A Parliamentary Transport Select Committee setup to examine the DSA’s implementation of the New Motorcycle Test say it was ‘bungled’.
In a report of over 140 pages they also claim that the reduction in the number of Driving Test Centres carrying out Motorcycle Tests was ‘unjustified’.
(Tell us something we didn’t know). The report vindicates many of the criticisms and complaints from the Motorcycle Industry. Trainers and riders have encountered problems since the test was implemented last year.
The Training Industry has seen a sharp drop in the numbers of riders taking up training. In some cases this drop is reported to be as high as 62%.
This of course will have a knock on effect. If less riders are going for tests, then less bikes will be sold, less riding gear and less bikes in for servicing and maintenance in the future, etc etc.
The report concludes that the DSA handling of the implementation of the new Multi Purpose Test Centres was ‘bungled’.
It says that ‘Many candidates and trainers now have to travel too far for their motorcycle test. This adds to the cost and in some cases exposes candidates to fast and dangerous roads on the way to the test site – before they have even taken their test’.
It says that the DSA needs to ‘give greater priority to customer service and convenience for test candidates and trainers’.
A case in point is the campaign for a test site to be placed in Aberystwyth (or nearby) – an as yet unsuccessful campaign. What this means is that if you train with the Authorised Training School in Aberystwyth you are then faced with a ride to Swansea or Chester to take a Module 1 test. The Module 1 test takes about 10-15 minutes to complete. So a round trip of over 200 miles for a 10 minute test!
Now add in the fact that the test candidate may be under 21 and taking a test on a 125cc! What a trip that would be.
When the point is argued that if the rider is going for their test then they should be up to riding on almost any road! You must remember the Crash Statistics year on year in the mountain roads of Wales make shocking reading -and these involve already qualified and ‘experienced’ riders.
At 1st Class Rider Training-Cardiff. we are relatively fortunate in that we can take our candidates to the new Centre at Neport, but we find that we are now in competition for test slots with training schools as far afield as Hereford and beyond.
So what does this Transport Select Committee report mean for the industry? Well I think it means…The Horse has gone…let’s close the door!
For those training schools that may have closed, and those hanging on but with a massive drop in business it means nothing in the short term. It just confirms what everyone was saying at the time, but the changes were imposed upon the industry with no redress and no-one listening to those trainers who are doing a very challenging job.
I wait with mounting excitement to see what the DSA response may be, or will Rosemary get a big brush and add it to the mountain of junk already hiding under her plush DSA carpet.
To read the full report visit http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmtran.htm