032 practice routes that SteerClear has built around 315 UK DVSA test centres. These are not official DVSA routes; they are drawn on the same local roads examiners use, which makes them a good picture of what a test drive involves.

Typical route length	8.5 miles
Typical driving time	30 minutes
Roundabouts per route (typical centre)	5.9
Centres averaging 8+ roundabouts per route	98 of 315
Centres with almost no roundabouts	21
Centres where most route distance is 20 mph	35

Share of route distance by speed limit (all UK centres):

20 mph	30 mph	40 mph	50 mph	60 mph	70 mph
13.7%	55.6%	17.4%	5%	5.9%	2.2%

Two things stand out. First, 30 mph roads make up the bulk of a test, but nearly a third of the distance is on 40 mph roads or faster, so being comfortable holding and changing speed matters. Second, centres differ far more than most learners expect: a test in one town can be a string of roundabouts, while another is almost entirely 20 mph residential streets.

Method: median across centres of each centre's typical route; speed shares weighted by route distance. Speed limits come from mapping data and can lag recent changes on the ground. Updated 2026-10-01. These statistics are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 — please credit SteerClear and link to this page.

UK test centres with the most roundabouts

Average roundabouts per practice route. If your centre is here, give roundabouts dedicated lessons, not just a few in passing.

Aylesbury — 26.6 per route
Swindon — 21.1 per route
Crawley — 20.8 per route
Glasgow (Shieldhall) — 20.3 per route
East Kilbride — 19.6 per route
Bletchley — 19.2 per route
Shrewsbury — 18.1 per route
Ipswich — 17.8 per route
Dundee — 16.9 per route
Basingstoke — 16.7 per route

Where most of the test is at 20 mph

Wales made 20 mph the default limit on most residential roads in September 2023, and many Scottish and London areas have followed with local schemes. At these centres, most of the route distance is at 20 mph, so steady low-speed control and watching for limit changes matter more than usual:

Cardiff (Llanishen) — 92% of distance at 20 mph
Aberfeldy — 85% of distance at 20 mph
Peebles — 81% of distance at 20 mph
Galashiels — 81% of distance at 20 mph
Wood Green (London) — 80% of distance at 20 mph
Brecon — 79% of distance at 20 mph
Ullapool — 79% of distance at 20 mph
Grantown-On-Spey — 78% of distance at 20 mph
Hither Green (London) — 76% of distance at 20 mph
Wrexham — 75% of distance at 20 mph

What happens on the route during your test

The UK car practical test lasts around 40 minutes. On the route, the examiner will assess:

General driving on a mix of roads — residential streets, main roads, roundabouts and usually some faster roads, but never motorways.
Independent driving for about 20 minutes, following a sat nav set up by the examiner or road signs. Most candidates follow a sat nav. Going the wrong way is not a fault in itself if you drive safely.
One reversing manoeuvre: parallel parking, parking in a bay, or pulling up on the right and reversing about two car lengths.
An emergency stop on some tests.
Vehicle safety questions: a "tell me" question before you drive and a "show me" question while driving.

See the full practical test guide for fault rules and what the examiner marks.

How to practise driving test routes

Learn the roads near the centre first. Every test starts and ends at the centre, so the first and last few junctions are near-certain. Get these automatic.
Work through the road types, not one route. Cover the local roundabouts, dual carriageways, 20 mph zones and awkward junctions from different directions. Examiners combine them in different orders.
Practise at the time of day of your test. School runs, rush hour and quiet mid-mornings change the same road completely.
Add independent driving. Follow a sat nav on unfamiliar roads so the voice instructions feel normal.
Finish with full mock tests under test conditions, including a manoeuvre. Our mock driving test guide explains how.

What to look for in a driving test routes app

Coverage of your centre — check your exact centre is listed, not just the nearest town.
Honesty about the routes — no app has the "official" routes; good ones say how theirs are built.
Turn-by-turn guidance that a supervising driver can follow without distraction.
Feedback on your driving, not just directions — knowing where you braked late or drifted in lane is what turns practice into progress.
Up-to-date data — routes built on current roads and speed limits.

SteerClear is built around these: practice routes for all 316 UK DVSA centres, turn-by-turn directions, and live scoring of speed, braking, cornering, lane position and observation from your phone's sensors, with Mac, the AI driving coach, to explain what to work on. Compare it with other options in our best driving test apps guide.

Driving test routes for every UK test centre (A–Z)

Each page lists the roads that recur on that centre's routes, the speed-limit mix, the pass rate and test-day tips.

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B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

K

L

M

N

O

P

R

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U

W

Y

Looking for “driving exam routes”?

Same thing, different word. British English calls it the driving test; learners in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Italy usually say exam. If you are preparing for a practical exam outside the UK, our international guide to driving exam routes lists what the exam is called in each country and links to the route guide for that market.

Practical test routes outside the UK

SteerClear builds practice routes in 31 countries, and the route pages work the same way in each market:

Frequently asked questions

Are driving test routes published by the DVSA?

No. The DVSA stopped publishing official routes in 2010, so there is no current official list to download. Examiners choose from several routes around each centre on the day, so the best preparation is practising the real road network around your centre.

How long is a UK driving test route?

Across 3,032 practice routes around 315 UK test centres, a typical route is about 8.5 miles and 30 minutes of driving. The whole practical test lasts around 40 minutes, including about 20 minutes of independent driving.

How many roundabouts are on a driving test route?

A typical UK practice route passes about 6 roundabouts, but it varies hugely by centre: 98 centres average 8 or more per route, while 21 have almost none.

Can I get driving test routes for free?

The recurring roads, route length and speed-limit mix for every UK test centre are listed free on this site’s test-centre pages. Driving the practice routes turn by turn with live scoring is part of the SteerClear Pro subscription. Anything advertised as "the official routes" is a reconstruction, not a DVSA document.

How do I find the practical test routes for my test centre?

Find your centre in the list on this page or in SteerClear (316 UK DVSA centres covered). The app builds practice routes on the real roads around it and scores each drive live for speed, braking, cornering, lane position and observation.

Is it allowed to practise on driving test routes?

Yes. They are public roads. Learners must display L plates and be supervised by someone who is at least 21 and has held a full licence for the same type of vehicle for at least three years. Avoid the centre’s car park and be considerate around test candidates.

Does practising the routes help on test day?

It builds familiarity. Many faults happen at specific junctions, roundabouts and speed-limit changes near the centre, and knowing those roads frees your attention for the driving itself. It does not replace learning to drive safely anywhere, which is what the examiner is assessing.