Done a driving test in the last 6 months? SGS versus RSA...

Wertz

Following an article I caught a bit of on the Last Word a while back I just thought I'd throw a poll up on here to guage if what the interviewee was implying held any water.
Basically the guy, who was either a TD or a senator, said that he had noticed discrepancies between the pass rates for privately contracted examiners (SGS) and those working directly for the RSA...those discrepancies being in an apparent higher pass rate under the private contractors.
So if you've done a test in the last 6 months (since the pressure was put on to get L-platers off the road) tick one of the poll options.
Please note that I am not in any way implying wrong doing on behalf of SGS or the RSA, and I am certainly not suggesting that anyone who passed under SGS perhaps didn't deserve to...it's more for the sake of interest.

Red Alert

I definitely agree with that, the SGS examiner was very sound and low-key which meant that I could concentrate on the driving. Compared to the other three tests I'd done this was just like giving a guy in a yellow jacket a spin in the car. Whatever way he was observing my driving he did it in a very unobtrusive way and I didn't feel like I was under the microscope. He did say afterwards that he often does give people sheets with up to 20 grade 2's on them. I just noticed SGS use psychometric tests in their recruitment - somehow I doubt many of the RSA guys have been through one.

Wishbone Ash

Wertz wrote: »

in the last 6 months (since the pressure was put on to get L-platers off the road)

In the last 4 months.

The regulations were not intended to "get L-platers off the road" but to ensure that the are accompanied while gaining experience on a public road and to encourage them to apply for, and pass a driving test.

You must remember that there were 300,000 Provisional Licence holders out there who hadn't even bothered applying for a test.

Red Alert

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

You must remember that there were 300,000 Provisional Licence holders out there who hadn't even bothered applying for a test.

I wonder should a test application be automatic once you get your learner permit?

Tony H

I passed with the RSA and my wife passed with SGS , she failed twice with RSA , however i think the main difference she said was with the attitude of the testers , the SGS tester made her feel much more relaxed and actually talked to her during the test which she thinks helped her pass.

angeldelight

I passed with SGS just before Christmas... have no experience with any other tester as it was my first attempt but I have no complaints at all about they guy who conducted my test. He was polite, friendly and unobtrusive... the only problem I had was once my test was finished and we went in to get the results their printer wasn't working so I had to sit there for 20 mins not knowing whether I'd passed or failed as he was on the phone to an engineer but that's not his fault!

Wertz

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

In the last 4 months.

The regulations were not intended to "get L-platers off the road" but to ensure that the are accompanied while gaining experience on a public road and to encourage them to apply for, and pass a driving test.

You must remember that there were 300,000 Provisional Licence holders out there who hadn't even bothered applying for a test.

I know it was november, I just put 6 in because it's a more rounded figure than 4 for the purposes of the poll.
Besides we all know it was introduced as cover for the TD wage increase...as a convenient aside it also tried to get L-platers off the road (or have them accompanied if you prefer, which was virtually the same thing to most of us, then).
That's neither here nor there anyhow and is off topic.

Fitzdragon, I have to agree with your wife (although I never did a test with an RSA examiner)...I was made to feel at ease by the SGS examiner, both through their use of a palm pilot and their general attitude...I've talked to others who felt differently about RSA examiners and who partly blamed their failure upon examination methods

Red Alert

My SGS examiner had to use the old fashioned sheet but I didn't see or hear him making the marks on it.

redcar

I have done 2 driving tests in the past 6 monts, both with RSA and failed the first and passed the second.

The first guy didn't really like, not because he failed me but because I felt like he was waiting for me to make a mistake the second guy made me feel more comfortable, he didn't even open his pad until half way through.

Wishbone Ash

redcar wrote: »

the second guy made me feel more comfortable, he didn't even open his pad until half way through.

The reason he didn't open his pad until half way through was probably because you didn't do anything which merited it. Did you think he was ignoring faults up to that point just to make you feel more comfortable?

redcar

When he actually opened it he didn't even mark anything. Was only towards the end he marked. I defo don't think he was ignoring anything.

Just my point was that the first guy I could see sitting there with the pad up and waiting to mark something. The second guy I was at ease with because I felt he wasn't looking for my mistakes in the same way the first guy was. It was kind of like first guy attitude "I want to find mistakes" second guy "I want to see if he is a good driver".

Either way, passed second time round and never been so happy to be out of system.

L1011

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

The reason he didn't open his pad until half way through was probably because you didn't do anything which merited it. Did you think he was ignoring faults up to that point just to make you feel more comfortable?

My tester seemed to rely entirely on his memory and ticked off the pad at the end, so it could possibly have been that... was one of the strangest people I'd ever met, though.

Passed, RSA, but more than 6 months ago

Dr.Millah

RSA instructer about 4 months ago. Passed first time. The instructer was a nice man calm and relaxed and we had a bit of a chat while driving around even.
I suppose it can be down to the instructer if one guy is looking for reasons not to pass or if one is looking for reasons to pass you will change your result even if your a safe good driver.

Fyr.Fytr

Failed with RSA the day the new laws were announced (say thats half the reason i was bricking myself lol)

He was ok, quite clinical said as little as possible from the minute i met him but in fairness when doing hand signals he gave me a couple of goes on one of them in which i went blank

Got a pink on reaction to hazards so cant blame him on that

Got a letter from SGS today so have to arrange a test with them and will let you know how I get on

Wertz

Hmm, interesting poll results so far. Not scientific I know and far from conclusive but they seem to bear out the piece I referred to in my OP to some extent...

daiixi

poll would be more interesting if it asked if people had taken professional instruction in the lead up to the test or not.

Wertz

That calls for a dedicated thread....I would assume that the majority of people who seriously want to pass their test would take some brush-up lessons in the preceding days. For this one I was only interested in RSA v SGS...

spooky donkey

I failed with RSA 6 months ago and will be going mine with the SGS next week. Im confident i will pass but it will have nothing to do with who tested me it will be im on my 2nd test and more expierenced and know what to expect. This poll does not reflect how many people were on their 2nd test with each tester. Youre odds passing 2nd time is much higher on youre 2nd test and its possiable that sgs is getting more 2nd timers that 1st timers.

buckfast4me

I passed with sgs (did get 4 grade 2's all the same - they aren't pushovers), and that was my 1st time doing a driving test. Got 5 pretest lessons though.

Wertz

spooky donkey wrote: »

I failed with RSA 6 months ago and will be going mine with the SGS next week. Im confident i will pass but it will have nothing to do with who tested me it will be im on my 2nd test and more expierenced and know what to expect. This poll does not reflect how many people were on their 2nd test with each tester. Youre odds passing 2nd time is much higher on youre 2nd test and its possiable that sgs is getting more 2nd timers that 1st timers.

To be fair, again that calls for another dedicated thread. To include your or the other poster's suggestions I would have had to push the poll number up to 8 and 16 (max is 10) to encompass those doing a subsequent test, and to know if they did pretests.
As I already mentioned, I'm interested in the raw facts of SGS v RSA wrt pass/fail rates.
It could be argued that if you fail a 1st time, that you could well keep on failing (read some of the other threads)....there is certainly no guarantee that you will pass on your 2nd.
Indeed it is certainly possible that SGS are getting more 2nd or subsequent examinees....in fact with the pressure to get 2nd provos either on the road legally or off it come june, they probably are....that said, a lot of the respondants in this thread were 1st timers who passed with SGS.

I will state again, this is not scientific and at the end of it all it proves damn all....it was put up as a response to something I heard on the radio and I wanted to see if anecdotal evidence backed it up, which to an extent it does, all be it from a very small smaple group.

Wertz

Bump for new license holders.
Again, interesting stats so far...

Tony H

My son passed with SGS last week , only driving since last may ,but he did have a lot of pre tests and lessons with a good and patient professional instructor .

LadyE

I had a test in Jan with RSA - wouldnt let me sit the test because I was 5 mins late..applied the same day, got a date for wednesday gone and passed!

The RSA guy made me feel very comfortable..I was well aware it was my test - but I was VERY relaxed

stewie01

Just passed in swords sgs centre. seemed most were passing. failed 3 times with the rsa testers,thinking i should have passed, thought this was by far the worst test i did and passed. delighted.

sbhatia

Passed with SGS first time in tyllerstown, did 5 pre test with professional instructor and got 2 grade 2 faults. went for a spin for abt 35 min ( Which was long enough) but he put me at very ease that made me very relaxed. very friendly guys.

Fruiti

I passed my test 2nd time (both with RSA) but I did notice each time that 5 out of the 6 people in the room (test centre has 6 desks) failed, me being the only one who passed that hour on my second attempt. I then collected my friend who'd passed in an SGS centre (a few days later) and she said everyone in the SGS centre at the same time as her had passed! found it odd as pass rates in general are only around the 50% mark - but still, I fully deserved to fail 1st time and fully deserved to pass 2nd time so I would imagine I'd have gotten the same result with any tester!:)

chicoben

Passed in ballymun sgs, did 2 pre tests, my tester was pretty relaxed which made me relax.