Want to pass your driving test? Leave London

To anyone who has ever driven in London, we salute you. Navigating gridlocked roads, mind-boggling roundabouts (Elephant and Castle is a case-in-point) and an onslaught of roadworks while keeping an eye out for cabs, cyclists, wandering tourists and drunks is no mean feat for the most experienced driver. Add in a couple thousand speed cameras and a total of two nights cramming the entire contents of the Highway Code, and you've got one terrified Learner. 

If you want to increase your chances of ditching those L plates, new research suggests your best bet is to avoid east London suburbs (which typically have higher traffic volume/lots of those pesky roundabouts) and book a test in leafy Cumbria instead.

Privilege car insurance analysed five years of Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) data and found that three London boroughs are top of the list with the highest driving test failure rates in the UK. Examiners have failed two-thirds of newbie drivers in Wanstead, north-east London which tops the list, while taking your test in Belvedere, south-east London means you're twice as likely to fail than in the Cumbrian town of Barrow-in-Furness. Wood Green, with its busy North Circular road comes in third. 

Yorkshire, Wales and Scotland all have high pass rates, but they're all considerable driving distances away... and surely once you're equipped to drive in London, you can drive anywhere, right?