‘Getting lost’ among the complaints made about driving test
A REFUSAL to shake hands, getting lost on the way to a centre, and a driving tester “flinging” himself back after a car gently braked were among the complaints made to the Road Safety Authority about driving tests this year.
The number of formal complaints about driver testing has almost entirely collapsed this year, however, after testing was shut down in midMarch as part of the original Covid-19 lockdown. While 986 complaints were recorded during 2019, there were just 20 complaints in the entire first half of this year.
The Road Safety Authority released a sample of complaints from early this year, saying to provide all 1,006 from the beginning of January 2019 would not be feasible.
Among the complaints was one driver who accused a tester of “flinging” themselves back into their seat each time the car came to a stop.
The driver — who was taking the test in the north of the country — said: “Throughout the journey of my test, every time I came to a stop sign and stopped the car, he persisted to fling himself back on the seat.” The driver said this had happened even before they left the test centre and before the car had even moved into second gear.
Another in the west of Ireland said driver testers were supposed to put candidates “at ease” before the test begins.
Their complaint from February said: “Understandably nervous, I extended my hand to greet him when I was called into the room for the test. He ignored my greeting and refused to shake my hand.”
The driver said they felt they had failed before they even got out on to the road, with some instructions delivered abruptly. “This made me very uncomfortable and more nervous, and I did not feel at ease.”
One driver apologised for being late for their test but said the address of the centre in Dublin, when entered into Google Maps, brought you to an adjoining industrial estate.
Another Dublin driver lamented the fact that he had failed the test more than half a dozen times and forked out €720 in driving test fees.
One driver said the rules needed to be relaxed around unaccompanied drivers during the pandemic.
The healthcare worker — who had 40 years of driving experience but no full licence — said: “People are dying and healthcare professionals who could help can’t because we can’t drive unaccompanied to hospitals.”
A spokesman for the Road Safety Authority said: “[We take] all complaints seriously and they are investigated and a response issued to the customer.
“It is recognised that the driving test can be a stressful event for customers; for this reason, the RSA places a high priority on the need for driver testers to be courteous to customers and the training of driver testers has a particular module devoted to this.”