Driving test flawed system

qwertyu

Hey guys, okay so I can see that this Thread is super old but gonna post anyway. I have now failed my driving test 6 times as of last Wednesday. 6 tests ..so that was 1 test when I first started driving 6 years ago and 5 tests in the last 2 years. I have done my test 3 times in Finglas and 3 times in Raheny. The first time failing I didn't care because I was so new to it all. but the other 5 times are ridiculous. Especially the last 3. .I am with the ISM for lessons and get pretested every single time. I got the same lady in Raheny twice in a row ( she failed me one time for stopping at an amber light...I didn't believe it was safe to proceed) and the 2nd time she gave me 9 grade 2s because I didn't observe on my reverse enough...I should add that there was a homeless man behind my car that I had to stop for 2 minutes during the reverse to let him cross but he noticed I was being tested and purposely stood there laughing..so I feel that was unfair as a reason to fail me. Okay so then I thought I needed a new place so I went to Finglas 3 weeks ago... I had my test, everything felt like it went amazingly...I had a pretets just before and was told I'd 100% pass if I drove the same way I just did. So I did it and the guy told me : (His exact quotes) ...."I have to disappoint you today, I want to focus on the positives here...you are a very good, safe driver, the reason I have to fail you is because you were slightly too far to the left of the road on 4 occasions so that is a fail..BUT I really feel you can pass this test so I am recommending to you that you book a cancellation for next week, if possible.." then he whispered "please remember that you are a REALLY good driver" ... So I was like..okay this is the first time someone has given me warmhearted feedback.. obviously I went home rebooked it and then did it again last Wednesday at Finglas again, I got the SAME woman that I had those times in Raheny and who was (if i'm honest) the reason I actually moved test centres..what are the chances in that.. anyway so I didn't let that affect me but she failed me any way and circled 2 things on my result page... 1 for gears and 1 for turning right. She said that I got 3 Grade 2's for Gears and 1 Grade 3 for Observation turning right... So basically I failed because she said I never looked left and into my turn when I got an arrow to go right. I called her out on it and said that it was her word against mine and that I'm getting sick of this whole system. I've spent alot of money at this stage now. I really don't know what to do next, my driving instructor saw me afterwards and said I'd have to get a supervisor in the car maybe next time because it's too much hassle too appeal (it costs money too) and I can't take anymore days off work so I don't know what to do. I really feel angry about the whole thing and my instructor says its just unfortunate that its their word against mine. It's another bad example of how things are being run in this country. Anyone else with the same problem?!!!!!!

challengemaster

So 5 different testers between 2 centers have tested you. Common denominator says its not the test that's the issue here.

Rather than bury your head in the sand and shouting "I'M RIGHT", perhaps try figure out what the difference is between the test and lessons / pre-tests. Is it nerves? The faults seem to be quite varied which would make me think it's nervousness causing small mistakes, albeit enough of them so that you fail.

Perhaps get 1 lesson or pre-test with a different instructor. See if they draw the same conclusions as your current instructor, or if they pick up on any faults.

Faith+1

My eyes OP! Please use paragraphs.

Galadriel

I would definitely try another instructor to get a second opinion on your driving.

J_R

qwertyu wrote: »

Hey guys, okay so I can see that this Thread is super old but gonna post anyway. I have now failed my driving test 6 times as of last Wednesday. 6 tests ..so that was 1 test when I first started driving 6 years ago and 5 tests in the last 2 years. I have done my test 3 times in Finglas and 3 times in Raheny. The first time failing I didn't care because I was so new to it all. but the other 5 times are ridiculous. Especially the last 3. .I am with the ISM for lessons and get pretested every single time. I got the same lady in Raheny twice in a row ( she failed me one time for stopping at an amber light...I didn't believe it was safe to proceed) and the 2nd time she gave me 9 grade 2s because I didn't observe on my reverse enough...I should add that there was a homeless man behind my car that I had to stop for 2 minutes during the reverse to let him cross but he noticed I was being tested and purposely stood there laughing..so I feel that was unfair as a reason to fail me. Okay so then I thought I needed a new place so I went to Finglas 3 weeks ago... I had my test, everything felt like it went amazingly...I had a pretets just before and was told I'd 100% pass if I drove the same way I just did. So I did it and the guy told me : (His exact quotes) ...."I have to disappoint you today, I want to focus on the positives here...you are a very good, safe driver, the reason I have to fail you is because you were slightly too far to the left of the road on 4 occasions so that is a fail..BUT I really feel you can pass this test so I am recommending to you that you book a cancellation for next week, if possible.." then he whispered "please remember that you are a REALLY good driver" ... So I was like..okay this is the first time someone has given me warmhearted feedback.. obviously I went home rebooked it and then did it again last Wednesday at Finglas again, I got the SAME woman that I had those times in Raheny and who was (if i'm honest) the reason I actually moved test centres..what are the chances in that.. anyway so I didn't let that affect me but she failed me any way and circled 2 things on my result page... 1 for gears and 1 for turning right. She said that I got 3 Grade 2's for Gears and 1 Grade 3 for Observation turning right... So basically I failed because she said I never looked left and into my turn when I got an arrow to go right. I called her out on it and said that it was her word against mine and that I'm getting sick of this whole system. I've spent alot of money at this stage now. I really don't know what to do next, my driving instructor saw me afterwards and said I'd have to get a supervisor in the car maybe next time because it's too much hassle too appeal (it costs money too) and I can't take anymore days off work so I don't know what to do. I really feel angry about the whole thing and my instructor says its just unfortunate that its their word against mine. It's another bad example of how things are being run in this country. Anyone else with the same problem?!!!!!!

slightly too far to the left of the road

Hi,

were you talking to your instructor after the test ?. If so, he should have immediately sought clarification on the above quote.

Your position on the road can only be measured from the left - that is a "Safe but not excessive " distance. The examiner''s statement very simply does not make any kind of sense.

You position on the road can only be measured from the left. The law says so. For example, if there is an accident the Garda measure from the left hand sides of the road to the point of impact. It would be impossible to measure from some vague "the road" point.

If the above were his exact words then my opinion your instructor should have demanded a free test on your behalf.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

pbthevet

Id agree system is flawed. You should never have same tester. Huge difference in them. Pass fail oercentages shoukd be similier but huge difference.

Get the supervisor in car with ya. Dont make any obvious red mistakes and ull pass

MascotDec85

J_R wrote: »

Hi,

were you talking to your instructor after the test ?. If so, he should have immediately sought clarification on the above quote.

Your position on the road can only be measured from the left - that is a "Safe but not excessive " distance. The examiner''s statement very simply does not make any kind of sense.

You position on the road can only be measured from the left. The law says so. For example, if there is an accident the Garda measure from the left hand sides of the road to the point of impact. It would be impossible to measure from some vague "the road" point.

If the above were his exact words then my opinion your instructor should have demanded a free test on your behalf.

So are you saying a candidate won't be marked for getting too close to the left/kerb?

J_R

MascotDec85 wrote: »

So are you saying a candidate won't be marked for getting too close to the left/kerb?

Hi,

Fail to understand how you jumped to that conclusion.

I wrote

Your position on the road can only be measured from the left - that is a "Safe but not excessive " distance.

In the test, if the line the candidate is following is NOT safe they will be marked. In normal everyday driving it will drastically increase their chance of having an accident

MascotDec85

J_R wrote: »

Hi,

Fail to understand how you jumped to that conclusion.

I wrote

In the test, if the line the candidate is following is NOT safe they will be marked. In normal everyday driving it will drastically increase their chance of having an accident

You then went onto to say the examiner's comment doesn't make any sense. Maybe the examiner chose the wrong word. I think we both know what he meant but to tell someone looking for advice on the matter that their instructor should have demanded a free retest there and then is wrong IMO.

J_R

MascotDec85 wrote: »

You then went onto to say the examiner's comment doesn't make any sense. Maybe the examiner chose the wrong word. I think we both know what he meant but to tell someone looking for advice on the matter that their instructor should have demanded a free retest there and then is wrong IMO.

Hi,

After the test, I always asked my pupils what the examiner said (Also if they were happy with the markings - if any)

If the examiners said what the OP quoted I would have immediately dropped into the test center and if possible had an informal chat with the examiner to see if he actually used those words. If he would not co-operate or admit he did then I would have contacted the supervisor and/or Ballina.

As I said in my first post, there can be no such position therefore no markings possible

MascotDec85

J_R wrote: »

Hi,

After the test, I always asked my pupils what the examiner said (Also if they were happy with the markings - if any)

If the examiners said what the OP quoted I would have immediately dropped into the test center and if possible had an informal chat with the examiner to see if he actually used those words. If he would not co-operate or admit he did then I would have contacted the supervisor and/or Ballina.

As I said in my first post, there can be no such position therefore no markings possible

Picking him up on the word "slight" is semantics.

J_R

MascotDec85 wrote: »

Picking him up on the word "slight" is semantics.

Hi,

No, not the word "Slight" on :-

too far to the left of the road

MascotDec85

J_R wrote: »

Hi,

No, not the word "Slight" on :-

Maybe he/she should have said excessive but chose slight. It's a choice of language.

What we should be focusing on is the errors made by the OP not what the tester said. If you found out during your informal chat that the OP had been driving through various drains would you still be demanding a free test?
Testers generally do a good job, let them get on with it.

challengemaster

J_R wrote: »

Hi,

After the test, I always asked my pupils what the examiner said (Also if they were happy with the markings - if any)

If the examiners said what the OP quoted I would have immediately dropped into the test center and if possible had an informal chat with the examiner to see if he actually used those words. If he would not co-operate or admit he did then I would have contacted the supervisor and/or Ballina.

As I said in my first post, there can be no such position therefore no markings possible

It's not always about correct terminology, but often what people will understand clearly. I'm sure "not maintaining a safe distance from the left" is more correct, but, "being too far left" corresponds the same message tbh. Pedantics at its finest.

Del2005

qwertyu wrote: »

Hey guys, okay so I can see that this Thread is super old but gonna post anyway. I have now failed my driving test 6 times as of last Wednesday. 6 tests ..so that was 1 test when I first started driving 6 years ago and 5 tests in the last 2 years. I have done my test 3 times in Finglas and 3 times in Raheny. The first time failing I didn't care because I was so new to it all. but the other 5 times are ridiculous. Especially the last 3. .I am with the ISM for lessons and get pretested every single time. I got the same lady in Raheny twice in a row ( she failed me one time for stopping at an amber light...I didn't believe it was safe to proceed) and the 2nd time she gave me 9 grade 2s because I didn't observe on my reverse enough...I should add that there was a homeless man behind my car that I had to stop for 2 minutes during the reverse to let him cross but he noticed I was being tested and purposely stood there laughing..so I feel that was unfair as a reason to fail me. Okay so then I thought I needed a new place so I went to Finglas 3 weeks ago... I had my test, everything felt like it went amazingly...I had a pretets just before and was told I'd 100% pass if I drove the same way I just did. So I did it and the guy told me : (His exact quotes) ...."I have to disappoint you today, I want to focus on the positives here...you are a very good, safe driver, the reason I have to fail you is because you were slightly too far to the left of the road on 4 occasions so that is a fail..BUT I really feel you can pass this test so I am recommending to you that you book a cancellation for next week, if possible.." then he whispered "please remember that you are a REALLY good driver" ... So I was like..okay this is the first time someone has given me warmhearted feedback.. obviously I went home rebooked it and then did it again last Wednesday at Finglas again, I got the SAME woman that I had those times in Raheny and who was (if i'm honest) the reason I actually moved test centres..what are the chances in that.. anyway so I didn't let that affect me but she failed me any way and circled 2 things on my result page... 1 for gears and 1 for turning right. She said that I got 3 Grade 2's for Gears and 1 Grade 3 for Observation turning right... So basically I failed because she said I never looked left and into my turn when I got an arrow to go right. I called her out on it and said that it was her word against mine and that I'm getting sick of this whole system. I've spent alot of money at this stage now. I really don't know what to do next, my driving instructor saw me afterwards and said I'd have to get a supervisor in the car maybe next time because it's too much hassle too appeal (it costs money too) and I can't take anymore days off work so I don't know what to do. I really feel angry about the whole thing and my instructor says its just unfortunate that its their word against mine. It's another bad example of how things are being run in this country. Anyone else with the same problem?!!!!!!

From what you've posted it just sounds like your bad at the test. I made a mess of most of my tests, for a CE the tester was giving me instructions I was driving so badly and on a C I hit the kerb on the 1st left, but I eventually managed to fill in all the spaces on the licence.

Try taking something for nerves before the test, I was recommended Rescue Remedy by an instructor, and look to change ADI, go with a different company.