Driving Test - Why?

lilulila

My boyfriend was due his driving test this week and the day before his test he got a phone call from Ballina saying we are very sorry but your tester is sick for tomorrow we have to cancel. My questions are why dont they have someone on call who would cover for any events such as these for their county and neighbouring counties. Also if he wanted to cancel his test he has to give ten days notice or he will forfit his fee. But they feel they can cancel with less than 24 hours notice and not seem to give a damn. When he rang them again to get another test as he has a job riding on the results of this test they told him it would be another ten weeks. It wasnt untill he kicked up a fuss he managed to get one in two weeks. It took 4 phone calls to get that far. Its bad enough we have to wait over a year for a date but to cancel less than 24 hours before after all the money he has spent on lessons is a bit too much dont you think.

Scruff

My questions are why dont they have someone on call who would cover for any events such as these for their county and neighbouring counties.

cause they dont have enough as it is to keep up with the demand.

But they feel they can cancel with less than 24 hours notice and not seem to give a damn.

cause they're a government body. thats enough in their eyes.

lilulila

Ive seen the ques over the past couple of years jump up but they dont seem to be doing a thing about cutting it down. Where are our taxes being spent? Surely if they want safer roads they need to spend it in the testing sector.

D!ve^Bomb!

safer roads? that's a laugh.. 10 more people have died on the roads this year compared to this time last year.. and it's only fúckin february

L5

i heard recently that queues are now a year in a lot of places, gone up from 10 months. Privitise the damn thing i say. They deliberately keep things slow so as to keep themselves in jobs

parsi

L5 wrote:

i heard recently that queues are now a year in a lot of places, gone up from 10 months. Privitise the damn thing i say. They deliberately keep things slow so as to keep themselves in jobs

Well they privatised the car testing and people give out that they fail cars on order to keep themselves in a job and make money for the company ...

But how much of the problem is due to letting us all on the roads just by filling in an application for a licence and then 2 years later making you do a test..? If you had to pass your test to get on the road in the first place would the queues be less ? Be interesting to see the stats from somewhere like GErmany or France ..

A few years ago whilst tidying the car before herself did her test I found a press cutting from 1 year previously when Mini Brennan declared he was going to hound the provisionals off the road and implement a rigorous new policy about teh whole thing and this would all be done in 6 months - 12 months later nothing was done and 2 years later no sign either.

seamus

Yeah, I've heard a few stories off ****ty things like this. Even people turning up to the centre after having taken a day off and being told to go home cos their tester rang in/went home sick.

On the flipside I think someone posted here before that it was possible to take a day, arrive at the test centre and exclaim that you'll wait around all day, and take the first non-show that occurs.

There are always plenty of no-shows on the day, I don't know why they don't say this . You'd have people queuing for a no-show all day.

decob

lilulila wrote:

My boyfriend was due his driving test this week and the day before his test he got a phone call from Ballina saying we are very sorry but your tester is sick for tomorrow we have to cancel. My questions are why dont they have someone on call who would cover for any events such as these for their county and neighbouring counties. Also if he wanted to cancel his test he has to give ten days notice or he will forfit his fee. But they feel they can cancel with less than 24 hours notice and not seem to give a damn. When he rang them again to get another test as he has a job riding on the results of this test they told him it would be another ten weeks. It wasnt untill he kicked up a fuss he managed to get one in two weeks. It took 4 phone calls to get that far. Its bad enough we have to wait over a year for a date but to cancel less than 24 hours before after all the money he has spent on lessons is a bit too much dont you think.

a similar thing happened to me a few months back, morning of test, got the call - tester sick. I was raging - i'd taken the day off work, was miffed that could could cancel at the last minute but if i did, i'd lose my fee... tho in hte end managed to get a test 3 weeks later... which they promptly failed me

stratos

A guy I know got 500e from them for this, he threatened to take them to court for loss of earnings as he had booked a day off. It took ages and determination but he got it. Hasn't passed a test since!

AMurphy

Scruff wrote:

cause they dont have enough as it is to keep up with the demand.


cause they're a government body. thats enough in their eyes.

Ditto.
Unfortunately this goes for gov authorities all over the world, the more 3rd world they are, the worse it gets. It's a kind of petty "warlord" mentality, ie if I'm having a miserable time, let's share it, especially if nobody can fire me.
Frankly, they have no problem wasting YOUR money, but don't you dare try reversing the terms.

However on the subj of independant or subsontractors dong the testing, etc.
A friend of mine recently bought a bike, also his first bike, I'll say, 600~750 Honda something.
The independant company taught him how to drive it, then when when THEY thought he was ready, they tested him, passed him and the DMV, (Local motor dept.) accepted the results and gave him his liscense, with no further testing.
Cost him a few $100's, but he was quiet happy with the training and result.
Now, that I call a good setup.

lilulila

a similar thing happened to me a few months back, morning of test, got the call - tester sick. I was raging - i'd taken the day off work, was miffed that could could cancel at the last minute but if i did, i'd lose my fee... tho in hte end managed to get a test 3 weeks later... which they promptly failed me

I hope though because he lost the rag in with the people in Balina they wont hold it against him on the test day. I wouldnt blame him for loosing the rag though. I took my test last year and thankfully passed but i could only imagine my thoughts if I received a phone call less than 24 hours before the test to be told it was cancelled. Its hard enough to get into the right mind to do the test in the first place. People dont need this kind of thing. Especially when at the last min he is begging his boss to change his holidays around to a new date.

Boggle

A friend of mine recently bought a bike, also his first bike, I'll say, 600~750 Honda something.
The independant company taught him how to drive it, then when when THEY thought he was ready, they tested him, passed him and the DMV, (Local motor dept.) accepted the results and gave him his liscense, with no further testing.
Cost him a few $100's, but he was quiet happy with the training and result.

Was that in Ireland?? (DMV is normally used in the states) If it was, who was the company?

Lord Nikon

I have my test in 9 days. It's not the cost of the test or my insurance thats annoys me, but the past 10 months waiting for the test date. It's also that friends, family and work mates judge me and laugh at me because I still haven't passed my test.

I failed my last test, because my break bulbs were blown, and I was waiting 8 months to do that test.

I'd love to pass, who wouldn't? but it's crazy that anyone should have to wait anymore than a month for a test date.

It's just like the hospital waiting list in ireland, your put on a waiting list for an operation( which could be over a year), and you might die in the mean time.

AMurphy

Boggle wrote:

Was that in Ireland?? (DMV is normally used in the states) If it was, who was the company?

Right, San Jose, CAl.
Don't know the name, but will find out.

AMurphy

neuromancer wrote:

I'd love to pass, who wouldn't? but it's crazy that anyone should have to wait anymore than a month for a test date.

....QUOTE]

I suppose that's what you get when you have a strong union and an uncaring petty attitude to back it up.
It does seem pretty half hatched when they make absolutely no accommodation for a tester being out, for whatever reason, instead of "well, that's your problem". But then, your average un-Civil servants are not selected for their brilliance.

jhegarty

lilulila wrote:

My boyfriend was due his driving test this week and the day before his test he got a phone call from Ballina saying we are very sorry but your tester is sick for tomorrow we have to cancel. My questions are why dont they have someone on call who would cover for any events such as these for their county and neighbouring counties. Also if he wanted to cancel his test he has to give ten days notice or he will forfit his fee. But they feel they can cancel with less than 24 hours notice and not seem to give a damn. When he rang them again to get another test as he has a job riding on the results of this test they told him it would be another ten weeks. It wasnt untill he kicked up a fuss he managed to get one in two weeks. It took 4 phone calls to get that far. Its bad enough we have to wait over a year for a date but to cancel less than 24 hours before after all the money he has spent on lessons is a bit too much dont you think.

same here... after waiting 6 months for a test, had to wait another month and half after they cancelled it....

AMurphy

Given there appears to be sufficient incidents of this random cancellations. It might be high time the minister in charge was bombarded with letters of complaint about their attitude and lack of basic courtesy in these matters.

regarding the guy that showed up with non-functional lights. given they appear to be taking note of clicking handbrakes and other non-driving items, it would be wise to insure the car was servicable. No need in feeding the hand that beats you.
Given anything can happen and it is possible for other idiots to smash one of your lights even while waiting for the test.
It might be worth while requesting the test be posponed, rather than "failed". "failed" would appear to have more negative meaning than "posponed". it's going to cost you anyway.

seamus

AMurphy wrote:

It might be worth while requesting the test be posponed, rather than "failed". "failed" would appear to have more negative meaning than "posponed". it's going to cost you anyway.

You have to give ten days notice for the test to be postponed. If something happens to your vehicle on the day of test and you can't get your hands on another, you fail.

I'm sure the testers see plenty of people who turn up with barely roadworthy cars, but I've known quite a few stories of unlucky souls who check their vehicles the night before, all is good, then they arrive at the test centre and a brake light or indicator has blown.

AMurphy

seamus wrote:

You have to give ten days notice for the test to be postponed. If something happens to your vehicle on the day of test and you can't get your hands on another, you fail.

Well, it could happen to you, ie slip and break your ankle on the tester carpark, etc.
and in this day of supercomputers, instant messaging, online-scheduling, etc. 10 days is bull. I see no reason why you could not re-schedule at the counter... based on the delays, complaints, there are no shortage of volunteers ready to take a vacated slot or jump ahead in the queue is asked.
this is just an good example of CC pettiness, ie, "I'm an underpaid and miserable moron, lets see who I can make suffer more than I".

seamus

AMurphy wrote:

Well, it could happen to you, ie slip and break your ankle on the tester carpark, etc.
and in this day of supercomputers, instant messaging, online-scheduling, etc. 10 days is bull

Yep. But this is new, "e-hub" Ireland. What's the internet? .

I see no reason why you could not re-schedule at the counter...

Well, you see the actual problem here is that there is no counter
Any test centre I've been in, you walk in the door, sit in a waiting room and wait for your name to be called. There's no-one greeting, taking names or fielding queries at the door.
It's a 1950's setup, in all respects. The testers still issue pen and paper certs.

AMurphy

gottya.... and the mentality is from what era? Luddite?

Rew

A friend failed hers after she droped in to the garage to get a brake light (amoung other things) done and they forgot and she didn't double check...

Iv mine next Tue. Failed my last one for progress, I was just way too carefull. But he was a prick (3 other people in work have had him and he's failed 4 out of 5 tests I know of). He sat tapping his fingers through my GF's test, then failed her. I applied for a cancalation so havent had to wait too long (about a month). They rang me to book it so I dont see why they couldn't ring anyone who's tester was sick no matter how little notice (unless its right b4 your test then its just bad luck).