New figures have revealed male learners continue to have better success at south Essex driving test centres than females.

The gap between male and female driving test pass rates has meanwhile widened in Southend during the coronavirus pandemic, figures suggest, despite the gender gap shrinking to a record low nationally.

The RAC said it is encouraging to see the gender gap narrowing nationally, but warned "time will tell" if the trend continues as driving test numbers recover following Covid-related disruption.

In Southend…

Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency data shows that of 460 tests taken by male drivers at the test centre between April and June, 287 were successful – a pass rate of 62%.

Meanwhile, 52% of 526 tests taken by women were passed over this period, giving a gap of 10 percentage points.

Women had a success rate of 48% during the same period in 2019 – compared to 50% for men, meaning there was a gap of two percentage points between the genders.

In Basildon…

Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency data shows that of 328 tests taken by male drivers at the test centre between April and June, 167 were successful – a pass rate of 51%.

Meanwhile, 48% of 371 tests taken by women were passed over this period, giving a gap of three percentage points.

Figures for this period in 2020 were unavailable for Basildon, when tests were cancelled due to lockdown restrictions.

Women had a success rate of 41% during the same period in 2019 – compared to 50% for men, meaning there was a gap of nine percentage points between the genders.

In Tilbury…

Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency data shows that of 354 tests taken by male drivers at the test centre between April and June, 168 were successful – a pass rate of 47%.

Meanwhile, 44% of 393 tests taken by women were passed over this period, giving a gap of three percentage points.

Figures for this period in 2020 were unavailable for Tilbury, when tests were cancelled due to lockdown restrictions.

Women had a success rate of 41% during the same period in 2019 – compared to 45% for men, meaning there was a gap of four percentage points between the genders.

Across Great Britain, 49.2% of tests taken by women between April and June were passed – a higher proportion than during any similar period on record, and up from 47.1% in 2020-21 as a whole.

Though the male success rate also rose, the gap between the two genders (4.7 percentage points) is now the closest it has ever been – previously peaking at 7.3 in 2018.

RAC spokesman Rod Dennis said: “The impact of the pandemic means we’re in unusual times when it comes to driving tests, not least because there’s an enormous backlog of drivers waiting to take tests and get out on the road.

"While it’s encouraging that the gender driving test pass ‘gap’ appears to be closing, only time will tell whether this is a trend that continues as the number of people taking tests starts to return to normal.”

Of the six months of available figures for Southend between July and December 2020, women had a pass rate of 55%, while men passed 56% of tests.

A DVSA spokesman said practical and theory tests are designed to measure a candidate's ability to drive safely and responsibly as well as making sure they know the theory behind safe driving.

He added: "All candidates are assessed to the same standard and the result of their test is entirely dependent on their performance on the day.”