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Buckie mum calls for more practical driving tests outside Elgin after booking fiasco


By Ewan Malcolm

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A BUCKIE mum has called on the DVSA to do more to provide practical driving tests in rural areas in Moray.

Bev Marchi and her son Richard had great difficulty booking Richard's driving test in Buckie. Picture: Becky Saunderson.
Bev Marchi and her son Richard had great difficulty booking Richard's driving test in Buckie. Picture: Becky Saunderson.

Bev Marchi's son Richard started his driving lessons in Buckie last year when he turned 17.

After getting to know the route around the coastal town, Richard's driving instructor recommended in April this year that he take his test.

However, when Bev tried to book a test for her son she found that there were none available in Buckie whatsoever.

"All the available tests were for Elgin," Bev said.

"There were none for Buckie. Not even for later this year.

"Test dates are released on a Monday morning at 6am for 24 weeks ahead.

"So we were getting up at 5.30am and finding that there was still nothing for Buckie or for Banff and Huntly for that matter."

Richard has recently secured a job which will require him to do late shifts. That has made getting his full driving licence even more vital with no public transport available during those times.

And, after Bev made a formal complaint to the DVSA and contacted local MSP Karen Adam, she finally secured a test date in Buckie for June.

"I think we've only got that date because we've had to go to the trouble of complaining about this," Bev said.

"Others are still waiting.

"I just felt that Richard was being disadvantaged purely based on where he lives.

"If we were to do lessons in Elgin from Buckie, Richard would need to be picked up and we would need to pay for three hours instead of one.

"In a nutshell, I just feel that we're not treated the same."

Bev said her son Richard was lucky to get a test in Buckie after making multiple complaints to the DVSA. Picture: Becky Saunderson
Bev said her son Richard was lucky to get a test in Buckie after making multiple complaints to the DVSA. Picture: Becky Saunderson

The DVSA, in a written response to Bev following her complaint, said that they are doing all they can to address the current backlog.

They said: "Due to our reduced resources over the course of the pandemic, there are currently large volumes of candidates waiting for a test.

"We are taking measures to reduce the delay such as offering examiners overtime and offering annual leave buy-back.

"In every test location we are committed to try and alleviate the situation. However, we appreciate customers may not be able to book a test as early as they would like because of demand."

Included in the proposed measures to address the backlog of tests in the wider Moray area is asking retired driving examiners to return to work.

However, driving instructors in Moray have cast doubts over the effectiveness of such a measure.

Christel Dickinson, a driving instructor in Moray for 18 years, said: "I don't see retired driving examiners coming out of retirement for this.

"We had a local examiner retire in March and he was 70 so he was well past his retirement age.

"Why would anybody want to come back to work when they have retired?

"A lot of us just can't see that happening because these examiners have retired for a reason.

"They're also trying to get new examiners but the training is quite rigorous so we'll just have to wait and see."

Bev added: "We know that they're stretched but I don't think people who have learned outside Elgin should have to relocate to do lessons or tests there.

"I just think it's wrong. Totally wrong."


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