Irish Driving Test A Racket?

maintown34 · 07-11-2012 12:05AM #1

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 · 07-11-2012 12:06AM

Did you just fail your test?

maintown34 · 07-11-2012 12:08AM

shopaholic01 wrote: »

Did you just fail your test?

yes. Today. By 2 grade 2's.

af_thefragile · 07-11-2012 12:08AM

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 · 07-11-2012 12:08AM

I think the test should be stricter.

More box ticking please.:)

maintown34 · 07-11-2012 12:13AM

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 · 07-11-2012 12:14AM

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 · 07-11-2012 12:16AM

maintown34 wrote: »

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

why would you ever do that!

AnonoBoy · 07-11-2012 12:16AM

There's quotas.

Sometimes they've gotta fail you to gets paid.

eth0 · 07-11-2012 12:17AM

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 · 07-11-2012 12:17AM

af_thefragile wrote: »

why would you ever do that!

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

AnonoBoy · 07-11-2012 12:17AM

af_thefragile wrote: »

why would you ever do that!

Chicks man. You gotta look cool.

Pedro K · 07-11-2012 12:18AM

maintown34 wrote: »

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

Lolwut??

Serious?

af_thefragile · 07-11-2012 12:18AM

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 · 07-11-2012 12:19AM

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

shopaholic01 · 07-11-2012 12:20AM

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 · 07-11-2012 12:21AM

shopaholic01 wrote: »

I was being sarcastic!

But I love rallying!!

shopaholic01 · 07-11-2012 12:23AM

af_thefragile wrote: »

But I love rallying!!

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

maintown34 · 07-11-2012 12:23AM

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 · 07-11-2012 12:25AM

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

You might be confusing this with a hill start.

MaxSteele · 07-11-2012 12:27AM

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 · 07-11-2012 12:27AM

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 · 07-11-2012 12:28AM

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 · 07-11-2012 12:29AM

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 · 07-11-2012 12:29AM

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 · 07-11-2012 12:30AM

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 · 07-11-2012 12:32AM

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 · 07-11-2012 12:32AM

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 · 07-11-2012 12:34AM

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 · 07-11-2012 12:36AM

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 · 07-11-2012 12:38AM

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!

Irish Driving Test A Racket?

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