120 miles - for an L-Test!
Discussion
Per "Manchester Evening News" - (Clarissa Satchell reports)
Learner drivers are being forced to travel up to 120 miles for L-Test - because test centres in manchester are fuly booked up until next year!
Learners are booking totake test on unfamiliar roads in Northwich, Stoke and Carlisle to get test within 5-6 weeks.
Manchester blames problem of shortage of examiners and too few centres to cope with the learners.
Drivers wanting tests at Manchester's Whalley Range and Cheetham Hill have to wait until January 2005 for earliest date. Sale, Reddish and Hyde - do have dates in December at moment.
BSM (on Manchester's Oxford Road - which numbers local Uni students on its books) say their L/drivers are booking at Northwich, Cheshire, Newcaste-under-Lyne, Stoke and Carlisle. He said that once upona time - you could fail a test in the morning and get another in the afternoon
- but now - they wait months on end for a date.
BSM says the hard up students cannot afford lessons indefinitely like this and so - travel long distances when it would be better to keep to familiar roads for this test.
The paper reports that test centres in Didsbury, Withington and Wilmslow were all closed and a new one opened in Rochdale. This is being blamed for the backlog as well as shortage of examiners nationwide
BSM's Mr Cowey adds that this backlog is the worst he has seen in 14 years of ADI work.
The DSA says that L-drivers are booking tests too early and this is causing this backlog
"Demand is 6% ahead of plan, we have increased tests to 10% ahead of plan as well, and waiting times ave peaked and are now coming down again!"
The paper cites example of girl called Adele who took two tests. She failed the first one in Cheetham Hill and was told she would have to wait 6 months for second attempt. She opted to FAILSworth
which had a three month wait and - er - failed.
She finally passed this month after taking test twice in Northwich (40 miles away) where there was a three week wait!
Adele said: "I feel I have travelled all over North West to take this test. My problem was nerves each time.... and all this waiting made me more nervous.. The first time I went there was to take the test - and I sure that is why I failed first time - it was too unfamiliar. "
Hmm!
Our eldest lad takes his L-test within next 7 days. We have made him drive everywhere with us for practice - and he is on way to Blackpool (on unfamiliar roads, bulging with Gatso and he will be facing illuminations traffic and night driving tonight on A roads and NSL roads back home), He is with his Mama (Wildy) as I type here.
(We may meet Officer Dibble when I drive with rest of the brood and join them after tea - we will be the ones monopolising the dodgems anyway)
Learner drivers are being forced to travel up to 120 miles for L-Test - because test centres in manchester are fuly booked up until next year!
Learners are booking totake test on unfamiliar roads in Northwich, Stoke and Carlisle to get test within 5-6 weeks.
Manchester blames problem of shortage of examiners and too few centres to cope with the learners.
Drivers wanting tests at Manchester's Whalley Range and Cheetham Hill have to wait until January 2005 for earliest date. Sale, Reddish and Hyde - do have dates in December at moment.
BSM (on Manchester's Oxford Road - which numbers local Uni students on its books) say their L/drivers are booking at Northwich, Cheshire, Newcaste-under-Lyne, Stoke and Carlisle. He said that once upona time - you could fail a test in the morning and get another in the afternoon
- but now - they wait months on end for a date. BSM says the hard up students cannot afford lessons indefinitely like this and so - travel long distances when it would be better to keep to familiar roads for this test.
The paper reports that test centres in Didsbury, Withington and Wilmslow were all closed and a new one opened in Rochdale. This is being blamed for the backlog as well as shortage of examiners nationwide
BSM's Mr Cowey adds that this backlog is the worst he has seen in 14 years of ADI work.
The DSA says that L-drivers are booking tests too early and this is causing this backlog
"Demand is 6% ahead of plan, we have increased tests to 10% ahead of plan as well, and waiting times ave peaked and are now coming down again!"
The paper cites example of girl called Adele who took two tests. She failed the first one in Cheetham Hill and was told she would have to wait 6 months for second attempt. She opted to FAILSworth
which had a three month wait and - er - failed. She finally passed this month after taking test twice in Northwich (40 miles away) where there was a three week wait!
Adele said: "I feel I have travelled all over North West to take this test. My problem was nerves each time.... and all this waiting made me more nervous.. The first time I went there was to take the test - and I sure that is why I failed first time - it was too unfamiliar. "
Hmm!
Our eldest lad takes his L-test within next 7 days. We have made him drive everywhere with us for practice - and he is on way to Blackpool (on unfamiliar roads, bulging with Gatso and he will be facing illuminations traffic and night driving tonight on A roads and NSL roads back home), He is with his Mama (Wildy) as I type here.
(We may meet Officer Dibble when I drive with rest of the brood and join them after tea - we will be the ones monopolising the dodgems anyway
) 
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