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    The village taken over by learner drivers: Residents in 'easiest place to get a licence' accuse novice motorists of making their lives hell

    1 month ago

    By TOM LAWRENCE, NEWS REPORTER Published: 07:51 EST, 31 December 2025 | Updated: 07:58 EST, 31 December 2025 26View commentsA tiny Welsh village has been 'taken over' by hundreds of learner drivers from across the country seeking to take their test in the 'easiest place' to get a licence in Britain.Learner drivers have flocked to the village of Miskin, Glamorgan, from far and wide after word spread of its relatively straightforward test route.However the influx of rookie motorists has turned the quaint Valleys village into an 'obstacle course' for residents.Locals have described the 'hell' of constant learners practising parallel parking in front of their driveways and dawdling around the main roads.Test bosses insist the pass rate at Llantrisant Test Centre is only slightly above the national average, but residents claim hundreds have made the journey to the village.Another factor which has pulled some to take the test in the village is log-jams in the test booking systems in busier areas of the country.In contrast, the Welsh test centre reportedly has a high number of available slots and only started issuing driving licences in 2018 after it was initially used just for lorry exams.Retired engineer Selwyn Davies, 82, said rookie drivers regularly stop by his house to practise parallel parking Overcrowded: Two learner drivers meet each other on a road in the quiet Welsh villageLearner drivers have flocked to the village of Miskin, Glamorgan, from far and wide after word spread of its relatively straightforward test routeDudley Newbery, a 68-year-old TV chef who runs the village's only pub The Miskin Arms, said: 'People have been coming from England for tests since they moved the tests here.'The roads have got a lot worse since. It's hell for people living here.'The village is like an obstacle course. It needs to be monitored in some way.'Selwyn Davies, 82, lives along the test route on School Road.The retired engineer says learners stop across the road from his house to practise parallel parking, slowing traffic down and sparking dangerous driving from frustrated motorists.He said: 'I would suggest there are about 20 lessons a day who call in here to do their reversing.'It's difficult when we try to get in and out because it takes some time.'You must be fair to the people that are doing tests but there's an inordinate amount of traffic that uses this road now.'Because of the congestion on the A48, everyone cuts down this way to get to the (Miskin Interchange) roundabout.'They race down here, ignoring the speed limits on the wrong side of the road because the learners are there.' Residents have grown weary of being stuck behind rookie motorists around the villageDrivers have been enticed to the Welsh village due to its straightforward test route and availability of testsAnother local, who asked not to be named, said: 'It's bringing danger onto the roads.'They come from all over - London and Manchester - because it's the easiest place.'We live in a really small village and there are hundreds and hundreds coming practising.'You can see around our village that they're driving incredibly slow.'At the test centre, one woman explained her teenage son had travelled from Bristol to sit his test there because it was 'impossible' to find a slot in their home city.Instructor Jimmy Jones did not agree that Llantrisant was the 'easiest place' to get a licence but speculated that it might be the easiest to book a test slot.He added that lots of people from the north of England were known to take tests there.Femi Genebi, a student at Cardiff University, had travelled from the Welsh capital to Miskin to practise for his test in a week's time.'I came here because I found out online that it was one of the easiest centres.'It's quite straightforward here.'The 21-year-old said he had not noticed bad driving along the route.Residents said the amount of novice drivers had become 'hell' for local motorists Test bosses have insisted that Miskin is no easier than anywhere else in the country and has a pass rate only slightly above average Matthew Reid, a tattoo artist and former driving instructor, said he had seen an 'unusual' number of learners on the village's roads since moving there six months ago.Matthew Reid, a tattoo artist and former driving instructor, said he had seen an 'unusual' number of learners on the village's roads since moving there six months ago.The 30-year-old said: 'I used to be a driving instructor in North Wales.'That was near Chester - it's a city and there's loads of them (learners) - but here there's an equal amount in a little, tiny town.'When we go to the petrol station, it's jammed with learners all the time.'A spokesman for Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council said the local authority had received 'no specific complaints' about the test centre.And a spokesman for the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency said the number of tests sat at the centre had been stable.He said: 'DVSA has operated car driving tests from Llantrisant since 2018.'Average test volumes at the site have not risen since then.' 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