Call to update driver theory test to include metrication

Driving instructors have called for the immediate updating of the Driver Theory Test book to reflect metrication and have described the lack of information available for students about changes to the test as "preposterous".

The book has not been updated even though some of the questions students will face in the test were changed on January 20th to reflect metrication.

Many of the students who spoke to The Irish Times after sitting their driver theory test in Dublin 2 yesterday spoke of being worried as to whether they would face questions with the old miles-per-hour speed limits or the new metric ones.

Twenty-two-year-old Erika said she received no information as to changes to the exam when she booked her test two weeks ago. "I was really worried. I didn't know which was coming up so I learned off both sets of limits. There was no information in my booking confirmation and no notices up in the waiting room saying what speed limits were going to be. Thankfully, in the end, those questions weren't asked."

Liam, (19) from Donnybrook, said he "hadn't a clue which speed limits were coming up. My dad booked the test on his credit card and he tried asking but got no where. There was nothing in the booking details so I had to learn them both. I didn't see any information inside [the test centre] so I'd no idea. But I knew them both and I passed."

None of the students spoken to received any guidance as to changes in the test, and all had booked their test before the changeover. Asked where they had got information for the new metric speed limits, many said they used adverts in newspapers or had asked parents or older siblings.

Mr Karl Walsh, a spokesman for the Irish School of Motoring said "the theory test book simply has to be changed. I, working in the industry, was not aware what the situation is with the theory test. I had no idea they had changed some of the questions."

Another industry source said once the current publicity campaign wears off, the anomaly would become very misleading: "It will become an issue because the information in the book says this the official test book."

"The whole idea of the theory test would be to give learner drivers a basic knowledge of the rules of the road. Having a book and a test that are different is preposterous. They [the Department] have had months to prepare for this. I can't believe the book wasn't updated to reflect the changes."

The Driver Theory test is run by Thompson Prometric under contract to the Department of Transport. The test costs €34, and comprises 40 multiple choice questions, of which a minimum of 35 must be answered correctly. More than 137,000 people sat the driver theory test last year.

A company spokesman said the "changes in legislation would be reflected in the test". He went on to say that not all references to miles per hour have been purged from the test. "Those that haven't been changed are not material, such as stopping distance. The Department told us which questions they wanted changed," he claimed.

Mr Derek Eason, a spokesman for Eason's booksellers said the Driver Theory Test Handbook (which is also available on CD rom) is regularly among the best-selling books in the country. He declined to give an estimate for the numbers sold annually, but confirmed that Easons had been told no reprint was imminent.

The Minister for Transport was unavailable for comment. A departmental spokeswoman said there was a notice on the Driver Theory Test website informing students of the metric changes and directing them to the

website, www.gometric.ie