There is concern by some driving instructors about the quality of testing at SGS test centres, writes David Labanyi
An experienced driving instructor has written to the Road Safety Authority (RSA) for a second time to express concern at the high pass rate of candidates at certain SGS driving test centres.
Bobby Dunphy has worked as a full-time driving instructor for 15 years and prepares learner drivers for tests in the Enniscorthy and Wexford regions.
In his letter, seen by The Irish Times, Dunphy says that despite having previously brought to the RSA's attention his view that drivers below the requisite standard were being passed at SGS test centres, he now felt compelled to complain again.
He states in his letter: "I regret that it is necessary to re-state my concerns because there is anecdotal evidence in abundance to suggest that many candidates who, in the eyes of experienced driving instructors, would not be of the required standard are being passed competent to receive a full driving licence.
"It is important that in the rush to reduce waiting times, standards are not compromised. If this is the case - and I genuinely believe it is in the SGS centres - the implications are obvious."
Dunphy accepts that his concerns are based on anecdotal evidence. However, he says: "I have presented people to a test and I know they shouldn't have passed - and it is not the odd one or two. The anecdotal evidence is becoming stronger."
A registered member of the Driving Instructors Register, Dunphy says he is making his concerns public because the aim of driving instruction is to improve road safety.
"We are codding ourselves if we think putting people out on the road with a certificate of competency is doing the job.
"It might reduce the waiting list for a test, but it won't make the roads any safer."
An SGS spokeswoman said that no complaint has been forwarded on to it by the RSA. "If we do receive any feedback from the RSA or a member of the public it will be investigated fully and we appreciate feedback.
"We are happy that every element of our driver testing is in accordance with the guidelines set down and we are very heavily scrutinised by the RSA." She added that there is no bonus element in its contract with the RSA linked to completing a set amount of tests by specified date.
Dunphy first contacted the Department of Transport and the RSA about his concerns last January. A short time later the RSA conducted an internal review of the driving test operation being run by SGS.
This review - released to The Irish Timesunder the Freedom of Information Act - recommended extra training for SGS driving testing staff after inconsistencies were found in the way they conducted and marked driving tests.
SGS has rejected this report's conclusions and said the issues identified in the report were as a result of customs and practices developed in the Department of Transport's training system.
The review led to greater RSA involvement in the training of SGS staff.
"To be fair, they took the complaint seriously, asked for extra details and took action and I was pleased with the outcome. Things improved," Dunphy says.
However, shortly after additional SGS test centres opened in recent months under a second, larger contract to provide driving tests, Dunphy felt obliged to contact the RSA again.
"In my opinion, they [SGS] are passing people who don't deserve to pass. My suspicion is that the emphasis is on cutting the waiting list rather than on the quality of the test."
Dunphy's concerns are shared by Richie Roberts, another full-time driving instructor of eight years experience operating in the same region.
Roberts recalls a young mother of three children who recently passed a test at an SGS centre who he says "was obviously not up to standard".
"I only gave her one lesson the night before her test and she had so many bad habits that she should not have passed.
"Now unless she can wave a magic wand and make these disappear for a half-hour, I don't know how she could pass. If she crashes on a motorway who's responsible?"
The RSA was asked to provide up-to-date pass/fail data for the SGS test centres at Waterford, Enniscorthy and Wexford, but was unable to do so in time for publication. The RSA was also unable to confirm it had received Dunphy's letter.
Statewide, according to the most up-to-date information available from June, the pass rate at SGS centres is slightly higher at 57 per cent compared than the average of 52 per cent at RSA centres around the Republic.
However, disparate pass rates are a feature of the State's driver testing service. In June, the Republic's Comptroller and Auditor General John Purcell published a report on driver testing.
He noted wryly that there was either a severe regional difference in driving standards, or there was a difference in the standard of the test being conducted in different RSA centres.
While the average pass rate in the 57 RSA test centres last year was 52 per cent, it ranged from a low of 42 per cent in Co Carlow to 65 per cent in Buncrana, Co Donegal.
The RSA is under significant pressure to meet a target of reducing the waiting list for a driving test to 10 weeks by next March, and also ensuring that all 120,000 second provisional licence holders have access to a test before June.