Amid big backlog, Fayette County to restart driving tests this week at new location

Turning 16 is usually an exciting time for kids eager for independence. A time when they can finally drive on their own, go wherever they please.

But the freedom of the open road will have to wait a little longer for future Fayette County drivers, since road testing has been on hold.

According to Kentucky State Police (KSP), when COVID hit, there was a backlog of 3,300 people who had been scheduled for driver’s tests. This, in addition to all the people who have become eligible to take the driver’s test since COVID-related shutdowns began in March, has created an even larger backlog.

Sgt. Josh Lawson, commander of the KSP public affairs branch, said they do not have a backlog breakdown by county or an estimate for how quickly those in Fayette County without a previously scheduled appointment will be able to begin taking tests.

However, KSP is planning on making phone calls to those with appointments starting this week to reschedule their tests, once a new drivers test location for Fayette County is set up at 141 Leestown Center Way in Lexington. Written permit tests will continue to be held in Frankfort for the foreseeable future.

Scheduling for those who have become eligible since March will occur through an online platform to be rolled out soon in Fayette County. KSP’s website stated that the release date of the platform will be announced July 31.

When it goes live, people won’t be able to schedule appointments too many months in advance, because that increases the likelihood of no-shows taking what could have been someone else’s spot, Lawson said.

KSP has received suggestions to allow people waiting on their county to restart testing to take their test in neighboring counties that have already reopened. Lawson said that initially, KSP was allowing circuit clerk’s offices to work together on this, but they now discourage it.

“As this has gone on, we have basically found that this is just shifting the problem geographically and not actually solving the backlog problem,” Lawson said. “That is due to the fact that not only driver’s test administrators for KSP, but the circuit clerk’s offices themselves, are set up to handle the population that is within their county.”

If county clerks see that people from another county are attempting to test at their facility, Lawson said they will be turned away at the door.

When driving tests become available for those who weren’t previously scheduled in Fayette County, it will be first come, first serve, Lawson added. This means those who became eligible to take the test in June could potentially schedule their test before those who became eligible in April.

“They’re going to be in the same boat,” he said. “We wouldn’t have a system in place to be able to give precedent.”

Mary Buzard, parent of a 16-year-old who became eligible for the test in April, said that isn’t fair. She added that something needs to be done to help out the kids of Fayette County.

“There has got to be an alternate way to get this done,” she wrote in an email to the Herald-Leader. “If other, smaller counties can do it (and Jefferson County, which is larger than ours has a system running), certainly we can open it up for our kids.”

Lawson said that he encouraged those waiting to check the website daily for updates and exercise patience and understanding. While the process may seem simple from the outside, he said the collaboration between Kentucky’s 120 circuit clerks, KSP and the Transportation Cabinet is often complex on the back end.

“Driver’s testing is a unique situation in Kentucky under the best of circumstances,” he said. “We are doing the best we can with some unusual and unprecedented circumstances.”

While road tests in Fayette County are not yet available, written permit tests are currently being scheduled on KSP’s website. The written tests for Fayette County are being given in Frankfort.

This story was originally published July 27, 2020 at 11:26 AM.