Strike to hit new driving test on first day
DRIVING examiners came under fire last night after announcing they will strike on the day the new driving test is introduced.
Up to 2,000 union members will stage a 48-hour walkout spanning December 4 and 5, including around 1,600 examiners.
They will also refuse to work overtime from next Thursday and insist on taking breaks between tests, even if they overrun.
The strike and work-to-rule could lead to 14,500 driving tests being cancelled, many at the last minute, claimed the Public and Commercial Service Union.
It said examiners were being told to work longer and harder for no extra pay when the revamped L-tests start.
The PCS also said it has ‘serious concerns’ about health and safety on the new test. These include one manoeuvre which has been described by instructors as a ‘death trap’ that breaches the Highway Code.
Yesterday the union called for the updated test to be suspended pending a full safety review. It also wants a limit of six tests a day for examiners.
The industrial action was condemned by Gareth Llewellyn, chief executive of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, which oversees L-tests.
He said: ‘The fact the PCS is trying to undermine the launch of the new test by calling for strike action shows a shameful disregard for road safety and learner drivers who have worked so hard to be ready.’
Mr Llewellyn also rejected union claims the new test had not been properly assessed, arguing 4,000 candidates had been involved in a trial lasting three years.
The L-test has undergone the biggest overhaul in more than 20 years aiming to better prepare learners for real-life driving conditions.
Changes include asking candidates to follow a satnav instead of signs and requiring them to drive into a parking bay.
Learners will also be asked a vehicle safety question while driving, such as how to use the rear heated screen.
But the satnav element has unnerved some instructors and examiners amid fears that they make some drivers ‘switch off’.
More than 2,000 instructors have also signed a petition against a new manoeuvre which they believe is dangerous. It requires learners to pull up on the right-hand side of the road and reverse two car lengths before pulling out into the flow of traffic.
Examiners, who are paid £20,000 on average, have also complained they are no longer paid for journeys when they need to travel to a different test centre.
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, backed the new test and said thousands of learners could be left ‘fuming’ by the PCS action. It was backed by 84 per cent of members on a 70 per cent turnout.
The Department for Transport said union demands for members to be paid to travel to work would not be acceptable to taxpayers. A spokesman added that unions had approved changes two years ago and were trying ‘to frustrate the implementation of agreed terms and conditions’.