Extra training ordered for private driving testers

Driving testers working for a private company have been required to take extra training after inconsistencies were found in the way they conducted and marked driving tests.

The training was imposed after an internal Road Safety Authority (RSA) audit of testers working for SGS Ireland, which has been released to The Irish Timesunder the Freedom of Information Act.

Among its findings were incidents involving a failure to ask candidates compulsory questions, and giving "corrective feedback to candidates when they got a question wrong".

In 18 per cent of the tests examined the result given by the SGS tester was "at odds" with the result the RSA supervisor would have given, the report found.

The audit was carried out in April by senior RSA supervisors who accompanied 26 SGS testers while 259 tests were conducted.

It noted instances where key driving skills such as hill starts were not tested and said SGS testers frequently did not make the necessary safety observations before a candidate was told to perform a driving manoeuvre.

Feedback given to unsuccessful candidates was also criticised. Some failed candidates "are leaving test centres with result sheets that are not reflective of their driving, which may make it difficult for them to prepare properly for any future test", it said.

An SGS Ireland spokeswoman said yesterday the company does not accept the report's conclusions. She said differences identified in the report were as a result of "customs and practices developed in the department's training system over many years which were not defined in any training material they gave us".

She added that no department testers were available during the initial training of SGS staff. "We conduct tests to European directive requirements and any guidelines the Department of Transport gave us in the beginning."

However, she confirmed that following discussions with the RSA, SGS driver testers had undergone "refresher training" using RSA material and personnel. This training is now complete.

Noel Brett, chief executive of the RSA, said no test results from drivers examined by SGS would be changed. "The outcome of the test is not negated by the view of the supervisor in the rear seat. A driver tester's decision is final and binding."

SGS Ireland won a contract last year to carry out more than 40,000 driving tests as part of a Department of Transport plan to reduce waiting times. It has recently secured a second contract for a minimum of 100,000 more tests.