Waiting times for driving tests have fallen considerably and are now close to the target time of ten weeks, according to a study by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

But the Comptroller also found that Road Safety Authority testers failed more people than outside contractors did and that pass rates varied considerably throughout Ireland.

The national average pass rate for drivers tested by RSA testers was 49% compared with a rate of 62% for contract testers.

There was considerable variation in pass rates at test centres. Average pass rates by centre varied from 39% to 60% in relation to RSA test centres and from 51% to 77% for contractor centres.

While variation between centres can arise as a result of the profile of candidates presenting for testing, it is important that the RSA validates the pass rate occurring at centres.

The RSA had not conducted such validation procedures.

The Road Safety Authority has found one reason why so many people have been failing the driving test.

They found that many driving instructors did not know the theory or the practice of driving.

Noel Brett, CEO of the RSA, said 26% of driving instructors had failed the theory test, while 20% had failed the practical test.

To illustrate the size of the problem with road safety, he said that since 1980 a total of 13,002 people had died on the roads.

He said this is four times the number killed in the Northern Ireland troubles.

He suggested that on present trends, 75 to 80 more people will die on the roads between now and the end of the year.

 Over half of motorists do not believe that the introduction of new speed cameras will be used only for road safety purposes.

Automated cameras are due to be installed on our roads by a private company by the middle of next year.

Gardaí have said they would be used to make the roads safer and would not be deployed simply to raise funds through fines.

AA spokesman Conor Faughnan has said a survey by the AA has found that 53% of drivers believe the system will not be fair and could be used as a money-making exercise.

This sounds just like the driving test and NCT  in Ireland.

Recently, a very good friend of mine has undergo her driving test but failed once again (talking about third time lucky-NOT).

Please Note: It didn’t bother me at all that she failed the test, but when I’ve heard WHY, I got really upset, so I decided to contact the RSA Driving Test Office.

Tried by phone, but being put on-hold, I decided to fire-up an email which is included below.

The same day, I got a phone call from the RSA Office looking for more information on this matter as test reference numbers, etc…, and few days later got a letter from the office saying:

but that was the end of that, and after sending another email, I still haven’t got any replies what-so-ever.

We contacted the driving instructor the same day to find out if he’s part of the new Regulation of Driving Instructors due to the fact that she was told few times that, if she would have taken driving lessons from an approved RSA Instructor than she would have know those things.
The answer was YES, he is a RSA approved instructor.
He also said that RSA are changing the way the tester are looking at the Yield sign due to too many accidents that happens after the driver passes the driving test.
But that doesn’t make any sense to me for the simple reson that after failling a driving test, these people are back on the road – so how come they don’t have any accidents then, but only after passing the TEST itself?

Have you undergo your driving test lately and failed?
Tell us about it and please let me know your oppinion on this matter…