Francis Mizzi, Sliema
Why such poor driving test results?
In answer to a PQ by Anthony Agius Decelis (January 13), the Transport Minister said that during the first nine months of last year, i.e. January to September, there were 8,761 applications for a driving test.
Of these, 1,931 passed on their first try. This makes a fantastic total of 80 per cent failures in nine months. Some poor souls even had to take the test two or three times!
Is this the fault of the driving schools? Aren't they making sure that their pupils are well prepared to take the test? It costs quite a bit of money to re-apply.
Or is something wrong with the examiners! A failure rate of 80 per cent needs looking into. We all remember the corrupt examiners who were failing their applicants in the hope of getting a bribe. It is about time the ADT looked into the matter to see what standard is being applied.
Popular Stories
In Discussion
20 Comments
Post comment
Please sign in or create your Account to post comments.
mary josephine xuereb
Feb 10th 2009, 12:12
I do agree that there must be something wrong with the exeminers....My son (italian)works in malta and since his italian licence has expired he's TRYING to get his new maltese licence...yesterday he sat for his THIRD test...result ,failed again. Just for further information,my son has been driving for 10 years and has never had an accident ,but in malta it seems impossible to pass the test.
Dave Weeks
Jan 17th 2009, 16:11
@M.Price you say driving in Malta is like going to hell and back, well my dear try driving in Gozo where most of the farmers over there drive in clapt out pick up trucks in a manner to say i own the road so sod off,.& talking about no signals i have witnessed such individuals driving with no lights, and what about this have a good laugh!! i have also witnessed gozitians on a moped that i wouldn't give it to my worst enemy, with 2 dogs on the front, kiddies on the back seat riding about as if one is doing a act when Billy Smart Circus whas still running . Now thats what i call obey the high way code! To hell and back, more like to hell for ever.
Sharon Leek
Jan 16th 2009, 20:55
Driving instructors in the UK tend to take their pupils endlessly around what will be the driving test route for their area so that on the actual test the students become familiar with the route and know what to expect on the roads ahead.
Mellany Price
Jan 16th 2009, 20:45
Mr.P.Pryce, comparing Maltese driver with our well qualified drivers in Britain, is like comparing men with schoolboys.. this will get their goat i'm sure, cause i had some many bad experiences whilst driving in Gozo and Malta - its was like being to hell and back., still i am saying this for their r own good as without any criticism they will never learn to treat everyone with respect on a PUBLIC road, they can go and kiss their behind goodbye if they so wish but please do not take others with you, there you are, straight from the horse's mouth.
Dave & Melany (UK)
Phil Pryce
Jan 16th 2009, 19:20
Is there something wrong with the driving examiners?? I should say so. You only have to drive for 10 minutes in Malta to realise that there is something very wrong going on. Twice today I had cars pull out in front of me when they clearly had a STOP sign on their road, then they have the nerve to make signs at ME when I sound my horn, as if I had jumped the stop sign. Do Maltese drivers slow down when they approach a roundabout? Do they even look to see if anything is ON the roundabout? I don't think so. I live near a roundabout and I hear a screech of brakes every few minutes because very few drivers read the road or look ahead. Ok.. rant over. Guess I just had a bad day... on the roads!
Nigel Lawrence
Jan 16th 2009, 18:25
I passed my British driving test first time round because I was well prepared by my instructor. What impressed my examiner was that I "talked through" the test, actually informing him of my procedures before and/or carrying them out. So the examiner didn't have to guess that I was using mirrors, anticipating a hazard ect., ect. THAT is what impressed him, NOT my "beginner's" standard of driving.
ray mangion
Jan 16th 2009, 15:17
Everyone is ready to critisise one party or another. The blame is on both sides. I was a respected examiner after the scandal and I can confidently say that some driving schools have no idea how to teach a candidate howto drive. I was the only one examining potential Driving instructors. There too, 90% of candidates had no idea how to demonstrate/teach me, acting as a pupil in their test. This is not wholly their fault. The fault is ADT. ADT had some very good examiners after the scandal, but I for one left because they were not interested in improving the Driving Test. They were not interested in suggestions to start a professional course for Driving Instruction with an Approved Driving Instructor Certificate similar to DSA in the UK. ADT want to follow the DSA standards but changed some of the rules to suite them.
So whether a driving instructor disagrees with the examiners comments or the candidate complaining for being failed for not looking enough at the mirrors, all has to do with doing it right. You should try England for a Driving test. 99% of Maltese candidates will fail miserably
R. Bartolo
Jan 16th 2009, 14:00
I don't know about the current situation...
but when I went for my driving test, the failure rate was just as high.
Everybody knew that there was a very high level of corruption,and when I tried to speak out,nobody would listen. I,like many others,had to repeat this test for too many times ( in my case six times.)
They would fail me on stupid useless technicalities, like not looking into the rear view mirror enough while slowing down in traffic.
Before people start blabbering about road safety... I do believe in safety. I have driven for more than two years now, without a single incident. And how many of you actually look into the rear view mirror whenever they slow down in traffic, or pull up the hand brake whenever they stop on a stop sign on a flat road?
Then these examiners were caught, although too little too late, and us abused driving students saw none of our money returned to us ( at Lm20 per exam, the total comes quite large for a student).
Can any aspiring driver who went for this new test, confirm if the situation has changed at all?
Anthony Neil Pace
Jul 1st 2010, 11:25
No, The situation has not changed.
Roger Borg Nun
Jan 16th 2009, 13:18
Similar problem in Britain, just because one turns 18 + and passes their test, they think they are automatically proffessional drivers driving on a public roads, RONG! its what one does after he or she passes the test that counts,the difference between Malta/Gozo is that the roads are much narrower and shorter,no speed cameras,no unmarked police cars wereas in the UK we've got all that technology same as in mainland europe they are all equiped to the teeth with technology, Malta and Gozo is still backwards in that respect. i see so many oldies especially driving their pickup trucks,you guessed it No Signals,day dreaming about where to stash their money,or whatever turns them on,then the have the cheek to dangle a rosery or something to help them through their stupid bad driving manner, well to be honestly when we or :used to: spend our holidays in Malta we always make use of the buses unless we meet up with an ignorant bus driver then we decide to walk instead. But on the whole there are some good drivers in your country, but the good onces are the once that have driven outside Malta and know how to handle driving conditions.
James Green
Jan 16th 2009, 12:49
Oh stop grumbling!
'Tis better to have 1931 well trained dirvers on our 'roads' than 8761 unquaified.
Pity those 1931 will start picking up bad driving habits due to our inadequate 'road' infrastructure and other 'qualified' drivers.
As regards to the fees yes I do agree that is is a salt rubbed into a wound situation.
These are young people not blessed with vast amounts of money and the auhorities should seriously consider a downward revision of fees.
After all it is in everybody's interest to have well trained drivers.
Safety is no accident.
Ms. M. Bugeja
Jan 16th 2009, 12:34
@kenneth roberts -The minor mistakes(ridiculuos in my examiner's and my opinion) was because I waited for a lady to cross the road for a good 1 minute (with the road completetely empty of cars) and other cars honking behind me. When this good lady decided to start walking I, as politely as I could, made a hand signal from the steering to 'move on, its safe' since there werent any cars in her way!..After the test the examiner told me that I have done very well, he would have passed me if I did not make that gesture to the lady because I distracted her!!
Ivan Blix
Jan 16th 2009, 12:30
Clearly the reason for the high failure rate is that Maltese people are the worst drivers on the planet!
When you are used to see parents, friends etc drive without any sense of traffic rules, common sense or respect, you can't expect anything else.
Why do you think there are more collisions, injuries and traffic deaths in Malta than most countries in Europe?
I vote for even stricter tests in Malta so we can keep the killing machines off the roads!
Martin Büttner
Jan 16th 2009, 11:44
A high fail raite can have different reasons:
1. The driving students are not well-prepared enough. Either because of their own missing discipline, because of their bad attitude on the issue, or because their driving instructors failed to teach well what it's all about.
2. The driving students are just too nervous on the day of the exam (or practical test) and so fail. Surveys in Germany have shown that this reason is responsible for approx. 35 per cent of the failures.
3. The driving students just take it too easy.
4. The examiners do not want the students to pass (for reasons whatsoever).
lgalea
Jan 16th 2009, 11:19
a aguci
You are absolutely correct.
We also have to remember what happened earlier regarding examiners.
kenneth roberts
Jan 16th 2009, 10:42
Like i said, we are for from being the strictest in world, uk has just a 45% pass rate total, so that means just 45% of people sitting for the test in uk no matter how many times they have sat for it have passed. Look at the news we have been having lately, lots of car accidents, and related stories. Just because you turn 18 does not mean you are guarantied a driving license right away, it takes time and practice.
Ms. M. Bugeja: you said you failed your test over some "minor issues" which your instructor did not agree with, well he is not going to agree with the result as it reflects badly on him, much easier for him to blame the examiner
Rules are rules, if the rules say you must check your mirrors before pulling out and you don't, then you fail, as one day you could cause a accident, plain and simple
a aguci
Jan 16th 2009, 10:39
The answer is simple my friends. How would you generate so much work to the driving schools if they all pass on the fly. Dont you see it!!!
a licari
Jan 16th 2009, 10:25
80% failure in driving tests is absolutely not normal in examination and assessment organisation and results. I know for sure that driving schools nowadays are very serious and well-organised. There is definitely something that needs to be reformed in the organisation of assessment procedures of new drivers. There must be also a comparison with other countries. Are we the strictest in the world?
kenneth roberts
Jan 16th 2009, 09:30
This is a good sign if you ask me. They finally made a decent test that isn't really easy to pass. It is acctually a challange now. When i got my driving licence i had never parked a car in my life, and only had 5 driving lessons and this was just 5-6 years ago, so not accient history
the average pass rate uk is just about 45%, they don;t even mention the pass rate for first time test takers as it is soo low.
Ms. M. Bugeja
Jan 16th 2009, 09:26
I can assure you that the examiners have something wrong not the ones sitting for the test!!
From my experience, after 1 whole year learning to drive, the examiners failed me twice. For both failed tests the examiners told me that I had some minor things to adjust before I can pass.. (silly excuses!)My learner never agreed with the examiners but their approval is needed not the learner's approval! So for me to achieve my license I paid not less than Lm300-lessons + theory test + 3 exams (at that time I was still a student with only a stipend as income!)