AARRRGGGHHH Driving Test!!

Vertigo100 · 18-01-2008 5:49pm #1

jst need to rant a bit cos i am so p***ed off!! Had my driving test this morning for the 2nd time(failed 1st time due to a cyclist coming around the corner on my side of the road) Arrived nice and early to the test centre went in answered my questions gave my licence etc. So then we head to the car, do all the checks, get into the car and start it. Now is where the fun begins. I have an e46 318 on which a lot of you will know has a know problem with the airbag light coming on over dodgy sensors under the seat. Tester took on look and told me i had failed as a system warning light was on!! I tried to explain that the car had only been serviced last week and everything was working fine and its going back next week when the new sensor arrives to be reset and that i could show him the receipt for all of this and he just dismissed me saying my car was not safe! I asked him why then if that was the case the last tester took me out without any problems with the same light on in the car? He just ignored me and got out of the car and told me to follow him so he could give me my piece of paper explaining why i failed! He was an ignornat a**hole from the minute i sat down and or some reasn he just seemed to have it in for me! AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHHH Sorry about the rant i just had to get it off my chest!:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

Anan1 · 18-01-2008 6:05pm

Is the warning light a valid reason to fail you? If not then you should make a written complaint. Out of interest, how did you fail due to the cyclist coming around the corner on your side of the road?

Vertigo100 · 18-01-2008 6:18pm

It says on the letter outlining the final checks that if a system warning light comes on during the test its a fail but i done it already without any problems and the fact i could prove it was a faulty sensor and not a problem with he airbag. I am going to complain due to what happened but also due to the attitude of the tester from the moment he called my name he was ignorant and rude beyond belief. Failed the first time cos i had a 6 grade 2 errors then as i was taking a corner a child came arond the corner very quickly and i had to swerve around him and the tester said i should have stopped dead, if o had stopped dead the child would have ended up on my bonnet!

Altreab · 18-01-2008 6:19pm

Vertigo100 wrote: »

jst need to rant a bit cos i am so p***ed off!! Had my driving test this morning for the 2nd time(failed 1st time due to a cyclist coming around the corner on my side of the road) Arrived nice and early to the test centre went in answered my questions gave my licence etc. So then we head to the car, do all the checks, get into the car and start it. Now is where the fun begins. I have an e46 318 on which a lot of you will know has a know problem with the airbag light coming on over dodgy sensors under the seat. Tester took on look and told me i had failed as a system warning light was on!! I tried to explain that the car had only been serviced last week and everything was working fine and its going back next week when the new sensor arrives to be reset and that i could show him the receipt for all of this and he just dismissed me saying my car was not safe! I asked him why then if that was the case the last tester took me out without any problems with the same light on in the car? He just ignored me and got out of the car and told me to follow him so he could give me my piece of paper explaining why i failed! He was an ignornat a**hole from the minute i sat down and or some reasn he just seemed to have it in for me! AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHHH Sorry about the rant i just had to get it off my chest!:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

He failed you because the car was showing that a vital part of equipment was faulty. The reason it was showing the fault is not relevant for testing purposes. If your bulbs were blown it would get the same result. Part of the test is that when you start the test the car is "roadworthy". I know of someone who forgot to replace their insurance cert that expired the previous day. It was an automatic fail since they didnt have the new cert with them,
Why didnt you put back the test date when you knew the sensor was faulty?

Vertigo100 · 18-01-2008 6:26pm

because as i said already the last time i did the test it wasnt even mentioned and these sensors have been know to go at any stage no matter how often you replace them!

craichoe · 18-01-2008 6:33pm

Aww man thats just bad luck

Id say borrow someones car next time !

We've all been there !

jhegarty · 18-01-2008 6:56pm

Its a valid reason for a fail , even says it in the letter they send you out before the test....

next time take the bulb out of the warning light if there is a sensor issue...

the reason he offered you a letter with the reason you failed is incase you needed to apply for a new license before doing another test...

L1011 · 18-01-2008 7:12pm

My car has a faulty airbag sensor for the passenger side - I turned the airbag off the test, which still leaves a light on, and told the tester that it was a: for a car seat for my kid (hah!) and b: too difficult to turn back on (blatant lie). They accepted that...

Any option to do that?

Vertigo100 · 18-01-2008 7:24pm

well its a bit to late to try anything now. I could have shown him the receipt from the service but he wasnt interested. Ill take my fiancees car next time but i would prefer to do it in my own cos i am more comfortable in it but its just a pain in the balls and he was unbelievably rude and ignorant the whole way through, not just after the light incident

Theboinkmaster · 18-01-2008 7:31pm

Bad luck dude my sympathies to ye

I've had very bad experiences with testers in the dublin rathgar and churchtown centres - took me 3 goes and each time the testers were absolute pr!cks, seemed very sour and bitter....i did the first 2 in my dads €60k car and failed on very minor items and did the 3rd in my car at the time, about 5 years ago, a €5k clio and passed.

NUTLEY BOY · 18-01-2008 7:43pm

In the history of the State has anyone ever appealled a driving test failure to a Justice of the District Court ?

Is that option available still ? Wouldn't you love to win that one ??

I did mine at Churchtown in an old car a few years ago and got through first time. I was lucky. I thought that I had failed judging by the amount of writing going on beside me !! The tester was thorough but reasonable. I know that if I had got the tester who took the guy in front of me I would have failed as he looked like a right lout and he had the manners and demeanour to match.

Turning up for testing in Daddy's big car switches on the envy gene in some of these testers but not all !

Better luck next time as this is a real pisser...

Vertigo100 · 18-01-2008 7:46pm

i doubt i would be able to win an appeal seeing as i didnt even get the car into 1st gear

i would have no problem accepting this if i failed due to my driving but i was extremely confident and fully convinced i would pass!

TheBigLebowski · 18-01-2008 7:59pm

You failed for a valid reason. The fact that you have a piece of paper to say the sensor is at fault does not make a difference, it's still faulty - how would you know if there was a genuine fault with the airbag if the sensor is faulty? The other guy who let you do the test was not doing his job properly.

Vertigo100 · 18-01-2008 8:17pm

the sensor causes a fault which makes the light come on. its a known and well documented problem on this type of car so i think some common sense should have prevailed.

BrandonBlock · 18-01-2008 8:27pm

Get over it. If you read your letter or had a good instructor (like I had) he told me if any of those lights come on before or during the test - thats it - *bang* you fail. He gave me the reason - testers conduct maybe 7 tests per day, 35 a week, 140 a month, etc. Every time they go out, they are putting their lives at risk because keep in mind they are testing "Learner" drivers - all they have to protect themselves is ensuring the cars are roadworthy and safe. If they start accepting warning lights being on, then everyone will start showing up in unroadworthy cars putting testers lives at risk multiple times during the day. Their job is dangerous enough without being passengers in unroadworthy and unsafe cars. The tester was probably p***ed off at you for wasting his time by not reading your letter. I could have told you that you would receive an instant-fail if you asked the question here before your test.

TheBigLebowski · 18-01-2008 8:28pm

Vertigo100 wrote: »

the sensor causes a fault which makes the light come on. its a known and well documented problem on this type of car so i think some common sense should have prevailed.

Common sense tells me (and your tester) that you won't know if your airbag is faulty which is a safety problem. Maybe if common sense prevails, you'll get the problem fixed.

BrandonBlock · 18-01-2008 8:29pm

Vertigo100 wrote: »

the sensor causes a fault which makes the light come on. its a known and well documented problem on this type of car so i think some common sense should have prevailed.

It's not the testers responsibility to know every "common" problem in every type of car. It's his responsibility to ensure no warning lights are on before/during the test.

BrandonBlock · 18-01-2008 8:31pm

TheBigLebowski wrote: »

The other guy who let you do the test was not doing his job properly.

+1

Mr.Diagnostic · 18-01-2008 9:10pm

To some extent I am with the OP on this one. The only fault on the car that the tester was aware of was the airbag light being on. Because there was an airbag fault the system shut down and lit the warning light. In effect this is the same as any older car that does not have any airbags. In reality it does not make the car any more unfit for the test than a car without airbags. from a tester safety point of view he was no more in danger in that car than a car with no passenger airbag.

littlejukka · 18-01-2008 9:17pm

i passed my test with a blown brake light. it's at the discretion of the tester and not worth whinging about if it doesn't go your way. grow up and reapply.

Seth Brundle · 18-01-2008 9:25pm

Out of curiosity, was the tester wearing their seat belt when they decided to abandon the test?

TheBigLebowski · 18-01-2008 9:42pm

kbannon wrote: »

Out of curiosity, was the tester wearing their seat belt when they decided to abandon the test?

What has that got to do with anything?

Seth Brundle · 18-01-2008 9:43pm

I'm wondering if the OP could claim the right to an appeal. If the tester wasn't worried about wearing their seatbelt then surely they can't justify cancelling a test because the airbag mightn't go off when its needed!

TheBigLebowski · 18-01-2008 10:00pm

kbannon wrote: »

I'm wondering if the OP could claim the right to an appeal. If the tester wasn't worried about wearing their seatbelt then surely they can't justify cancelling a test because the airbag mightn't go off when its needed!

I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure testers are exempt from compulsory seat belt wearing. Anywho, they didn't actually go anywhere. Also a faulty airbag might go off and break your nose when it's not needed.

Seth Brundle · 18-01-2008 10:11pm

I know they didn't go anywhere and that they don't need to wear seatbelts. However, there is a logic in my question.
I was also under the belief that if the light comes on then effectively the system is disabled and the airbags won't go off.

Vertigo100 · 18-01-2008 10:21pm

yeah he had his belt on alright. i wouldnt bother appealing anyway. i am going to write a letter of complaint though and not just for the airbag light but the demeanour and horrible attitude he gave me from the moment he called my name was a disgrace. i dont care if he does 100 tests a day he does nbot have the right to be ignorant and downright snide and cheeky to any member of the public!

Mr.Diagnostic · 18-01-2008 10:23pm

TheBigLebowski wrote: »

Also a faulty airbag might go off and break your nose when it's not needed.

No, it will not. When a fault is detected the light is lit and the system shuts down.

TheBigLebowski · 18-01-2008 11:11pm

Mr.Diagnostic wrote: »

No, it will not. When a fault is detected the light is lit and the system shuts down.

That's if the system does what it is supposed to do. If the system is faulty it may not operate as you would expect. Check out these faulty VW airbags deploying for no reason.

http://cbs2chicago.com/investigations/Volkswagen.GTI.Golf.2.316841.html#end

Wishbone Ash · 18-01-2008 11:17pm

NUTLEY BOY wrote: »

In the history of the State has anyone ever appealled a driving test failure to a Justice of the District Court ?

One can't appeal the result. The result remains unchanged. One can only appeal for a retest. If the OP won his appeal for a retest, he could fail again if the warning light wasn't rectified.

Vertigo100 · 18-01-2008 11:56pm

i wont be doing anything like that. Ill post my letter of complaint monday and am going to re-apply tomorrow afternoon. ill pass the test in my girlfriends car.

unkel · 19-01-2008 12:06am

Moved from motors to learning to drive

Seth Brundle · 19-01-2008 12:48am

TheBigLebowski wrote: »

That's if the system does what it is supposed to do. If the system is faulty it may not operate as you would expect. Check out these faulty VW airbags deploying for no reason.

http://cbs2chicago.com/investigations/Volkswagen.GTI.Golf.2.316841.html#end

These went off on cars which had not got any airbag fault codes. In that case, the tester shouldn't sit in a car with airbags!

chump · 19-01-2008 3:00am

bad luck OP

everyone knows they are pernickity old farts, that's life

take it on the chin and move on

Savman · 19-01-2008 5:54pm

Very harsh tbh.

Alanstrainor · 19-01-2008 9:30pm

I would have to side with the tester on this one. The warning light being faulty is a fault and he had every right to cancel the test as a result. Reapply and try again OP. And good luck with your driving!