Safe Speed Forums

I don't think this case has been mentioned before on this forum, where a driving examiner was sacked by the DSA for consistently failing more drivers than the "norm":

http://www.drivingmag.co.uk/12.htm

I have to say I'm not 100% convinced by this, as clearly amongst any group of examiners (for anything) there is a need for broadly consistent standards. If one person's pass rate is much less than the rest of the group, it suggests there is something wrong with his methods.

Do we think this is something to worry about?

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

OK, on the face of it it could seem that he's been marking people down harshly, but they made 150 odd checks on his tests and didn't find anything significant. I suppose it's possible that he could have been behaving himself during these checks, but if they thought he was doing anything different just because he had a senior bod in the back seat why not blind test him by sneaking ringers in as test candidates? You'd also have to wonder what his motivation would have been. It seems a bit bizarre that he'd have been doing it deliberately and then carried even after being told he risked disciplinary action. I can understand a motivation to make your numbers fit by passing questionable candidates, but failing satisfactory candidates when you know it's making you stand out is irrational.

The article seem plausible to me, if only because there do seem to be people on the road that make me wonder how the hell they ever got through the L test. I'd still be interested in the DSA's side of the story though, but I do feel that this "customer focus" type crap they came out with isn't a good sign. Corporate BS at best, and perhaps a sign of strage proirities at worst.

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Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler - Einstein

Probably for the same reason the BBC can't sneak a hidden camera into someones car to make those Safe Driver programs - it's considered ethically unsound practice.
The fact that it's practically the only way to capture real, as opposed to simulated, behaviours is beside the point.

Being a member of the DIA, I get the magazine in hard copy, and can identify with many of the claims made.

Although my experience has been confined to training for vocational licences, many of the allegations ring true in that sphere of training.

To first explain that training for vocational licences, by necessity, requires a formalised period of a set number of days followed by a pre-booked test. There is very little tolerance to defer the test for two or three days to iron out deficiencies. Candidates are either ready or they aren't.

I can relate several tales of borderline candidates who were taken on 'soft' routes and passed, whereas 'guaranteed' passes were given a route subject to greater critical analysis, and failed.

The "Double Standards Agency". Undeniably.