Driving instructors are outraged by the Malta Transport Authority's decision to allow prospective motorists decide when to apply to do their test as from the new year.
As things stand now, learners can only sit for their test when their instructors apply on their behalf, which is when they believe learners are up to it.
Many learner drivers have complained to the instructors, the transport authority (ADT) and the media that, in their opinion, they were being held back from sitting for the test so that motoring schools could continue charging them for more lessons unnecessarily.
Driving instructors said the ADT's decision to let learners make their own applications had been in the pipeline for a while but it was only discussed with them recently.
In a meeting between the instructors' association and the ADT two days ago, the former strongly opposed the move, insisting they would not allow unprepared students to use their car for the test.
"If students want to apply for the test but their instructors are not yet satisfied with their driving abilities, we will not take any responsibility. In that case, they will have to find their own car," a spokesman for the association said.
He pointed out that driving lessons were cheaper in Malta when compared to other countries despite the expenses driving schools had to incur because of the unacceptable state of some streets, missing road signs, bad drivers and a lack of places allocated for training.
The spokesman said there were over 1,000 students ready to sit for their test. "Schools are allocated weekly slots by the authority, creating a backlog because of a lack of examiners, with students waiting for weeks, if not months," he explained. The spokesman said that although the ADT employed eight examiners, one of them was on standby and they could only examine 280 drivers a week.
"There are 61 motoring schools registered with the authority that employ 140 instructors, each teaching a considerable number of students," he said. When you work this out, the spokesman added, it amounted to just two test slots per instructor per week, not to mention those that were cancelled at short notice because of mistakes in the paperwork, leave and sick leave.
kbugeja@timesofmalta.com