There appears to be an alarming new trend emerging whereby drivers are taking to the road without having passed their driving test, as according to the results of a recent study, 13% of drivers in Britain know someone who is getting behind the wheel without passing their test. The survey was carried out by car insurance price comparison website, GoCompare.com, which found that 20% of those who hadn’t taken their driving test revealed they hadn’t done so because they couldn’t afford to. In figures released by the Department of Transport, between April and August of this year fewer than 640,000 driving tests were taken, signalling a significant fall of 5% in the number of driving tests being taken during this period compared to the exact time frame last year. The huge rise in the cost of motoring, including spiralling fuel and car insurance costs, has been blamed for deterring drivers from taking their driving test. Young drivers are also being worst hit by the hike in car insurance with annual cover for a 20 year old male costing over £4,000 according to figures from the second quarter of 2011. Car insurance price comparison website, GoCompare.com, described the practice of not taking a driving test as a “shocking new trend” with one in eight people estimated to know someone who is currently driving without a valid licence.