The great hypocrisy

docbroc

I failed my test for the third time yesterday in Raheny. There were 6 of us taking the test of all shapes and sizes and all of us failed. Im a good little boy, I dont drive unaccompanied (probably why i keep failing) and i obey the law to the letter.Ive gotten over 50 hours of lessons and at this stage I drive pretty well. What infuriates me is that alone of all my friends I do not have a license.

Every man jack of them took the test down the country and passed it. One mounted the kerb on her reverse around and ran into a lamp pole ! Instead of the instructor running away and blackballing her forever she was told to move on - with a grade 2! Another took a wrong turn into a building site and got stuck on loose dirt.Still passed....

I take 2 buses to work every morning despite paying a fortune for insurance and car parking. I know boohoo. Because of the demands of my job I cant take the test in Sligo or wherever and thus am unable to pass. Yet clowns who cant reverse a car around a corner or steer straight are perfectly legally allowed to drive around dublin should they please.

The RSA have the gall to pretend that the average driver has a 50% chance of passing their test. This is <SNIP>. The average young male in dublin hasnt a snowballs chance in hell of passing it while you could do the test drunk in some rural areas and succeed first time around. The plummeting pass rates in dublin centres have nothing to do with safe driving and everything to do with blatant profiteering. A 40% spread in the rates is crazy, it stinks of corruption. The current test where an examiner can fail you with no explanation or recourse is rotten to the core. Its long past time for reform.

robbie_998

complain, complain and complain some more.

also why not do your test elsewhere like all your mates if your thinking like that ?

winston82

docbroc wrote: »

The current test where an examiner can fail you with no explanation or recourse is rotten to the core. Its long past time for reform.

Huh? Dont you get the slip at the end to say what you failed on? What did you fail on?

In short, Driving test is easy, i did it in the snow ffs. Some examiners are sound some are not, such is life. Get more lessons.

docbroc

The first time I failed it was with a random scatterblot of grade 2s. I know it was random because it included a grade 2 in the motorcycle boxs. No matter how bad a driver you could be getting a motorcycle demerit is blatantly crap. I called the RSA to complain and was told I would have to refer it to court. Of course the tester refused to give me any details. The second time round in Finglas the tester said he was tired and to drive straight on. He promptly snoozed for half an hour and then failed me. My most recent test in Raheny my sheet just had just one grade 3 - on moving off, no idea where or how that came about again stony silence. He spent most of the trip texting on his phone not bothering to grade the sheet at all. Can you imagine such things happening in England or Norway ? Some examiners are sound some arnt ? Some centers will pass you some wont ? What kind of way is that to run such an important exam ? Imagine if the leaving cert ran like that. All the lessons in the world wont help you if the tester decides to fail you.

D'Agger

docbroc wrote: »

I failed my test for the third time yesterday in Raheny. There were 6 of us taking the test of all shapes and sizes and all of us failed. Im a good little boy, I dont drive unaccompanied (probably why i keep failing) and i obey the law to the letter.Ive gotten over 50 hours of lessons and at this stage I drive pretty well. What infuriates me is that alone of all my friends I do not have a license.

Can you be more detailed on why you've failed please?? Too many grade 2's (for what if so) or a grade 3?

LilMsss

I agree with the OP to some extent. I failed my test last week (first time), and while I am in no doubt that I would have failed anyway (reaction to hazards), some of the marking seemed a little strange to me.

For example, I got a Grade 2 for my turnabout, which I did perfectly (I realise it is in my opinion that I did it without fault, but I didn't hit the kerb, observation was spot on, and didn't block the road, or obstruct any vehicles), but of course there is very little come back.

While I feel my driving skills have improved drastically, part of me still wonders if there is any point in continuing to practice, take lessons and reapply, if I could be passed or failed on, it seems the whim of the tester.

I realise that many people who fail blame the tester, and I am in no way doing that (in my case anyway), but there do seem to be huge discrepancies, not only in pass rates across centres, but also in the standard of driving that will get you a pass.

I too know of people who mounted the kerb, did not competently complete some of the manouvres and of one who almost crashed into the side of a vehicle at a junction during the test, and all managed to pass.