LEARNER drivers have a better chance of passing their licence test in Ararat than anywhere else in Victoria.
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Documents obtained under Freedom of Information found Ararat to have the highest pass rate for driver licence tests in the state in 2013.
New drivers passed about 93 per cent of tests at the VicRoads Customer Service Centre in Ararat, compared to 73 per cent in Ballarat.
Sunshine was the least successful place for tests, with almost half of the 10,573 participants failing.
Ararat, Portland, Warrnambool, Cobram, Wangaratta and Colac had the highest driver licence test pass rates in regional Victoria.
In the city, Dromana, Mooroolbark, Sunbury, Frankston, Pakenham, Burwood East and Melton had the highest rates.
The data also revealed:
A GREATER percentage of people passed their tests in regional Victoria than in metropolitan areas.
FEWER learner drivers are failing their test in Ballarat, with the number decreasing from 920 in 2011 to 753 in 2013.
MORE drivers passed their licence test in Ballarat than in Bendigo, Carlton, Shepparton and Wodonga in 2013.
SUNSHINE recorded the greatest number of immediate fails (3997) in Victoria, followed by Oakleigh South (3916) and Werribee (3850).
"The testing regime we use is the same wherever we do the tests"
VicRoads Western Rural area manager David Lavithis said Ararat's high pass rate did not mean the test was easy.
"Not necessarily, the testing regime we use is the same wherever we do the tests," he said.
"Ararat does about eight tests a week, so from a numbers perspective it's not a statistical comparison to... Sunshine where there are 350 tests a week."
Mr Lavithis did not believe new drivers travelled to Ararat because they perceived the test to be easier.
"There is no real evidence of people travelling to those locations," he said.
"The criteria of the test is the same, regardless of where you do the test."
Mr Lavithis said new migrants applying for their driver licence contributed to the higher fail rates in some areas due to language barriers and understanding the road rules.
"In Sunshine the demographic is a lot different,"he said.
"We have a lot of migrants and internationals that don't have the road safety experience that we require in Australia to be able to get their licence... so hence the lower pass rates.
About 65 per cent of new Victorian drivers passed their licence test in 2013, with young drivers aged under 21 passing at a rate of 80 per cent.