Driving instructor tests resume

The Malta Transport Authority has re-started examinations for the 61 applicants seeking a driving instructor's licence after a break of seven months.

The tests resumed on June 30 and the regulator is completing an average of three tests a day. It is envisaged it would take about 17 days to clear the backlog of pending applications.

A spokesman for the Malta Transport Ministry (ADT) said the tests had stopped because the only driving examiner qualified to carry out the driving instructors' tests was English-speaking. Consequently, driving instructor test candidates were, at times, encountering language problems during their test. The tests were therefore suspended and a call for a driving instructor examiner was issued following comprehensive training given to all the ADT's driving examiners.

The spokesman said the ADT now employed a Maltese-speaking examiner to conduct the tests, therefore surpassing the language barrier problem. It is in the process of training and employing other examiners.

There are 152 driving schools in Malta and eight in Gozo, each employing licensed driving instructors.

Prospective driving instructors have to pass three examinations to be granted a licence: a theory exam, a test on their ability to drive and another exam on their ability to teach people how to drive.