The driving test is now 80 years old, having put millions of motorists through the wringer.

Here are 16 facts about the examination that was made compulsory on June 1, 1935.

1. 246,000 candidates put themselves forward for a driving test in 1935, with the pass rate being 63 per cent, compared with 47 per cent today.

2. There were no test centres in 1935 so you had to arrange to meet the examiner somewhere like a post office, train station or town hall.

3. Since 1935, around 50 million tests have been taken in Britain.

4. The test was suspended for the duration of the Second World War and did not resume until November 1946.

5. 1969 saw the first driving test set for an automatic vehicle.

6. The theory test was introduced in 1996, replacing questions about The Highway Code during the practical test.

7. Candidates could book their theory test online for the first time in December 2001.

8. Today, the test centre with the highest pass rate is Gairloch in Scotland. In 2014, 16 people took their test there and just one failed.

9. Outside Scotland, Whitby in North Yorkshire has a pass rate of 65.4 per cent and Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria boasts 65.5 per cent.

10. Belvedere in Bexley lays claim to the lowest pass rate, with only just over 30 per cent of candidates being successful.

11. Rock legend Ozzy Osbourne took 19 goes to pass his test.

12. The average pass rate of the theory test is just 51 per cent having come down from 65 per cent in 2007.

13. A 42-year-old man from Stoke-on-Trent failed the test 36 times before finally succeeding at the 37th go.

14. A 26-year-old woman from Southwark failed her theory test for the 90th time in 2010.

15. Mexico has no test. You simply buy a licence for 626 pesos (£28).

16. In Japan, you can fail your test if you do not bend low enough to check the underside of your car for concealed cats.