Category - DSA

An email alert from the DSA says that from 2 April 2013, phone lines for booking tests will only be available between 8am and 12pm (instead of the current 8am until 4pm). This is in line with the falling numbers of people booking via telephone.

Booking online is by far the easiest way. You can book your theory test and practical test on the DSA’s site at GOV.UK.

There are still a bunch of radical ADIs who oppose this on the grounds that their “older” pupils might not have access to, or be familiar with, the internet. Quite frankly, those people are likely to have issues with any booking system.

We’ve come a long way since Victorian times. It’s a shame that some people still want to stay firmly embedded in the past, though. The majority of people can easily book via the internet. Those who can’t will be able to use their ADIs to book it for them. There isn’t a problem unless you look for one.

The DSA has confirmed the locations and commencement of driving tests from two of Nottingham Trent University’s sites.

The service commences from 11 March 2013. Tests will be available from the Clifton Campus on Mondays and Wednesdays, and from Clarendon Street on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

I must stress that I don’t have any issues, in principle, with doing tests from these sites. I’m not convinced by the government’s “bringing the test to the people” mantra, but that’s another story.

However, the practicalities of this service do worry me a little. In particular, will there be any half-witted ADIs “practising” in the bays when you get there; and how the hell will candidates get off the Clifton campus to do their tests (the A453 is allegedly second only to the M25 in terms of the volume of traffic that goes along it). Indeed, the traffic density on the A453 – it ranges from almost gridlock all the way up to total gridlock for 23 hours of the day (or worse if some prat breaks down or crashes on it) – means that even getting on to the site is a challenge-and-a-half.

And then there are the road works – A453 widening has just started and is scheduled to last TWO YEARS, and Nottingham’s huge white elephant (aka “Phase II of the Tram”) is still more than a year away from completion, resulting in road closures throughout the area (including the City Centre site also being used for tests). So I wonder how many people will be late for their tests as a result?

Instructions on how to arrive are given in the link.

An email alert from the DSA is obviously intended to show transparency, and a strong desire to stamp out corruption.

It happened in London in February, and was a joint operation between the DSA’s Fraud & Integrity Team and the Metropolitan Police. An examiner, ADI, and four test candidates were arrested. Consequently, 100 driving licences are being revoked.

The operation was shown on BBC News, which you can watch here. It isn’t available for embedding.

An email alert from the DSA advises that the scheduled examiner strike on February 15th has been suspended.

Fossil Command at PCS is no doubt trying to find a better and far more inconvenient time for the strike. Obviously, with the risk of snow cancelling tests at this time of year, PCS officials made a major mistake scheduling industrial action when there is a risk of their little performance clashing.