Irish Driving Test A Racket?

maintown34

They don't have strict pass limits, but still fail people for the most idiotic of things. Things that have no relevance to safe driving whatsoever. The test error catagories are broad and vague, along with the fact there are so many ways they can screw you, you have to drive perfectly and bear luck/not insult the tester to pass. Just look at the UK test for example, much less room for subjective tick boxing. It's your word against theirs. Ignorant people too, rude as hell. Don't give these conmen your money, do you test elsewhere.

Am I wrong for thinking like this, or are the RSA really as unaccountable as most other institutions in this country? Are they really doing much to ACTUALLY prevent road deaths, or is it just another load of QUANGOS milking the unsuspecting public? Has anybody ever tried to challenge any wrongdoings by this body and won?

shopaholic01

Did you just fail your test?

maintown34

shopaholic01 wrote: »

Did you just fail your test?

yes. Today. By 2 grade 2's.

af_thefragile

I was pretty pissed off after I failed my test too...

But then I did it again in a few months time, had a bit more practice, was a lot more confident and passed it! So now I don't think the test is unfair or anything...

Confidence is the key to passing the driving test. If the tester feels you are not confident enough behind the wheel, he will fail you.
Back when I was doing the test, I sorta got away with practising driving around my neighbourhood alone on my learning license. You just need to practice a lot to get comfortable and confident. I guess now its a bit more strict so you need to find someone willing to sit besides you while to put down the miles in your car!

Where To

I think the test should be stricter.

More box ticking please.:)

maintown34

Where To wrote: »

I think the test should be stricter.

More box ticking please.:)

Yet the test lacks basic skills such as an emergency handbrake stop. I am not advocating passing dangerous drivers, but failing people for nitpicking isn't a different story. You should fail only if you make the same mistakes again, or do something potentially dangerous.

Seriously considering just biting the bullet and doing it up North. Nothing is certain, but the test appears to be less open to abuse. Don't believe me? Download the practical marking sheet. Don't feel like handing over more money, if they won't even tell me where I went wrong. What kind of crap is that, not telling where you went wrong?

challengemaster

Yes, don't give them your €85, go somewhere else and do your test, like Germany. That only costs €3000.

Honestly if you can't pass the Irish driving test, which is pretty simple, you don't deserve to be on the roads.

maintown34 wrote: »

Yet the test lacks basic skills such as an emergency handbrake stop.

If only you knew how stupid what you just said was.

af_thefragile

maintown34 wrote: »

Yet the test lacks basic skills such as an emergency handbrake stop.

why would you ever do that!

AnonoBoy

There's quotas.

Sometimes they've gotta fail you to gets paid.

eth0

It is a bit of a racket alright, definitely after they brought in the mandatory lessons from approved driving instructors - keeping them in jobs and keeping the expensive ADI training regime going. Its not terrible though, could be worse

shopaholic01

af_thefragile wrote: »

why would you ever do that!

He/she probably did a mean handbreak turn in the middle of the test.

AnonoBoy

af_thefragile wrote: »

why would you ever do that!

Chicks man. You gotta look cool.

Pedro K

maintown34 wrote: »

Yet the test lacks basic skills such as an emergency handbrake stop.

Lolwut??

Serious?

af_thefragile

shopaholic01 wrote: »

He/she probably did a mean handbreak turn in the middle of the test.

Again, why would you ever do that?!

Its not a rally school test!
Speaking of which I've always wanted to take rally driving course...

Turtyturd

Emergency handbrake stop?...I feel safer knowing you failed op.

shopaholic01

af_thefragile wrote: »

Again, why would you ever do that?!

Its not a rally school test!
Speaking of which I've always wanted to take rally driving course...

I was being sarcastic!

af_thefragile

shopaholic01 wrote: »

I was being sarcastic!

But I love rallying!!

shopaholic01

af_thefragile wrote: »

But I love rallying!!

Ask the OP for lessons, it will cover the cost of future test(s).

maintown34

challengemaster wrote: »

Yes, don't give them your €85, go somewhere else and do your test, like Germany. That only costs €3000.

Honestly if you can't pass the Irish driving test, which is pretty simple, you don't deserve to be on the roads.

This is operating under the assumption that pass rates are the same across all centers in the country, which is not the case, and does not address the subjectivity in the marking in places in comparison to say the UK, and no, it's roughly the same amount of money to do the test in the North. Why would I go to Germany for a test?

challengemaster wrote: »

If only you knew how stupid what you just said was.

This sort of adds to my argument, what kind of mickey mouse test in driving SAFETY lack such a basic move? You wonder if they pull the test criteria out of their ass, or is it actually based on internationally approved criterion. I would suspect the former is true.

shopaholic01

OP ......... this is awkward ....... it's an emergency stop, not an emergency handbrake stop.


You might be confusing this with a hill start.

MaxSteele

There is or they're used to be a driving center somewhere down Tipperary who have the one of, if not the highest pass rate in the country. Can't remember the name.

But by the sounds of it, they aren't your typical, narky robot driving instructor

Freddy Smelly

i failed it 3 times before i passed it.

first time i failed it i was penalized for stopping to avoid a lorry running a red light and almost crushing me... the tester told me i should not have stopped and he failed me... i promptly booted him out of the car.

JimmyCrackCorn

To be fair it is a joke of a test.

They should be failing more people not less.

The only time iv needed the handbrake was on Ice to turn the car to get out of a car park with momentum due to a hill and 90 degree turn. That is once in a decade of driving.


Emergency handbreak stop.... Too many movies not enough driving lessons.

ArthurG

maintown34 wrote: »

Yet the test lacks basic skills such as an emergency handbrake stop.

My car doesn't have a handbrake only a button. Should I retake the test I wonder??

PS I passed first time.....

flutterflye

I passed first time, no problems.
Was easy peasy.

Just go practice some more and do it again instead of being bitter on the internet.

MaxSteele

I know this chap who did his driving test up in Donegal years ago.

Passed everything with flying colors, except he forgot to put on his seatbelt.

The miserable instructor failed him and so he was fuming. What did he do then ?

He drove the instructor out into the middle off nowhere and told him to get out to f*ck.

Lenin Skynard

It's a lucky bag to be honest. Your best way to improve your chance of passing is to keep doing it until you pass. Took me three times to pass and I could quite confidently say that I drove much better the first time than the third. It's probably the same in the north.

Freddy Smelly

i know someone who drove her car all the way through with the handbrake ON and passed it... she even commented on the smell of burning metal :eek:

h3000

I know first hand of three people who done their driving test over the last two years and none of them should have passed. I'm not trying to be an asshole, their driving just was not good enough. One person in particular passed on their third attempt but still had not successfully reversed around a bend :eek:

So as someone said above its stricter it needs to get. Some people think they have a right to be on the road (not a dig at you op) without any training or assessment.

challengemaster

maintown34 wrote: »

This is operating under the assumption that pass rates are the same across all centers in the country, which is not the case, and does not address the subjectivity in the marking in places in comparison to say the UK, and no, it's roughly the same amount of money to do the test in the North. Why would I go to Germany for a test?

This sort of adds to my argument, what kind of mickey mouse test in driving SAFETY lack such a basic move? You wonder if they pull the test criteria out of their ass, or is it actually based on internationally approved criterion. I would suspect the former is true.

You didn't by any chance stumble across the thought that it might be the variations in skill of people taking the test, or other factors causing the variation in pass rates, before you reached this conspiracy theory.

Also it wouldn't want to be much of an emergency to try and stop using your handbrake. It would probably take about a mile.

Funnily enough you've proved your own point though, how can someone with so little knowledge even get as far as sitting a practical driving test.

af_thefragile

Lenin Skynard wrote: »

It's a lucky bag to be honest. Your best way to improve your chance of passing is to keep doing it until you pass. Took me three times to pass and I could quite confidently say that I drove much better the first time than the third. It's probably the same in the north.

When I did my test for the first time I was barely driving for a month so I sorta knew I was gonna fail but did the test anyway to see if I could get lucky, which I didn't.

The next time, I did it less than a month after my first test (booked for cancellation so got an early date) and again I just wasn't prepared enough to pass but then the tester was a bit of a dick as well.

The third time I left it off for a couple of months till the summer break as I was busy with college exams. In the mean time I got to practice a lot and became a lot more confident and somehow I managed to pass the test within 6 months since I first started to drive.

Still it took me at least another year till I could say I was fairly confident and safe behind the wheel. I was still having lots of "close calls" for about a year after I passed my test and was very lucky I didn't get into any accident. But then practice makes perfect and now I can consider myself a pretty safe driver!

kowloon

I failed a bike test for turning up with and out of date licence, hadn't realised.
No real moral to the story, but I hope that by highlighting mistakes I'll seem more human and thereby gain your trust.

blacklilly

I failed my first test, will be booking another test soon but I'm dreading it. I know most people think themselves good drivers but I know I'm decent and safe. My driving instructor was shocked I didn't pass first time.
Also I know someone who has passed their test but is too afraid to drive! I also know plenty of people who are crap unsafe drivers and have their licence.
Maybe I'm bitter but its pi*sess me off!

PizzamanIRL

Most of the things I had to do in the driving test go out the window when I get into the car.

If only the instructor could see how I drive now.

MistyCheese

I just passed my theory test on Saturday.

I'll be back to comment on the driving test in six months - two years time.

Turtyturd

Freddy Smelly wrote: »

i failed it 3 times before i passed it.

first time i failed it i was penalized for stopping to avoid a lorry running a red light and almost crushing me... the tester told me i should not have stopped and he failed me... i promptly booted him out of the car.

A friend of mine failed for gesturing to a woman pushing a pram not cross the road as a car was coming up the inside lane and she couldn't see it.

Sometimes a little common sense from testers wouldn't go amiss...emergency handbrake turns shouldn't be covered by this though.

Capt'n Midnight

maintown34 wrote: »

it's roughly the same amount of money to do the test in the North. .

Good luck with the R plates,

though by the time you pass your test you'll have to wear noobie plates down here

SuperInfinity

Everyone laughing at the idea of a handbrake emergency stop need to cop on a bit to yourselves and stop thanking each other, that's just herd mentality. A handbrake emergency stop is a valid idea, it's not just for acting up.

There's a school of thought that says that the handbrake emergency stop is so unlikely to be of use and so unreliable that it's not worth ever learning or knowing about. However if the brakes give, then yes it would be a good idea to have a clue how you would/could use it. Granted it'd ruin the car to practice it...

It sure beats shifting down in gears in case your brakes fail. One minute they're telling you never to put the car in neutral, the next they're telling you to do it every single time you slow down to switch the gears.

It's not written down anywhere about staying as close to the inside of the road as possible when going around a bend. What if there were a cyclist there? Sure, you'd be highly likely see him on time, but you'd be far more likely to see another car coming onto your side of the road. It's not a good thing to do or way to drive on principle.

The same with turning right. There's no car within half a mile to the right of you, the safest and best thing to do is to make an angle and slightly cut the line. And again it's not written anywhere what exactly you're supposed to do. Oh sure, someone else will tell you, that's hardly very professional to have things going word of mouth like that. I thought we were meant to be a literate society.

I agree with the OP, the driving test is a racket. I have no problems with strictness, it's just those things that most people aren't going to know the first time(s) they do the test, and then there's this arbitrarily ticking off the boxes as you're just driving along normally, some ****ing joke. I had half a mind to say "stop that you stupid ***ing twat, this is perfect driving", which it was.

keithclancy

SuperInfinity wrote: »

Everyone laughing at the idea of a handbrake emergency stop need to cop on a bit to yourselves and stop thanking each other, that's just herd mentality. A handbrake emergency stop is a valid idea, it's not just for acting up.

There's a school of thought that says that the handbrake emergency stop is so unlikely to be of use and so unreliable that it's not worth ever learning or knowing about. However if the brakes give, then yes it would be a good idea to have a clue how you would/could use it. Granted it'd ruin the car to practice it...

It sure beats shifting down in gears in case your brakes fail. One minute they're telling you never to put the car in neutral, the next they're telling you to do it every single time you slow down to switch the gears.

It's not written down anywhere about staying as close to the inside of the road as possible when going around a bend. What if there were a cyclist there? Sure, you'd be highly likely see him on time, but you'd be far more likely to see another car coming onto your side of the road. It's not a good thing to do or way to drive on principle.

The same with turning right. There's no car within half a mile to the right of you, the safest and best thing to do is to make an angle and slightly cut the line. And again it's not written anywhere what exactly you're supposed to do. Oh sure, someone else will tell you, that's hardly very professional to have things going word of mouth like that. I thought we were meant to be a literate society.

I agree with the OP, the driving test is a racket. I have no problems with strictness, it's just those things that most people aren't going to know the first time(s) they do the test, and then there's this arbitrarily ticking off the boxes as you're just driving along normally, some ****ing joke. I had half a mind to say "stop that you stupid ***ing twat, this is perfect driving", which it was.

I think the problem was that everyone went off 'word of mouth' back in the day, at least now theres some sort of structure to getting your license.

P.S. Irish lessons + test is cheap, my missus is after spending about 2400 euros so far.

Death and Taxes

maintown34 wrote: »

yes. Today. By 2 grade 2's.

Learn to drive properly in accordance with the rules and you will pass no problem.
Or, you could take your sour grapes, turn them into vinegar and sprinkle it on the chip on your shoulder

Maximus Alexander

I found the test way too easy. I passed first time without ever even taking a lesson, so I don't believe that they're out to get you. If anything it needs to be made harder.

Sunnyisland

I remember back in the 80,s there was so much of a backlog that the Government of the day decided that anyone with two provisional licences could exchange them for a full one,no tests.This included hgv licences as well. Just thought I would share this unimportant information.

corkgsxr

They do fail for no reason.

I was failed for being half the car over the line at the lights by cuh

At that lights I was behind 2 cars.

cournioni

After having some stupid twat pull out right in front of me at a cross road while texting on Sunday night while in a line of traffic travelling at 45kmph, I think the driving tests should be even more strict in this country.

PogMoThoin

The test here is a pure farce, we are a nation of chronic bad drivers, I'm not sure how loyts of those out there ever passed a test.
You don't drive at faster than 50kph in the test, but once passed you are allowed you drive unsupervised on a 120kph motorway, madness.
The test should include parking in an enclosed area, like a shopping centre car park. A 360' turn in a quiet area proves nothing.
I'd also be of the opinion that anyone over 40 should resit their test every 10 years and anyone over retirement age resit every 3.

Wibbs

h3000 wrote: »

I know first hand of three people who done their driving test over the last two years and none of them should have passed. I'm not trying to be an asshole, their driving just was not good enough. One person in particular passed on their third attempt but still had not successfully reversed around a bend :eek:

So as someone said above its stricter it needs to get. Some people think they have a right to be on the road (not a dig at you op) without any training or assessment.

+1 I know similar disastrously bad drivers who passed. One guy hit the gate post of the driving test centre on his second attempt. He got it on his third attempt with the same instructor. The guy has no road sense whatsoever and it's very evident after 5 minutes of sitting in the passenger seat when he's driving. There isn't a straight panel on his car.

SuperInfinity wrote: »

Everyone laughing at the idea of a handbrake emergency stop need to cop on a bit to yourselves and stop thanking each other, that's just herd mentality. A handbrake emergency stop is a valid idea, it's not just for acting up.

I suppose it's slightly valid if all else failed, but if you're going say 40 mph and try to stop on the handbrake, good luck. It'll take ages, or it'll lock up your rear wheels and control will likely be lost. At motorway speeds? It would be like stopping the queen Mary.

It sure beats shifting down in gears in case your brakes fail. One minute they're telling you never to put the car in neutral, the next they're telling you to do it every single time you slow down to switch the gears.

Engine braking will defo kill speed in an emergency foot brake failure, with throwing in the handbrake as you scrub off speed. Far better and safer than the latter on it's own.

That said I pretty much never go down the gears when coming to a stop a la the official driving test way. Ditto for always feeding the wheel when turning. The idea largely comes from the original British driving test that was based on the metropolitan police driving course from the 50's(we basically copied it). Both come from a time of drum brakes which were about as reliable as a baby's arse and huge steering wheels that wouldn't look out of place on a bus. Things have changed as you will find if you ever get the chance to drive a vintage car with drum brakes and no powersteering. The latter will give you great muscle defintion in your upper arms and the former will give you grey hairs the first time you want to come to a halt.

I don't go down the gears while stopping for one reason. I'd rather coast into someone(or something) than drive into them. It's far too easy to slip off the clutch pedal and jump forward and I've seen that one more than once.

CardBordWindow

Without doubt they fail people for the stupidest reasons.
A friend of mine did her test. Did everything perfect, delighted with herself, and then they failed her just because she hit a pedestrian. Ridiculous! Especially when he wasn't injured at all. :pac:

lukesmom

Op I'm sorry you failed your test. I know too well how devastating it can be. I did my test 4 times.
1st time I drove about half a mile with the handbrake up - instant fail Jesus I nearly melted into the seat with embarrassment. 'eh ye mite wanta let yeor handbrake down. Cringe!
2nd time I had a few lessons and failed by only one bloody grade 2.
3rd time I was sure I'd pass! Even saw my parents car in front of me towards the end of test and said 'that's my mam and dad on front'. Got back to test centre and has failed miserably by about 4 grade 2's!!!
I roared crying
4th time I passed!!!! Had to get him to tell me again I'd passed because I couldn't believe I'd finally got it this time.
Keep applying for test, observation is key. Not good enough moving eyes left and right you have to actually move your head, exaggerate a little.
My driving instructor told me evrrywhere junction, crossroads, roundabout I come to, pretend I've lost someone and I'm looking for them.
Don't give up trying, never give up

jester77

maintown34 wrote: »

They don't have strict pass limits, but still fail people for the most idiotic of things. Things that have no relevance to safe driving whatsoever. The test error catagories are broad and vague, along with the fact there are so many ways they can screw you, you have to drive perfectly and bear luck/not insult the tester to pass. Just look at the UK test for example, much less room for subjective tick boxing. It's your word against theirs. Ignorant people too, rude as hell. Don't give these conmen your money, do you test elsewhere.

Am I wrong for thinking like this, or are the RSA really as unaccountable as most other institutions in this country? Are they really doing much to ACTUALLY prevent road deaths, or is it just another load of QUANGOS milking the unsuspecting public? Has anybody ever tried to challenge any wrongdoings by this body and won?

At least you get to drive home

deelite

I passed first time and coming out out of the Test Centre I was so cocky I took the motorway - wasn't allowed on it when I was a learner, so I was "entitled" to go on it. I got lost, had no idea where I was heading, took me at least an hour to get back on the right road.

Shenshen

maintown34 wrote: »

They don't have strict pass limits, but still fail people for the most idiotic of things. Things that have no relevance to safe driving whatsoever. The test error catagories are broad and vague, along with the fact there are so many ways they can screw you, you have to drive perfectly and bear luck/not insult the tester to pass. Just look at the UK test for example, much less room for subjective tick boxing. It's your word against theirs. Ignorant people too, rude as hell. Don't give these conmen your money, do you test elsewhere.

Am I wrong for thinking like this, or are the RSA really as unaccountable as most other institutions in this country? Are they really doing much to ACTUALLY prevent road deaths, or is it just another load of QUANGOS milking the unsuspecting public? Has anybody ever tried to challenge any wrongdoings by this body and won?

Not sure if it's a racket, but I'm preparing to take my test shortly. And talking to my instructor, there are way more grey areas than there are clear guidelines you could use as reference.
And yes, it'll be your word against their's if there should be any problems. Why can your instructor not sit in the car with you, the way other countries handle it? At least you had a witness then?