A recent study has found that learner drivers in some parts of Wales have an eaiser time passing their drivig test than others, raising questions as to the consistency of the driving tests.
Figures released last week show a huge disparity between pass rates across the country. Some of the sample pass rates are as follows;
- Pass Rate in Rhyl during 2009-10 was just 38.4%
- Pass Rate at Mold was 40.2%
- Pass Rate at Bala was 45.2%
- Pass Rate at Llandrindod Wells was 73.3%,
- Pass Rate at Lampeter was 60.3%
- Pass Rate at Brecon was 58.7%.
As you can see there is quite the difference between areas, raising concerns about the driving tests in Wales.
The figures were obtained by Plaid Cymru South Wales Central AM Chris Franks who comments "Two years ago I obtained details of the pass rates for drivers across Wales. It appears that little has changed. There is still a huge discrepancy between test centres. While the DSA say that pass and fail rates among individual examiners are analysed, there must be an issue when pass rates vary so much – from under 40% to more than 70%. I don’t believe that learner drivers in North Wales are any worse than those in Mid or South Wales, despite the figures.
"The position hasn’t changed in two years, so there must be an issue with the difficulty of the area where drivers do their tests and perhaps a difference in the attitude between examiners. There are still questions to be answered and I hope the DSA will look into this further. Perhaps this is an area of government which the Assembly could have oversight of in the future."
Iwan Huws, Plaid’s candidate in Aberconwy, continued "The consistency of these tests is concerning. There are huge differences in the pass rates between test centres in North Wales and the Welsh average.
"The difference between some test centres in North Wales and some in Mid Wales can be close to 30%. I am sure that driving standards do not vary quite so wildly. Hopefully the DSA will look into the reasons behind these discrepancies because the situation makes little sense."