More than 2 in 5 Massachusetts drivers failed the road test last year, a record high
Data: Massachusetts RMV via Zutobi; Chart: Mike Deehan/Axios Over 40% of Massachusetts road tests ended in failure last year, according to an analysis from driving-test prep company Zutobi. Why it matters: It's the highest rate in at least 11 years of state records. The failure rate has been creeping upward over the last decade. What they found : Zutobi reviewed Registry of Motor Vehicles data on over 4 million Class D tests from 2015 through 2025, including over 1.5 million road tests. In 2025, 42.2% of road tests were failed, up from around 31% a decade before. The passing rate slid from 69.04% to 57.76% from 2015 to 2025. The big picture: The decline is persistent. The failure rate rose in eight of the 10 years covered since 2015, dipping only in 2019 and 2023. Road tests peaked at 219,648 in 2024, more than double the total in 2022. Yes, but: The success rate for written learner's permit exams skyrocketed during the pandemic. The written failure rate dropped from 41.5% in 2019 to just 14.2% in 2022. That's after the RMV began allowing online testing in June 2020. It went back up to roughly 28% in 2023. Last year 27%
