Time and time again we have commented on the thoughts and ideas from the dvsa and our hopes have been raised lately with the increase of information available and the updates coming out.  We have asked that they think about, and even edit what they publish before posting as there can be, and have been, embarrassing errors on the nice fluffy clouds out there.

Unfortunately lately we seem to have seen an irrational flood of thinking that does not appear to be connected with reality.  Us ADIs want to work together with the dvsa and yet they do not seem to want to listen to what is being said to them with the attitude of ' we know better'  and just steam on ahead with their ideas. If the dvsa were to just took a look at the hundreds of negative comments that appear on almost every post that appears on their own social media, the national press, radio and TV it is clear to see that their customers are not at all happy with what is being produced by them.

 The latest Ready to Pass is a prime example. This has caused considerable debate on social media and I'm afraid none of it is particularly complimentary. I have copied the comments of one particular and respected ADI and repeated his thoughts on this item here, with his kind permission.

  *Ready to pass - Possibly not*

'It is doing my head in' says Gareth Marchant

(courtesy of Gareth Marchant)

"It is doing my head in. Like there is a magic formula to passing, that we have all been searching for since 1934 but still nobody has yet managed to pin down and bottle. (thousands of ADIs agree with this sentiment)

2, 3, 4 and 5, I have misgivings with.

   2 - who doesn’t make silly mistakes when they are driving? If there is an ADI out there who never does this, I bow to your superiority. I am just a mere mortal.

 3 - How many mock tests would you like us to conduct, and at rate of £??.??/hr, with no guarantee of a pass on the real thing?

4 - Yes, you can do lots about “controlling nerves”, but they do realise that tests are circumstantial, and by the virtue of a nervous response being mostly irrational (or chemical if you really drill down), they only find out how they truly control their nerves in the actual circumstances. When they make an error, it can completely change their mental landscape, no matter what training they have had or developed. It is very individual, both to the person and the environment at the time.

5 - They do realise there is no legal compunction to ever see a driving instructor? OK, most people use one, and where they do it is probably a good idea to agree with your ADI if you are in a good position for a test, but you don’t have to and you can completely ignore one if you choose to.

This whole campaign could be titled “We have too many people wanting tests and we can’t do them” but that’s not that snappy, so “Ready to Pass?” (The Buck) it is."

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We have received many replies to our blogs over the past few months in a similar vein of frustration from ADIs, the length and breadth of the country.

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The Grumbler should like to add a grumble or two.

Item 2 Silly Mistakes/controlling the nerves.

There is an issue here that the dvsa just do not seem to grasp at all. There is no such thing as a sill mistake when you are on a driving test. The silly ones cloud the judgement momentarily of all humans as they get in the way of rational thought. They hang there in front of us until we manage to shake them off, and it is during those first few seconds should anything else should crop up that we either fail to see it at all, or too late to react smoothly and in time. Real experience and hours of driving give us the skill to step over these obstacles and carry on, not the hours that a candidate can cover on lessons. Ask an experienced doctor, surgeon, craftsman, or fire officer - experience gives you these skills gained after qualifying and then continuous practice. These split second delays cause the panic, the over reaction and then the serious fault for the novice driver. An experienced driver would re-evaluate the situation and adjust in a micro second such that nobody would even notice the change of tempo or action taken. The dvsa do not seem to be able to grasp this idea.

Alternatively, there is no sight whatever of the danger ahead and the candidate, still worrying over the last minor issue, drives eg, straight thorough the pedestrian crossing with the little old lady stepping off the kerb on the other side totally oblivious of the fault and arrives home at the Dtc to the shocking news that they did not pass - what lady, there was nobody there!!.

Examiners can tell you the exact moment the candidate relaxed and it is normally when they think they have failed, the nerves disappear, the drive becomes natural and the candidate sails home stunned at the news that they passed and did not fail for stalling at the lights, etc, etc,.  Pupils who have taken 2, or even 3 tests will frequently say that they drove better on their first one. Surely the dvsa must have heard these comments from others outside the industry. Why is this? Simply because they are so wound up for their first test

they don't remember what happened, and yet with the practice of more real tests they relax and can relay more accurately their later test experiences.

You simply cannot put an old head on young shoulders.

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Then we have the legal point that they are not required to have an ADI approve their standard as they can learn in a field, from YouTube, books and DVDs with a total dummy of a driver next to them who has not driven since they passed 20 years ago, just as long as they hold a valid licence for over 3 years. It's nuts. Have the dvsa fought to change this as we have tried asking for decades as ADIs nah, nope Nada - it's a vote loser for their bosses? 

So when strangers ring us with the 'I've got a test booked, can I use your car' call and we say NO,  remember that it is not our fault that thousands of these tests go down the toilet each month. Let the dvsa provide the cars for the test if they want to cure this point. It's a nice little earner dvsa, and should help boost the productivity bonus's for the management next year - just don't forget I suggested it here and I want my cut too. 15% commission should do nicely thank you.

As for the mock tests, they are fake, no matter how silent, officious, or grumpy we pretend to be, our pad is a pretend pad and has no real value. The pupils know this and begs the question Gareth  raised, when do we stop mock testing - at zero faults, at 7, after another 100 pounds, maybe 200 with no guarantee that all will be well on the day? Followed by complaints to the dvsa and on social media about the robbing bar-steward of an ADI who took all their money doing mock tests.

Included in this link above is the section the 10 top reasons for failing the driving test. This is so misleading and ambiguous that it is almost serious, perhaps it should have been written with the aid of an ADI, or even a pupil because as it stands it is poor - really poor in places. Some of the items you list could be specific to particular areas  and never occur in others and nearly every driver in the country could comment on the listing of 'clear' signage, never mind ADIs or candidates.

Also you have told us over the years that the marking on the DL25 is clear and unambiguous, and no cross marking of items can occur, yet in your guide it is clearly possible that duplicate markings can be given for faults and the impression that 2 or more marks can be given for the same item thus giving a false guide. This occurs on a few of the items. While I accept that the guide is a good idea, it does need more thought and care in production and clarity of the message you are trying to get across. Clarity comes at a price - thought, effort, proof reading and editing.

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 & finally

Grumblers email address

There is now an email address for the Grumbler.... thegrumbler@theaadi.co.uk so you can drop a line if you have a question you'd like to ask, or a story/information to provide/pass on (in total confidence of course so dvsa employees, civil servants and employees of the empire, need not worry). Trolls will be ignored as usual and deleted by my pet Ork.

As usual, if there is anything that you see is incorrect or, plain wrong, I apologise, and if you drop a line via the Contact Us page it will be edited.