Failed Driving Test Wrongly

tcawley29

Ok so i got an <SNIP> of a tester on my driving test today. i was told before i did my test that i was well fit for it by my instructor. anyways the <SNIP> tester gave me 17 blues even in parts where i never messed up and even gave me a red and 4 greens. do i have any hope in things working out for me if i appeal it or call up the rsa themselves. thanks.
ps i thought the test went pretty well myself.

challengemaster

17 grade 2's and a grade 3 in a half hour test.... couldn't be described as anything short of lethal on the roads tbh.

Dare I ask what they were all given for?

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

briano

I'd get a new instructor myself

edit:
Hang on, do you have your license or not?

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=71820977

Just by the by, if you tell an insurance company that you are fully licensed and then get into an accident you will run into issues

tcawley29

challengemaster wrote: »

17 grade 2's and a grade 3 in a half hour test.... couldn't be described as anything short of lethal on the roads tbh.

Dare I ask what they were all given for?

1 grade 2 on position turning right
3 grade 2 on reaction to hazard
1 grade 3 on reaction to hazard
1 grade 2 on misleading signal
2 grade 2 on progress turning left
3 grade 2 on position at traffic lights
1 grade 1 on accelerator
1 grade 1 on clutch
1 grade 2 on clutch
1 grade 2 on gears
1 grade 2 on footbrake
1 grade 1 on footbrake
1 grade 2 on speed road conditions
1 grade 2 on speed traffic conditions
1 grade 1 on reverse competently
1 grade 2 on reverse observation
1 grade 2 on turnabout

maximoose

If it was a borderline fail you could chance an appeal.... but ffs, 17 grade 2s and a grade 3?!

No offence, maybe there is a minute chance you had a gimp having a bad day as your tester...but I'd be more inclined to believe that you just cant drive.

tcawley29

briano wrote: »

I'd get a new instructor myself

my instructor was not wrong. i had another instructor before him who was useless. this lad i have now is really good actually. i've done 15 lessons so i even felt myself that i was well fit for the test also

scotty_irish

might i suggest learning to drive instead of moaning? but seriously, all the best drivers have failed a test, makes you a better person IMO:D

tcawley29

tcawley29 wrote: »

my instructor was not wrong. i had another instructor before him who was useless. this lad i have now is really good actually. i've done 15 lessons so i even felt myself that i was well fit for the test also

What are you measuring him by? How much he tells you you're a good driver, or passing the test?

tcawley29

maximoose wrote: »

If it was a borderline fail you could chance an appeal.... but ffs, 17 grade 2s and a grade 3?!

No offence, maybe there is a minute chance you had a gimp having a bad day as your tester...but I'd be more inclined to believe that you just cant drive.

well if you ACTUALLY READ WHAT I SAID then you would see that the instructor said i was ready.

tcawley29

bluewolf wrote: »

What are you measuring him by? How much he tells you you're a good driver, or passing the test?

measuring him by what i was shown. he always tells me where i make mistakes and will not leave me alone until i learn to do them better. what he does lines up exactly with the ISM dvd on how to pass your driving test.

dearg lady

Nerves could've caused you to drive poorly. i got 3 or 4 faults in an hour long pretest , and then 12 in a 20 minute test. pretty annoying but what can ya do. Practice more and reapply.

tcawley29

dearg lady wrote: »

Nerves could've caused you to drive poorly. i got 3 or 4 faults in an hour long pretest , and then 12 in a 20 minute test. pretty annoying but what can ya do. Practice more and reapply.

i was nervous but no way in hell did i let it affect the way i drive.

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

**Timbuk2**

Don't think you have grounds for an appeal. It's the testers job to make sure a person is competent enough to get a full licence before they pass.

Chances are you thought the test went well because you don't know about the mistakes you are making, otherwise you wouldn't have made them (and wouldn't have noticed them).

Lots of people (myself included) fail their first test (and sometimes subsequent tests) but you have to keep trying until you get it - once you do pass, you'll have it for life! I had a number of errors appear up for things that I would never have considered problematic.

Try change ADI. The new one might notice things your older one did - just for one or two lessons at first and see how it goes! Don't worry it'll feel better when you eventually pass it

briano

tcawley29 wrote: »

my instructor was not wrong. i had another instructor before him who was useless. this lad i have now is really good actually. i've done 15 lessons so i even felt myself that i was well fit for the test also

Well, I don't mean to be rude, and I don't know who your instructor is, but maybe you would benefit from hearing a different instructors point of view?

maximoose

tcawley29 wrote: »

well if you ACTUALLY READ WHAT I SAID then you would see that the instructor said i was ready.

Well he was clearly wrong?

Wrighty82

There's always the distant, outside, very strong, likely chance that you are just a bad driver and the tester knew it. Probably not the reason, but it is most likely

challengemaster

tcawley29 wrote: »

well if you ACTUALLY READ WHAT I SAID then you would see that the instructor said i was ready.

Well those test results show you obviously weren't ready. At the end of the day it's what the tester says that matters.

multiple grade 2's and a grade 3 to hazard reaction is pretty serious though. That alone would have failed you

Could just have been down to nerves too - that happens. I didn't stop shaking til about an hour after the test

tcawley29

Wrighty82 wrote: »

There's always the distant, outside, very strong, likely chance that you are just a bad driver and the tester knew it. Probably not the reason, but it is most likely

have been told by lots of people that i was a good driver acually. and the fact that i've had two instructors aswell shows me which one was best.(the current one)

dearg lady

I've had my instructor and various people tell me I'm a great driver, but I still haven't passed. Yes it frustrating but what it comes down to is you're just not good enough for test standard yet. And with 17 faults I'd say you're quite a way off. perhaps your know it all attitude evident here seeps into your driving....

tcawley29

tcawley29 wrote: »

have been told by lots of people that i was a good driver acually. and the fact that i've had two instructors aswell shows me which one was best.(the current one)

No it doesn't
Get another instructor for a lesson or two and an outside opinion - then you'll know if it was nerves, competency, and/or bad instruction

apoeiguq3094y

tcawley29 wrote: »

Ok so i got an <SNIP> of a tester on my driving test today. i was told before i did my test that i was well fit for it by my instructor. anyways the <SNIP> tester gave me 17 blues even in parts where i never messed up and even gave me a red and 4 greens. do i have any hope in things working out for me if i appeal it or call up the rsa themselves. thanks.
ps i thought the test went pretty well myself.

What would be you're grounds for appeal? Just because your instructor (who you are paying) says you can drive doesn't necessarily mean you are ready to pass the test.

Without explaining the situation, you should ask another instructor to give you a mock test.

tcawley29 wrote: »

my instructor was not wrong. i had another instructor before him who was useless. this lad i have now is really good actually. i've done 15 lessons so i even felt myself that i was well fit for the test also

Was he useless because he was telling you that you weren't ready?

briano

Honestly, if you got 15 lessons off the ADI and he told you that you were ready, I'd be quicker to try and get some of my money back off him instead of complaining about the tester.

Noo

Oh i remember my first test, pretty much the same results as the OP except i got 3 grade 3s too!! Yes i was well freaked but i just applied again...finally passed after my 4th test

Kept being told by instructors and other people that my driving was grand and i'll pass my test no problem, wasnt the case, 4th times the charm

Anyways the difference in my driving from the first test to now is incredible, even though i thought i was the bees knees at my first test its actually laughable at how bad i really was!! Apply again and learn from it and you will be a better driver because of it, you might think you're the best driver going and dont want to hear that you werent ready for your test but the best thing to ever happen to me was failing that 1st test, jaysus i'd be lethal on the roads now if they had passed me back then!

Edit: Also from the attitude of the OP i'd bet my full licence he is under 20. Hopefully in 5 or 10 years when youve had much more experience and been in different driving situations then you'll see that they wouldve been fools to give someone with your kind of attitude a full licence.

tcawley29

apoeiguq3094y wrote: »

Was he useless because he was telling you that you weren't ready?

no he was useless because he was poor at explaining and always did the clutch work himself. he was also big headed aswell.

challengemaster

tcawley29 wrote: »

no he was useless because he was poor at explaining and always did the clutch work himself. he was also big headed aswell.

Unfortunately, I don't think he was the only one....

spurious

While I agree there is no point blaming the tester, I have a lot of sympathy with the OP. I've failed 5 tests now, under 3 different ADIs following about 35 lessons. Every time it's for something different. Nobody can tell me what I am doing wrong.

I've done so many tests now that I am getting the same testers second time round. First time apparently tester one had no issue with my positioning but second time 16 months later, it's bad enough to get a grade three for. Likewise four out of the five testers so far never gave me even one mark for progress, but one guy failed me on it. I could do the reverse perfectly for three testers, but got a grade two from one and a grade three from another.

How am I supposed to make sense of it? When I asked the last tester, he just said, 'we are not permitted to discuss results'.

It seems like a bit of a cod to me. If I send an essay to five English teachers, I would at least expect them to point out the same mistakes.

Yet another test on the 31st - we'll see what happens then.

Portergeist

is your instructor rsa approved???if not get one who is!! if you failed by that amount either the instructor was having a really bad day and took it out on you or you made all those mistakes and cant accept it.

Noo

spurious wrote: »

While I agree there is no point blaming the tester, I have a lot of sympathy with the OP. I've failed 5 tests now, under 3 different ADIs following about 35 lessons. Every time it's for something different. Nobody can tell me what I am doing wrong.

I've done so many tests now that I am getting the same testers second time round. First time apparently tester one had no issue with my positioning but second time 16 months later, it's bad enough to get a grade three for. Likewise four out of the five testers so far never gave me even one mark for progress, but one guy failed me on it. I could do the reverse perfectly for three testers, but got a grade two from one and a grade three from another.

How am I supposed to make sense of it? When I asked the last tester, he just said, 'we are not permitted to discuss results'.

It seems like a bit of a cod to me. If I send an essay to five English teachers, I would at least expect them to point out the same mistakes.

Yet another test on the 31st - we'll see what happens then.

Ugh that was the same with me, kept failing for different reasons, no consistancy with the tests (4 of them). If theyve all given you different reasons for failing then concentrate on all the different reasons, whatever you were marked on in the past (whether it was a fail or not) assume the next guy will fail you for it. Thats what i had to do, really does make you overall better at everything, extremely frustrating obviously to keep failing but keep at it and give them no reasons to give you any marks if you concentrate on the marks you got in the past you'll get there. Good Luck!

randylonghorn

spurious wrote: »

If I send an essay to five English teachers, I would at least expect them to point out the same mistakes.

Yet another test on the 31st - we'll see what happens then.

In fairness though, spurious, to follow your own analogy you didn't submit the same essay to five English teachers, you submitted 5 different ones.

While one would expect the same issues to recur, given nerves / different circumstances on the day that may not have been the case.

Best of luck on the 31st!

tcawley29

best of luck with ye're next tests. however that is the only tester in that location. my adi instructor was actually more upset than i was over the whole think. he really thought i was going to pass. he said there was no way in hell that i could have failed a test that bad. in the end he put it down to the tester having reached the quota of people he could pass per week. now im gonna have to do the test in a completely different town to get a different tester. thankfully sligo has a much higher pass rate than ballina though

spurious

If I don't pass this time in Raheny, I'll go to Portlaoise or Navan.

matt70iu

I don't believe that the testers have a quotea per say. I think that if they're not happy with your driving for whatever reason, they'll mark you.

There are going to be differances from tester to tester as they are all human, but at the end of the day, they are all that is standing between you and a licence to drive all over europe and other countries as well as Ireland.

I passed on my third attempt. Got a good instructor, listened to and put into practise everthing he taught me.

Even things which they wouldn;t really mark you on, like crossing my hands, I got him to drill out of me.

Start from a clean slate, asuming you know nothing about driving, that way you will be open and taachable and be able to fine tune your driving to test standards.

Just keep at it, learn from but put this test behind you. You will get there!

Best of luck!

brian076

In fairness to the OP I think some of the replies have been a bit harsh. One of the drawbacks with the driving test is that it basically takes a 25/30 minute snapshot of your driving, and you could be lucky and sail around the route with nothing out of the ordinary happening, whereas you could also be faced with someone running out in front of you or lights changing to amber as you approach and having to make a split second decision whether to go or stop. (Could possibly have been the OP's Grade 3 on Reaction to Hazard)

Last year one of my pupils who had taken about 20 lessons with me from a beginner sat her test and failed with 21 grade 2's and 2 grade 3's, even though I felt she was more than ready for the test at at the time. In fact the tester asked her afterwards if she'd ever had a driving lesson, which didn't make me feel too good.

She re-applied straight away and got a cancellation 3 weeks later, took 1 more pre-test with me and passed with 2 grade 2 faults.

She felt that she drove the same in both tests, but obviously either the second tester took a more lenient view to her driving faults or she drove for 25 minutes in an almost perfect manner. Either way, for a lot of learners there's a very fine line between pass and fail, and you could sit 10 tests one after the other and get 10 totally different results

tcawley29

matt70iu wrote: »

I don't believe that the testers have a quotea per say. I think that if they're not happy with your driving for whatever reason, they'll mark you.

There are going to be differances from tester to tester as they are all human, but at the end of the day, they are all that is standing between you and a licence to drive all over europe and other countries as well as Ireland.

I passed on my third attempt. Got a good instructor, listened to and put into practise everthing he taught me.

Even things which they wouldn;t really mark you on, like crossing my hands, I got him to drill out of me.

Start from a clean slate, asuming you know nothing about driving, that way you will be open and taachable and be able to fine tune your driving to test standards.

Just keep at it, learn from but put this test behind you. You will get there!

Best of luck!

thanks buddy. thats exactly what im gonna do. although my current instructor is great and gets me to drill out the mistakes and says i always listen to that when he says so i still have to change towns to get a different tester. my friend passed first time in sligo and was very happy with his instructor so im gonna try and get him for next week

tcawley29

brian076 wrote: »

In fairness to the OP I think some of the replies have been a bit harsh. One of the drawbacks with the driving test is that it basically takes a 25/30 minute snapshot of your driving, and you could be lucky and sail around the route with nothing out of the ordinary happening, whereas you could also be faced with someone running out in front of you or lights changing to amber as you approach and having to make a split second decision whether to go or stop. (Could possibly have been the OP's Grade 3 on Reaction to Hazard)

Last year one of my pupils who had taken about 20 lessons with me from a beginner sat her test and failed with 21 grade 2's and 2 grade 3's, even though I felt she was more than ready for the test at at the time. In fact the tester asked her afterwards if she'd ever had a driving lesson, which didn't make me feel too good.

She re-applied straight away and got a cancellation 3 weeks later, took 1 more pre-test with me and passed with 2 grade 2 faults.

She felt that she drove the same in both tests, but obviously either the second tester took a more lenient view to her driving faults or she drove for 25 minutes in an almost perfect manner. Either way, for a lot of learners there's a very fine line between pass and fail, and you could sit 10 tests one after the other and get 10 totally different results

feels good to see an instructors point of view on this. even though i know in my heart and soul that i was marked too had i dont think im gonna bother appealing it. it would be just a waste of time since the testers would only stand up for each other and have them all marking me harder. just gonna get another few lessons and reapply again tomorrow. still though at the end of the day its a lot of money spent

matt70iu

tcawley29 wrote: »

thanks buddy. thats exactly what im gonna do. although my current instructor is great and gets me to drill out the mistakes and says i always listen to that when he says so i still have to change towns to get a different tester. my friend passed first time in sligo and was very happy with his instructor so im gonna try and get him for next week

Sounds good. Just make sure ya have a drive around the town you intend to do the test in with you instructor if possible:)

Will give you that extra bit of confidence on test day. Just think of it like this, once you have the test, you 'll never have to do it again!

There's no doubt that the driving test is a daunting experience. A friend of mine who has a masters degree in philosophy failed his test 7 times!! So how smart you are in not relavent that's for sure!

Keep us posted anyway!

tcawley29

matt70iu wrote: »

Sounds good. Just make sure ya have a drive around the town you intend to do the test in with you instructor if possible:)

Will give you that extra bit of confidence on test day. Just think of it like this, once you have the test, you 'll never have to do it again!

There's no doubt that the driving test is a daunting experience. A friend of mine who has a masters degree in philosophy failed his test 7 times!! So how smart you are in not relavent that's for sure!

Keep us posted anyway!

will do have the theory side of it well under control anyways. think im just gonna use my mothers car for it this time though as im more comfortable with it (toyota corolla 1.4 diesel).

donegal2011

HI

HOPE ALL IS WELL

I DONE MY TEST FOUR TIME THE FIRST THREE WITH SAME TESTER AND LAST TIME WITH TESTER SUPERVISOR AS I ASK FOR HIM....
SHOULD I APPEAL IT AGAIN TESTER SUPERVISOR ...


I WENT TO EVERY TDS IN MY AREA..

ANY HELP OR WHAY SHOULD I DO...

THANKS

matt70iu

donegal2011 wrote: »

HI

HOPE ALL IS WELL

I DONE MY TEST FOUR TIME THE FIRST THREE WITH SAME TESTER AND LAST TIME WITH TESTER SUPERVISOR AS I ASK FOR HIM....
SHOULD I APPEAL IT AGAIN TESTER SUPERVISOR ...


I WENT TO EVERY TDS IN MY AREA..

ANY HELP OR WHAY SHOULD I DO...

THANKS

Sorry to hear you failed. You can appeal the test failure to the district court if you like. The best result that you can get from that is a free resit. The result itself cannot be changed.

As for going to your local TD's the son of a fairly prominent TD in my area recently failed his test. So politics doesn't come into it and rightly so.

I would suggest just putting it behind you, and applying again. We all have to do it to drive, so keep trying and you'll get it in the end!

LizT

tcawley29 wrote: »

will do have the theory side of it well under control anyways. think im just gonna use my mothers car for it this time though as im more comfortable with it (toyota corolla 1.4 diesel).

Being in a car that you're comfortable in will make a huge difference to your test. I was in a var that I had only driven 3 times before my test and I failed. It obviously wasn't just due to the car but I wasn't comfortable doing the turnabout in it and wasn't 100% sure about the biting point...

I know how it feels to fail when you think you're going to pass, but you've just got to suck it up and re-apply. That's what I did and I'm waiting on a test date now. I was raging when I failed but in all honesty I don't think I was ready to pass.

Alkers

You've got to factor in your nerves too. Practice driving with a couple of different people rather than with your normal accompanying driver. Each new person will be aware of being in a car with a learner and will over examine your driving. Then you can practice driving where the front seat passenger is relaxed and feels safe with you at the wheel. If you can do this to your tester on the day you won't get many marks. You need to be confident but not cocky and demonstrate that you are a good safe driver but that you don't assume it to be your right to have a full licence. Best of luck.

donegal2011

thanks to matt70iu...

DazMarz

I got 'done' the first time out on my driving test, and it was largely down to nerves (if not totally down to them!).

Second time out, I sailed through it, passed with flying colours and so on.

While I was irritated and annoyed at failing, I realised that the faults I got were genuine and one of them could have caused a huge traffic snarl-up had it been at a busy time (failing to continue through a junction). The fact is, that with 17 Grade 2's and a Grade 3, I do not think that a tester is out to get you or deliberately fail you or anything like that.

I'd just grit my teeth, apply again and put it down to experience. What I did, more or less. And I guarantee you, you will find it much easier going 2nd time out!

Good luck!

DrivingTestTips: Brian

@ OP

tcawley29 wrote: »

1 grade 2 on position turning right

either to far or to close.

3 grade 2 on reaction to hazard
1 grade 3 on reaction to hazard

this is either your speed or not avoiding properly.

1 grade 2 on misleading signal

giving a signal when not needed

2 grade 2 on progress turning left

when you know the road is clear you should drive on.

3 grade 2 on position at traffic lights

Stopping where you can see the light and not over the stop line.

1 grade 1 on accelerator

using it correctly.

1 grade 1 on clutch
1 grade 2 on clutch

using it correctly

1 grade 2 on gears

using it correctly (Gears as you need them, 4th gear at 50km,h

1 grade 2 on footbrake
1 grade 1 on footbrake

using it correctly (not to hard or soft)

1 grade 2 on speed road conditions

speed road conditions "that is it in a nut-shell".

1 grade 2 on speed traffic conditions

again I see your issue is on changing your speed to suit the situation

1 grade 1 on reverse competently

don't worry just practice this.

1 grade 2 on reverse observation

Don't look around like a robot, look because you know how to do it.

1 grade 2 on turnabout

I take it...... as more practice.

Look at the FREE videos on DrivingTestTips.ie and see if they can help you.
Let me know.

apoeiguq3094y

tcawley29 wrote: »

no he was useless because he was poor at explaining and always did the clutch work himself. he was also big headed aswell.

My first instructor used to do the clutch work too, which drove me nuts, especially cos she didn't tell me she was doing it.

The second guy was very methodical. List of exactly what I was doing wrong, and clear steps how to do it right. He's based in galway if you want to try him PM me for details.

Blackandwhite2

Just failed my driving test yesterday and I swear if you looked at my test you would believe there is a quota to fail a certain amount of people a day... 4 grade 2s, all in different areas and then one grade 3 in turning right (but no grades 2s in that section which proves that apart from one junction in about 20 my right turns were grand). I don't recall any junctions where I did anything derserving of a grade 3 such as hitting the curb or cutting corners, and the tester did not tell me where I did it despite me asking him. I have a susipcision he marked something after one turn I did in the last minute of the test, it might have been then. I really don't see why he would not pass me as I obviously was a compentant driver apart from perhaps one mistake (which I don't even recall). I really think there should be more grey areas, and making people pay another €85 into your pocket and wait another 11 weeks is absolutely ridiculous.