SGS to triple driving test capacity

The private firm carrying out driving tests is to more than triple its capacity by training up to 130 extra staff over the coming weeks.

The extra staff are part of the Road Safety Authority's (RSA) plan to meet its commitment to reduce the waiting time for a driving test to 10 weeks, on average, by June next year.

The first group of 34 new SGS testers began training at the start of December, with three more groups of a similar size to follow.

Noel Brett, chief executive of the RSA told The Irish Times the 126 State-employed testers conduct 4,000 tests a week, with SGS carrying out a further 2,000. This capacity will rise to 10,000 tests a week by March, with the option to rise to 12,000 a week if required, he said.

"There are 178,000 people waiting for a test. At 10,000 tests a week, that's only 17 weeks work. We had a massive spike after the October Bank Holiday, but we dealt with that and we are now back at normal application rates," Mr Brett said.

He added that the RSA was in the process of hiring five extra full-time driver testers. Because of this extra capacity, Mr Brett said the commitment given to reduce the waiting list to an average of 10 weeks will be met.

"Everyone waiting for a test at the Bank Holiday weekend will be tested by March 2008. All those on a second provisional, all 120,000 of them, will have been offered a test date before the end of June. And by the end of June testing will be available with an average wait of 10 weeks. We will meet those commitments," he said.

Applications for a driving test surged around the October Bank Holiday after the RSA and Department of Transport moved to immediately end the provision allowing second provisional licence holders to drive unaccompanied.

Following an outcry from provisional drivers who said they needed more than a couple of days to prepare for the change, this deadline was extended to June 30th, 2008.

Mr Brett said that by the end of June, every second provisional holder will have been offered at least one test. He added that from July 1st, he expects the rule prohibiting holders of a second provisional driving unaccompanied to be enforced.

"On July 1st, my expectation is that the law will be enforced," he said.

However, despite the greater availability of driving tests, thousands of second provisional licence holders face having to make alternative arrangements from next July as the current pass rate of around 52 per cent suggests a significant proportion of these drivers will not have a full licence by the end of June.

And despite a spike in applications immediately following the Bank Holiday debacle, the fact is that the majority - or up to 250,000 provisional licence holders - have not yet applied for a driving test.

The increased SGS testing capacity has been facilitated by the provision of €11.4 million in the Budget to deal with the waiting list for a test.

"I have to pay tribute to our own staff. They have responded to this issue with practical solutions. There have been no industrial relations issues and no difficulties with engaging with the outside contractor," Mr Brett said.

With the training of so many new staff, the RSA has also taken steps to protect the quality and consistency of the test.

Earlier this year, the RSA was forced to change the training programme for SGS testers after a review found inconsistencies with the conducting and marking of its driving tests. The Comptroller and Auditor has also raised questions about the discrepancy between pass rates in different RSA test centres.

"SGS testers now have four weeks of training with SweRoad and two weeks from RSA testers and supervisors. Since the audit, that was one of the issues we decided we needed to address."

The RSA recently issued a standard testing procedure document to its staff and those in SGS and fault marking guidelines.

"There is no point in engaging in a practice that reduces the waiting list at the cost of road safety. We will not allow the standard to drop in any way, either in house or out of house," he said.