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.