I have had two tests. One of my testers was a lovely man who did a bit to put me at ease and gave me great advice on what to work on when I failed. The other was so miserable it seemed like at any moment he would grab the wheel and steer us both into a brick wall. Both from the same test center.
Key_Duck_6293 on
The people who rocked up unaccompanied for their test should be immediately turned away, crazy carry on
Pf-788 on
When I did my test it threw me off so much how fucking weird the tester was.
Archamasse on
Sounds strange on paper, but to be fair – I’d say that an *unusual* amount of testers *are* outright weirdos.
RiceKrisPSquares on
Someone could start a business delivering rent-a-cars to the centre, or drive your car there for you.
No need to show an accompanied driver.
mushy_cactus on
1000%
My second test the tester spoke very much in whispers. I had to ask multiple times “this turn?”, which in most cases got a reply too late that I passed the turns. Failed obviously.
Complained to RSA and they talked to the tester and the testers reply was “he failed to obey instructions”. Then went onto say that the testers are in full control and what they observe and instruct is on them.
There was no way to prove they were at fault.
Some testers are god sends and super nice. Others would rather be somewhere else and it’s very clear.
ItsTyrrellsAlt on
The driving tester complained that the tint was too dark on my mother’s car and got out to inspect it. There was no tint. I knew before he got back into the car that he just wanted to find a reason to fail me.
Lo and behold, I got an immediate red mark pulling out of the test center because I supposedly didn’t pay enough attention to a cyclist on the footpath on the other side of the T-junction. Gorey, if you want to see the layout of the junction.
Candid-Change-4051 on
Lucked out as my tester (2022) in Naas was quiet but didn’t give off arsehole energy. From accounts of the day, all but one tester are fairly sound at that centre.
f1refly1 on
We should be in test center cars equipped with cameras.
Makes no fucking sense that tests are unrecorded, and that learner drivers have to pay through the nose for learner insurance on a car they can’t even drive, so they can sit their test.
There’s a reason we have the lowest pass rate in Europe, and it’s not the drivers.
mrblonde91 on
Been years since I did mine but glad I had a decent guy in my Cork City test. It would be a huge confidence hit to fail because of something like that.
AfroF0x on
I have submitted one of those complaints myself. Not only a visibly angry person, but shockingly unknowledable. I went back to my instructor with my feedback and he told me to forget it straight off.
TLDR, They failed me for checking mirrors going into a roundabout rather than blindspots when it’s the other way around. My next tester was delightful in a different centre and had zero issue with my mirrors or blindspots. I had to lodge a complaint for the cost of an unnessecary fail.
Margrave75 on
Failed twice.
First tester was a prick, wouldn’t explain where I made the mistakes or anything. “We don’t have to give you feedback”. Wanker.
Second guy “remeber when we were here? Well you did this instead of that”, “you need to do a bit of practice on xyz” etc, etc. Great tester.
Took all the second guys advice on board and aced it third time.
letsdocraic on
Best advice I can give is ask if you can have the radio on very low..
Music helped me not over think and for them to over focus on my nerves from the awkward silence..
Really helped get rid of that tense feeling and probably chilled out my tester
Such_Baker8707 on
My guy talked to me about Trump practically the whole test. No bother I thought, must be passing because this is obviously a distracting thing to do to someone. Nope, he failed me.
constantlyfrustr8d on
I had a lovely tester in Raheny last year. She really put me at ease, made me feel a lot more relaxed, amazing considering I was so anxious going in
Firm-Perspective2326 on
Did a b license in Dungarvan. Tester is an oddball. Definitely had some weird aggressive vibe and I was 30 doing the test.
Obviously only him doing that category knew I failed the retest when I walked in the door. Went to ballincollig passed no bother.
It’s also partially due to ballincollig have proper road infrastructure for the trailer test but if that Dungarvan tester reads this you are a wanker on a power trip
Outrageous_Blood_935 on
Valid complaints some testers are pricks, and you get the energy or vibe from them the minute you see them or they speak, and then they prove it in their actions.
No-Outside6067 on
Took me a few goes to pass cause I rented and moved around a lot. Always started fresh in a new centre.
Crazy the variance in quality and personality of testers. Drove with some miserable pricks who seemed to go out of their way to make you uncomfortable.
Some were fine, but I got vastly different advise from them on my weak points, contradictory at times.
Eventually passed the first time I was able do a second test with the same centre. The waiting list was the biggest obstacle and why i moved between tests. Have a bit of a hunch they’ll try fail you first time you present to a centre.
It’s a bullshit system and really could do with improving, especially with how hard it is for people to drive on an L now. Maybe fixed courses or something. Too much variance with public driving.
Logical-Pirate-7102 on
Act fair serious just to pass people that can’t use an indicator or a roundabout
Fireglod on
* I think one improvement would be to ensure that a candidate never gets the same tester twice. It would still be frustrating for the driver who has to wait and re-sit the test, but it would remove any perception of bias.
* Test centres could analyse tester data to see if any patterns emerge that might indicate an issue. For example, do certain testers fail more candidates early in the morning? Does gender appear to play any role? They could also gather surveyed feedback from candidates, although this would naturally be biased after a fail. Even so, it could still be interesting to analyse for recurring trends.
* Another idea would be to carry out some of the manoeuvres (such as reversing around a corner or a three-point turn) before entering real traffic, with video recording. This could then be shown to the learner afterwards as constructive feedback if they fail.
My driving instructor told me he meets with the testers in some centers on occasion and they discuss openly some of the failures they have seen so they can learn and improve together but not too sure how widespread this is.
fleetwayrobotnik on
I’ve done the test 3 times in Tallaght. First two times were a lovely man who was very encouraging and gave helpful feedback. Third time was this absolute prick.
On the way out to the car the tester I had had previously was walking ahead of us and slipped down the stairs. This guy didn’t stop to check of he was okay, he laughed obnoxiously and shouted back to the receptionist to get the security footage for You’ve Been Framed.
He then took me on a massively long test route only to bring me back and tell me he’d give me a grade 3 fault as we were leaving the test centre for driving on the wrong side of the road (I definitely wasn’t. I did have to move out and give a meter clearance when passing a parked car and that’s all that I can think he might have been talking about, but it’s his word against mine). He then, very patronisingly, told me “It wasn’t too bad for a first try.” He definitely knew it was my third.
Overall, an absolute dickhead who really did a number on my confidence.
bringinsexyback1 on
They are pretty much immune and they are not permitted to pass people beyond a certain quota. So, meh
pato9097 on
Fort fella I got in raheny was bald and gave virtually no extra clarity when I asked – was as mute as could be and overall I got no valuable learning from it
Second guy was a lovely chap who had a bit of banter and then got into the test, a pedestrian crossed in front of me and he called the pedestrian an idiot which was funny.
Then we got back to the test centre and all the lights were turned off. Passed and got chatting to him and he was a retired investment banker – gave some tips on how to improve my day to day driving and overall was a far better experience
Alarmed_Fee_4820 on
When you have a great tester, experienced, courteous etc it makes the test much easier, when you get an absolute crank, major sergeant, it makes the test much harder from a confidence POV. We all understand they’re there to assess your skills and therefore are not your friend, but I’ve heard horror stories from people. I passed in 2012 and the tester was a very competent, very friendly guy.
pineappleshoos on
Woke nosense
TheGiddyGoose on
I can only speak on my one experience as I luckily passed first time. Did my test in finglas and there was some carryon so I panicked and didn’t do the perfect maneuver but the invigilator thankfully didn’t factor that in. All that is that say, it’s luck of the draw. My instructor was nowhere near that sound or helpful
Successful-Drama-427 on
Anyone who passed had a sound tester anyone who failed had a creep. Adds up.
27 Comments
I have had two tests. One of my testers was a lovely man who did a bit to put me at ease and gave me great advice on what to work on when I failed. The other was so miserable it seemed like at any moment he would grab the wheel and steer us both into a brick wall. Both from the same test center.
The people who rocked up unaccompanied for their test should be immediately turned away, crazy carry on
When I did my test it threw me off so much how fucking weird the tester was.
Sounds strange on paper, but to be fair – I’d say that an *unusual* amount of testers *are* outright weirdos.
Someone could start a business delivering rent-a-cars to the centre, or drive your car there for you.
No need to show an accompanied driver.
1000%
My second test the tester spoke very much in whispers. I had to ask multiple times “this turn?”, which in most cases got a reply too late that I passed the turns. Failed obviously.
Complained to RSA and they talked to the tester and the testers reply was “he failed to obey instructions”. Then went onto say that the testers are in full control and what they observe and instruct is on them.
There was no way to prove they were at fault.
Some testers are god sends and super nice. Others would rather be somewhere else and it’s very clear.
The driving tester complained that the tint was too dark on my mother’s car and got out to inspect it. There was no tint. I knew before he got back into the car that he just wanted to find a reason to fail me.
Lo and behold, I got an immediate red mark pulling out of the test center because I supposedly didn’t pay enough attention to a cyclist on the footpath on the other side of the T-junction. Gorey, if you want to see the layout of the junction.
Lucked out as my tester (2022) in Naas was quiet but didn’t give off arsehole energy. From accounts of the day, all but one tester are fairly sound at that centre.
We should be in test center cars equipped with cameras.
Makes no fucking sense that tests are unrecorded, and that learner drivers have to pay through the nose for learner insurance on a car they can’t even drive, so they can sit their test.
There’s a reason we have the lowest pass rate in Europe, and it’s not the drivers.
Been years since I did mine but glad I had a decent guy in my Cork City test. It would be a huge confidence hit to fail because of something like that.
I have submitted one of those complaints myself. Not only a visibly angry person, but shockingly unknowledable. I went back to my instructor with my feedback and he told me to forget it straight off.
TLDR, They failed me for checking mirrors going into a roundabout rather than blindspots when it’s the other way around. My next tester was delightful in a different centre and had zero issue with my mirrors or blindspots. I had to lodge a complaint for the cost of an unnessecary fail.
Failed twice.
First tester was a prick, wouldn’t explain where I made the mistakes or anything. “We don’t have to give you feedback”. Wanker.
Second guy “remeber when we were here? Well you did this instead of that”, “you need to do a bit of practice on xyz” etc, etc. Great tester.
Took all the second guys advice on board and aced it third time.
Best advice I can give is ask if you can have the radio on very low..
Music helped me not over think and for them to over focus on my nerves from the awkward silence..
Really helped get rid of that tense feeling and probably chilled out my tester
My guy talked to me about Trump practically the whole test. No bother I thought, must be passing because this is obviously a distracting thing to do to someone. Nope, he failed me.
I had a lovely tester in Raheny last year. She really put me at ease, made me feel a lot more relaxed, amazing considering I was so anxious going in
Did a b license in Dungarvan. Tester is an oddball. Definitely had some weird aggressive vibe and I was 30 doing the test.
Obviously only him doing that category knew I failed the retest when I walked in the door. Went to ballincollig passed no bother.
It’s also partially due to ballincollig have proper road infrastructure for the trailer test but if that Dungarvan tester reads this you are a wanker on a power trip
Valid complaints some testers are pricks, and you get the energy or vibe from them the minute you see them or they speak, and then they prove it in their actions.
Took me a few goes to pass cause I rented and moved around a lot. Always started fresh in a new centre.
Crazy the variance in quality and personality of testers. Drove with some miserable pricks who seemed to go out of their way to make you uncomfortable.
Some were fine, but I got vastly different advise from them on my weak points, contradictory at times.
Eventually passed the first time I was able do a second test with the same centre. The waiting list was the biggest obstacle and why i moved between tests. Have a bit of a hunch they’ll try fail you first time you present to a centre.
It’s a bullshit system and really could do with improving, especially with how hard it is for people to drive on an L now. Maybe fixed courses or something. Too much variance with public driving.
Act fair serious just to pass people that can’t use an indicator or a roundabout
* I think one improvement would be to ensure that a candidate never gets the same tester twice. It would still be frustrating for the driver who has to wait and re-sit the test, but it would remove any perception of bias.
* Test centres could analyse tester data to see if any patterns emerge that might indicate an issue. For example, do certain testers fail more candidates early in the morning? Does gender appear to play any role? They could also gather surveyed feedback from candidates, although this would naturally be biased after a fail. Even so, it could still be interesting to analyse for recurring trends.
* Another idea would be to carry out some of the manoeuvres (such as reversing around a corner or a three-point turn) before entering real traffic, with video recording. This could then be shown to the learner afterwards as constructive feedback if they fail.
My driving instructor told me he meets with the testers in some centers on occasion and they discuss openly some of the failures they have seen so they can learn and improve together but not too sure how widespread this is.
I’ve done the test 3 times in Tallaght. First two times were a lovely man who was very encouraging and gave helpful feedback. Third time was this absolute prick.
On the way out to the car the tester I had had previously was walking ahead of us and slipped down the stairs. This guy didn’t stop to check of he was okay, he laughed obnoxiously and shouted back to the receptionist to get the security footage for You’ve Been Framed.
He then took me on a massively long test route only to bring me back and tell me he’d give me a grade 3 fault as we were leaving the test centre for driving on the wrong side of the road (I definitely wasn’t. I did have to move out and give a meter clearance when passing a parked car and that’s all that I can think he might have been talking about, but it’s his word against mine). He then, very patronisingly, told me “It wasn’t too bad for a first try.” He definitely knew it was my third.
Overall, an absolute dickhead who really did a number on my confidence.
They are pretty much immune and they are not permitted to pass people beyond a certain quota. So, meh
Fort fella I got in raheny was bald and gave virtually no extra clarity when I asked – was as mute as could be and overall I got no valuable learning from it
Second guy was a lovely chap who had a bit of banter and then got into the test, a pedestrian crossed in front of me and he called the pedestrian an idiot which was funny.
Then we got back to the test centre and all the lights were turned off. Passed and got chatting to him and he was a retired investment banker – gave some tips on how to improve my day to day driving and overall was a far better experience
When you have a great tester, experienced, courteous etc it makes the test much easier, when you get an absolute crank, major sergeant, it makes the test much harder from a confidence POV. We all understand they’re there to assess your skills and therefore are not your friend, but I’ve heard horror stories from people. I passed in 2012 and the tester was a very competent, very friendly guy.
Woke nosense
I can only speak on my one experience as I luckily passed first time. Did my test in finglas and there was some carryon so I panicked and didn’t do the perfect maneuver but the invigilator thankfully didn’t factor that in. All that is that say, it’s luck of the draw. My instructor was nowhere near that sound or helpful
Anyone who passed had a sound tester anyone who failed had a creep. Adds up.