Late for a driving test
Discussion
My mates son missed his driving test due to the instructor taking him from where he lives 7 miles outside Bristol to the other side using the center of Bristol. Now there is no way you can go from where he lives to Southmead in 1 hour.
Google if you like.
Stanton Wick to Southmead through the center of Bristol @ 07:30 with a test time of 08:30 so 1 hour door to door time.
It takes me non rush hour and knowing all the side roads and sneaky ways around 35mins from the center to Stanton wick.
My question I suppose is that he is having to pay for the test again when the instructor could have used the A4174 or simply allowed more time. Is this normal?
To me it was instruction from the instructor that made him late so I would have expected the school to pay for the retest.
My last contract was in stoke Gifford so 12 miles from my house and could take 45 minutes to do the last 3 miles to the office.
Happy to be corrected though.
Google if you like.
Stanton Wick to Southmead through the center of Bristol @ 07:30 with a test time of 08:30 so 1 hour door to door time.
It takes me non rush hour and knowing all the side roads and sneaky ways around 35mins from the center to Stanton wick.
My question I suppose is that he is having to pay for the test again when the instructor could have used the A4174 or simply allowed more time. Is this normal?
To me it was instruction from the instructor that made him late so I would have expected the school to pay for the retest.
My last contract was in stoke Gifford so 12 miles from my house and could take 45 minutes to do the last 3 miles to the office.
Happy to be corrected though.
XCP said:
I agree the timescale is ridiculous, how the issue is resolved I have no idea. Warmley test centre would be much nearer.
Brislington test centre is closer still as is Kingswood.Thank you for the reply though, I would rather him not pay for the retest but if it is normal then I can do no more.
Morning everyone, I'm an Instructor in Crewe, I don't know the area mentioned but for what it's worth if that was me I'd be paying for the test.
We do an hour before the test to let the student warm up and settle down, then to the test centre nice and early to avoid this situation. If my students are further away than normal then I may pick up earlier than the hour before the test, I personally don't want to pay for something that's very easily avoidable.
Also, with national test waiting for times averaging over 10 weeks I'd make a sizeable contribution to the students further lessons due to missing a test that I would deem my fault.
To me it's simple logistics and organisational skills that every instructor should have. It may happen sometimes if there's been a problem beyond the instructors control but that is a whole different situation.
We do an hour before the test to let the student warm up and settle down, then to the test centre nice and early to avoid this situation. If my students are further away than normal then I may pick up earlier than the hour before the test, I personally don't want to pay for something that's very easily avoidable.
Also, with national test waiting for times averaging over 10 weeks I'd make a sizeable contribution to the students further lessons due to missing a test that I would deem my fault.
To me it's simple logistics and organisational skills that every instructor should have. It may happen sometimes if there's been a problem beyond the instructors control but that is a whole different situation.
As above - national waiting times mean the test centre may have had shorter availability - who booked the test as this is important. Normally the pupils will book unless the driving school offers a service for it.
Did the instructor advise there wasn't enough time or it may be a rush?
Does the instructor work for a franchise or a solo / independent ADI?
If nothing was mentioned then its bad face for the ADI and I would expect him to pay out of his own pocket - it's what we would do in that situation. Does he have any T&C's that the pupil signed, it may say that the ADI is not responsible for car failure or late running / traffic problems on driving lessons or day of test - how it would hold up I don't know.
If the ADI is to blame then I would politely request that they sort the issue at their own cost - or even go to the franchise if it is possible, independent ADI's rely heavily on recommendations so if they are to blame they should be willing to fix the situation - but make sure 100% that its the ADI's fault as often the pupil wakes up late / loses provisional etc.
last issue we had was a few months back - brand new 65 plate DS3 broke down at the test center as the pupil pulled in - 10 minutes later we had a spare car there for the pupil (was a mad dash) She passed and was very happy - reputation is a massive thing in the world of learning to drive.
Did the instructor advise there wasn't enough time or it may be a rush?
Does the instructor work for a franchise or a solo / independent ADI?
If nothing was mentioned then its bad face for the ADI and I would expect him to pay out of his own pocket - it's what we would do in that situation. Does he have any T&C's that the pupil signed, it may say that the ADI is not responsible for car failure or late running / traffic problems on driving lessons or day of test - how it would hold up I don't know.
If the ADI is to blame then I would politely request that they sort the issue at their own cost - or even go to the franchise if it is possible, independent ADI's rely heavily on recommendations so if they are to blame they should be willing to fix the situation - but make sure 100% that its the ADI's fault as often the pupil wakes up late / loses provisional etc.
last issue we had was a few months back - brand new 65 plate DS3 broke down at the test center as the pupil pulled in - 10 minutes later we had a spare car there for the pupil (was a mad dash) She passed and was very happy - reputation is a massive thing in the world of learning to drive.
Greetings. I think there's some good advice on this thread already, but I thought it might be worth mentioning this just in case the instructor challenges you.
I'm not saying this excuses the driving instructor, since (s)he should be aware of any roadworks in the area and plan accordingly. Of course, if there had been an accident on the way to the test that caused your son to be late, that's different, but since roadworks are scheduled and displayed well in advance, I can't see how this isn't on the instructor's head.
I passed my test in Bristol several years ago and I remember on my test, being taken over a mini-roundabout with three exits. Two of them are arrow straight and the third intersects at 90 degrees (so a crossroads missing a fork). You go straight over at this roundabout, first exit, and everybody forgets to signal. Most people I spoke to picked up a minor fault on that roundabout. Might be worth pre-empting your son if he gets taken down the same route
Allanv said:
the instructor could have used the A4174 or simply allowed more time. Is this normal?
To me it was instruction from the instructor that made him late so I would have expected the school to pay for the retest.
My last contract was in stoke Gifford so 12 miles from my house and could take 45 minutes to do the last 3 miles to the office.
Happy to be corrected though.
I was in Bristol over the weekend and the amount of roadworks in the area is incredible. On Saturday, the A4174 was shut between Winterbourne(?) and somewhere near Emersons Green. Not only that, but the day before Filton Avenue was also shut (all due to roadworks), which created some hefty delays in the area. It took me 45 minutes to go from UWE to Filton.To me it was instruction from the instructor that made him late so I would have expected the school to pay for the retest.
My last contract was in stoke Gifford so 12 miles from my house and could take 45 minutes to do the last 3 miles to the office.
Happy to be corrected though.
I'm not saying this excuses the driving instructor, since (s)he should be aware of any roadworks in the area and plan accordingly. Of course, if there had been an accident on the way to the test that caused your son to be late, that's different, but since roadworks are scheduled and displayed well in advance, I can't see how this isn't on the instructor's head.
I passed my test in Bristol several years ago and I remember on my test, being taken over a mini-roundabout with three exits. Two of them are arrow straight and the third intersects at 90 degrees (so a crossroads missing a fork). You go straight over at this roundabout, first exit, and everybody forgets to signal. Most people I spoke to picked up a minor fault on that roundabout. Might be worth pre-empting your son if he gets taken down the same route
sebhaque said:
I was in Bristol over the weekend and the amount of roadworks in the area is incredible. On Saturday, the A4174 was shut between Winterbourne(?) and somewhere near Emersons Green. Not only that, but the day before Filton Avenue was also shut (all due to roadworks), which created some hefty delays in the area. It took me 45 minutes to go from UWE to Filton.
I'm not saying this excuses the driving instructor, since (s)he should be aware of any roadworks in the area and plan accordingly. Of course, if there had been an accident on the way to the test that caused your son to be late, that's different, but since roadworks are scheduled and displayed well in advance, I can't see how this isn't on the instructor's head.
I passed my test in Bristol several years ago and I remember on my test, being taken over a mini-roundabout with three exits. Two of them are arrow straight and the third intersects at 90 degrees (so a crossroads missing a fork). You go straight over at this roundabout, first exit, and everybody forgets to signal. Most people I spoke to picked up a minor fault on that roundabout. Might be worth pre-empting your son if he gets taken down the same route
Yep, roadworks absolutely everywhere! Travel time is complete pot luck, although google maps is pretty good ay showing when/where lots of traffic is. I'm not saying this excuses the driving instructor, since (s)he should be aware of any roadworks in the area and plan accordingly. Of course, if there had been an accident on the way to the test that caused your son to be late, that's different, but since roadworks are scheduled and displayed well in advance, I can't see how this isn't on the instructor's head.
I passed my test in Bristol several years ago and I remember on my test, being taken over a mini-roundabout with three exits. Two of them are arrow straight and the third intersects at 90 degrees (so a crossroads missing a fork). You go straight over at this roundabout, first exit, and everybody forgets to signal. Most people I spoke to picked up a minor fault on that roundabout. Might be worth pre-empting your son if he gets taken down the same route
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