Driving test reform

Mr M. Zammit's letter (The Sunday Times, December 12) is a thinly-disguised attempt to belittle the ADT in its endeavours to introduce a long-overdue reform in driver testing and training, and is perplexing to say the least.

So for the benefit of discerning readers, particularly prospective driving test candidates, who may have been misled by some of the sweeping statements contained in his letter, I should like to explain the facts behind the recent reform in the driving test in Malta.

The ADT is committed to improving road safety and, like the competent authorities of 42 other European countries, has pledged to try and reduce road accident injuries and deaths by half before 2012. Road accident statistics, over the last few years, have worryingly revealed that nearly one-third of all drivers killed or injured were aged between 18 and 20.

Furthermore, a high proportion of passengers killed or injured were travelling in cars being driven by this age group. With an average first time 'pass-rate' of 93% for all driving test candidates (many sitting the test after only a handful of driving lessons), it was clear that a radical reform would be required in both driver testing and driver training, to bring our standards in line with the rest of Europe.

This year, following an extensive period of planning and training of ADT examiners and motoring school driving instructors, the ADT finally replaced the old outdated driving test system with a new two-part driving test.

The first part of the driving test now comprises a computer-based driving theory test whereby the candidate has to prove knowledge of a wide range of driving topics and obtain a pass by correctly answering at least 30 out of 35 randomly chosen multiple-choice questions correctly.

The second part involves a practical test of driving skills and behaviour, designed to assess whether the candidate can drive safely and whether he /she can demonstrate full knowledge of the Highway Code while driving.

The practical driving test, which typically lasts 35 minutes, is conducted on uniform test routes that include a range of typical road and traffic conditions in which the candidate is required to carry out a number of set exercises.

Both the new driving theory test and the recently introduced test of driver skills and behaviour are subject to internal auditing procedures and quality assurance checks. All completed driving theory test papers are stored electronically and any candidate who did not achieve the required pass mark is fully entitled to request a print out of the questions that he had answered incorrectly.

Likewise, any driving test candidate who feels that he was unfairly assessed on the road, in the practical test of driving skills and behaviour, may refer the matter to the ADT driving test arbiter for an independent appraisal of the marks recorded on his test sheet.

On the whole, the ADT believes that the recently reformed driver testing has been an unqualified success. The upgrade in driver testing standards in Malta has been recognised throughout the EU and nowadays, the holder of a Maltese driving licence living abroad is fully entitled to exchange his licence for a licence of his new country of residence, without having to resit the driving test.

The ADT will not be deterred by the camouflaged attempts of a small minority of people like Mr Zammit who, for their own reasons, do their best to discredit the sterling work of the ADT driving examiners and diminish the efforts made by the majority of motoring school driving instructors who have risen to the challenge and effectively upgraded their standards of instruction.

Safety on our roads can never be compromised and, no doubt it is thanks to better driver testing and training that our young drivers today are now being much better prepared for all the potential perils of driving on our roads.

Ms Borg-Mizzi is the PRO, Malta Transport Authority