Driving instructors across the UK are being warned of the potential for more driving examiner strike action in the near future. At this stage examiners are being balloted for the potential of industrial action regarding a DVSA ‘flexible working’ regime. Tom Ingram (Owner of BIG TOM Driving School) wants to reassure BIG TOM customers:
“It is of course unfortunate that there is the potential for yet more disruption to the process of taking driving tests. The DVSA did make assurances to driving instructors last year that their recruitment of driving examiners over 95 driving test centres in the UK was to alleviate their problem of not planning for the volume of driving tests that were being requested. Fast forward a year, and we are now hearing that examiners are considering strike action due to the DVSA requiring them to hop around driving test centres with little notice to alleviate demand for driving tests. I can assure my customers that I will be monitoring this situation closely. I have already reserved attendance at the DIA conference on 17/11/2017 where the DVSA are attending and will not hesitate to speak up for my customers who have every right to expect being able to book driving tests in a timely manner that compliments all the hard work and training they have put in place to get authorised for test. I think at times, being as big an organisation as it clearly is, the DVSA does seem to forget that ultimately they are supposed to be providing a good quality service to the paying public; and with the test fees that the public have no choice in having to pay, they do expect there to be a reliable, dependable service for providing driving tests within a reasonable time of the request.
The other aspect to this which I personally always have in mind when I work alongside my customers is that pupils work hard and place a considerable amount of effort in attempting to achieve their goal of possessing a driving licence. There is a case to put forward on behalf of my pupils that having positively contributed in all that effort, it is not only unfair to be causing an obstacle for them to take their driving test, but within a learning environment, it is actually detrimental to the effectiveness of the learning process. Driving tests by their nature create anxiety and stress, even if a pupil has not taken one before, and causing pupils to hang on for prolonged periods of time due to insufficiently organising resources at driving test centres, is quite unkind.
Any BIG TOM customers reading this, please be assured that I will monitor it closely. I know from last year many parents expressed their anger with the situation of delayed driving test bookings due to insufficiently resourced driving test centres, and it saddens me to now discover that this issue has not in fact been resolved despite all that we have been told by the DVSA”.
BIG TOM Driving School Enquiries: Admin@BIGTOM.org.uk Sales: 07756 071 464
