The Road Safety Authority - the RSA - has published its plan to cut the waiting time for a driving test which, in some testing centres, currently exceeds ten months.
Last week, Minister for International and Road Transport, Logistics, Rails and Ports, Sean Canney told the RSA that he wanted it to not only publish its plan, but 'deliver on it.' Well, the first part has been done…
What's in the RSA's plan?
The RSA's plan is to cut the waiting time for a driving test down to an average of ten weeks. The current national average is 27 weeks, and it's climbing. The published plan includes speeding up the training programme for new examiners with new training facilities opened to help.
Then, the plan is to extend the hours in which a test can be conducted, stretching it from 7.25am to 7pm. This would suggest that this plan will only work through mid-October, as tests can't be conducted in the dark. The RSA is also planning to expand testing hours to include Saturdays and Bank Holidays.
There is also a plan to take manual control of the online booking system to try to ensure that test dates are issued first to those areas where the backlog is at its greatest - largely in the greater Dublin area. Finally, the RSA wants to open 19 new driver testing centres around the country, bringing the total to 60.
What else is the RSA saying?
In launching the report, Sam Waide, the RSA's chief executive, said: “We know how frustrating and disruptive these delays are - especially for people who need a licence for work, college, or caring responsibilities. I want to offer a sincere apology to everyone who has been affected. Our team has developed a focused, projection-based plan to improve availability and reduce wait times. Every part of the system is being mobilised to deliver for the public. The RSA will publish progress updates every fortnight via its website to ensure full transparency and public awareness as the plan advances We're asking customers to support the effort by cancelling early if they cannot attend, so that appointments can be offered to others. Every cancelled slot that's re-used helps us reduce the backlog faster. Also, we're urging customers to ensure they prepared for their test as over 4,000 tests so far this year couldn't be conducted for reasons such as vehicles without a valid NCT, Tax, Insurance or not deemed roadworthy.”
Will this work?
Let's be charitable and say that it might. However, with the RSA's appalling record on delivering what Irish drivers need (to the point where the Government has become sick with things and is breaking up the RSA into two new agencies) there's a very good chance that this is Titanic deck chair shuffling time. After all, new examiners have been promised since late last year and they're only just starting to enter service now, so what hope is there of achieving this plan before the Irish winter closes in and shuts down the early-morning, late-evening tests?