fao;eddriving test-no feedback

My mother had her Driving Test yesterday in Portlaoise, and she failed.
I asked her why she was failed and she doesn't know. I have obviously been under a rock for sometime, but I was under the impression that your tester would explain where you went wrong. Alas No!! Her (extremely insensitive) tester told her that it wasn't he wasn't at liberty to tell her why she failed, just that she had!.
He advised her to go back to her Driving instructor who would explain the sheet of paper that he gave her. I'm sorry but What???? After paying for Eye tests, Licences, lessons, Tests.and waiting for 12 months She now has to 'pay' to found out why she was failed !?!? Of course the ultimate irony in this is that after telling her she failed ie.not good enough to drive, she quite legally got into her car and drove home!!!!!!!!!!!

Unfortunately this is the way the driving test operates. It happens to every individual if they fail their test whereby the instructor is not at liberty to discuss reasons for failure afterards. It basically a money making excerise. How are we to treat driving in Ireland with respect when your mother was then able to drive off afterwards even though she failed

reasons for failure

I've failed 4 tests (so far) and the testers are not permitted to discuss the details of the test with the applicant. However, most of them aren't complete backstards and are willing to bend this rule unless they are in a hurry to get to do the next persons test.
After paying a small fortune for lessons, the very least her instructor could do is explain the piece of paper to her. Instructors usually hang around outside test centres anyway so she could just go over to him and ask him.

The piece of paper they give will detail the type of fault eg. they will give you a tick for mirrors but they won't say you didn't check your right hand mirror when you were turning right from X street into Y street

I applied for my test a year ago and knew how long the waiting times were so i used this to my advantage and got one lesson/mock test every month for the last six months which helped a LOT. I feel i can do the test now but of course one little slip up or error of judgement and I'm back to the end of the queue for another year! but as you said, i'll still be able to get in my car and drive home so who cares!

Did you/she read through the test report she got back? I always found these fairly easy to understand.

Are driving tests a cod?

from the Irish Times:

All measures aimed at solving the driving test delays have failed. In 1979 the then Environment Minister Sylvester Barrett's made his infamous cowboy suggestion: to cut the queue by more than half by simply issuing full licences to everyone on a second provisional - effective in cutting waiting times but not great for safety.

Click to expand...

Is there any evidence to suggest that the cowboy drivers of 1979 are any safer or more dangerous than the rest of us?

Do driving tests make a difference?

ajapale

Re: Are driving tests a cod?

RTE News.
20 August 2004 14:58

"Four people have been killed in road accidents this morning.
Others have been seriously injured"

Nuff said.

Re: Are driving tests a cod?

basically a money-making exercise

Click to expand...

I'd have to agree. When I turned 18, a certain number of years ago... — I sat my first car test with a grumpy old fart who made it clear to me from the outset that he didn't hold with young whippersnappers getting their test and thinking they were the bee's knees (or words to that effect). Did a pretty-much-perfect test, but was failed, and the report said I'd driven too slowly (?!) and failed to look in my rear-view mirror enough — utter sh1te. I needed the licence in a hurry for work purposes, so managed get an early re-test a few weeks later, but then who do I see coming out to the car but the same old fart! Heart sank. Did the test reasonably well, but certainly not as well as the first time around (i.e. brushed against the kerb on my reversing-around-a-corner bit). Guy hopped out of the car at the end without saying a word, so I parked and followed him inside... to be told I'd passed!

Six months later, applied to do the motorcycle test (I'd been advised not to even bother doing this until I'd a full car licence). On the day, I answered the few "Rules of the road" questions, went outside with the tester, was told to drive around the green in front of the testing centre and did so, driving like a baby all the way. He then told me to repeat the exercise, but going in the opposite direction (— a bit trickier in that it involved a couple of right turns against oncoming traffic). When I got back, there was no sign of the guy, but a man waiting for his daughter outside the test centre told me the tester had turned his back and walked back inside the minute I'd driven off...

Maybe things have improved since, but...

.

I don't know how I passed my test. Looking back, I didn't have a clue how to drive.

I only really learnt how to drive from practical experience, after doing my test.

(I didn't realise the waiting list was a year!)