Discrimination in and after driving tests?

John_caffrey

Hi, can someone tell about their experience as a foreigner, even when having lived all their life in Ireland, sitting a driving test? Do you get marked randomly, failed for silly reasons, with repetitive marks for the same thing, and feel it is impossible? How many times on average did you have to do? Also is it normal that a country charges foreigners, who might be mature highly skilled benefiting the country, 5000 euros for insurance, and when asking why that much, get told because there is risk you escape the country if anything happens??? Any country in the world would treat residents like this?

John_caffrey

Please no troll army of bullies.

the_syco

John_caffrey wrote: »

Hi, can someone tell about their experience as a foreigner, even when having lived all their life in Ireland, sitting a driving test?

I'm Irish. Have lived in Ireland until very recently.

John_caffrey wrote: »

Do you get marked randomly, failed for silly reasons, with repetitive marks for the same thing, and feel it is impossible?

When I showed my driving instructor the reason I failed, he couldn't understand it, as it wasn't one of my weaknesses.

John_caffrey wrote: »

How many times on average did you have to do?

A few times! A couple in Naas, and they just said to look at the sheet :mad: The lads in Finglas at least gave me an idea of when I failed it, as opposed to just some tick box.

John_caffrey wrote: »

Also is it normal that a country charges foreigners, who might be mature highly skilled benefiting the country, 5000 euros for insurance, and when asking why that much, get told because there is risk you escape the country if anything happens??? Any country in the world would treat residents like this?

In fairness, it depends on the car also. Anything over 1.4 liter is usually expensive to insure, and some cars (expensive, or just prone to be driven by scumbags) even more so. I'm taking it you don't have a driving license from your home country (as why would you be doing the test here if you did?).

John_caffrey

Thanks, the worst I know of is young local lads under 20s, their premium is 2000 a year in worst case. The foreign ones had it for 4-5 k even if they are professional over 35 years of age. This is crazy, it means it is a quarter of their salary maybe after tax.
Need the licence having lived here since the start anyway. But also even with foreign licences this is worse because those people are already somehow skilled!

Alanstrainor

I wouldn't be concerned with discrimination tbh, just get the lessons you need and go for it. The insurance situation in this country is a joke, a lot of insurers don't even insure cars that are 10 years old or more.

dennyk

It's the lack of insurance history that's likely killing you for premiums. With no Irish no-claims history, the insurers basically see you as a brand new driver, regardless of whether you've held a license in another country, and charge you accordingly. Premiums also depend a lot on the car you buy; cars over ten years old cost more to insure and over fifteen years old even more yet (you probably won't even find anyone who will quote a fifteen-year-old-car, meaning you'd have to go to the Declined Cases Committee after three refusals and the quote they force some insurer to finally give you is gonna be ridiculous), and cars with bigger engines will be more expensive, as will cars that are popular among lad racers or insurance scammers, cars kept in areas where theft and such is more common, etc. It ain't just us foreigners; everyone here who drives a car has to deal with it (and same with the driving test as well; I mean there's always a small chance you could end up with a tester who's a closeted bigot or something, but most likely they're not marking you any differently than they would a native Irish learner).

MissShihTzu

Where did you earn the NCB? If it was in the UK, Irish insurers will take that into account when quoting. If it's anywhere else, then I would assume not.

Being quoted 5k for insurance for non Irish/UK licence holders is not at all unusual. I know of a Polish couple quoted 6k for the pair of them, and an Italian lad with an Irish licence quoted 5.5k.

Never heard of any other kind of discrimination though.

the_syco

MissShihTzu wrote: »

I know of a Polish couple quoted 6k for the pair of them, and an Italian lad with an Irish licence quoted 5.5k.

A Polish lad that I worked with in Ireland got his insurance (about 5 years back) for his Irish car from a Polish broker. Worked out at about €300 or €400, as opposed to the €3,000 that he was quoted in Ireland.

MascotDec85

I know of a Polish ADI who had an accident and fled to Poland for months as he thought it was his fault. He only returned to Ireland when it turned out he wasn’t liable.

colm_mcm

the_syco wrote: »

A Polish lad that I worked with in Ireland got his insurance (about 5 years back) for his Irish car from a Polish broker. Worked out at about €300 or €400, as opposed to the €3,000 that he was quoted in Ireland.

Just to be clear, was this for Polish insurance with a tenuous extension - or for actual insurance cover for a person normally resident in Ireland driving an Irish car?