Suddenly in July 2007 we discovered through reading the Beeld newspaper that Email bookings were now permitted for normal learner’s and driver’s licence appointments as well! At last we were able to obtain a few bookings.

This was the first sign of an improvement in the system in five years!

The test centres at Waltloo and Centurion too I believe were actually testing as many as three applicants simultaneously! There is every possibility of increasing this to 16 tests per hour at Waltloo alone, and eight at Centurion should there be adequate examiners!

However, the relief was unfortunately very short-lived! Without any warning, the normal Email booking service was terminated after one brief experimental month in July 2007. No-one was notified. Total lack of communication again!

Now we are back to what?

The Provincial Call Centre and its inefficient booking system leaving testing centres empty while we all beg for appointments.

SAIDI is receiving calls from driving instructors constantly asking, “What is going on with the Email booking system? It worked so well! It was so efficient! We could get some test appointments at last!

I am just not sure it served across the board of all people fairly. Not everyone has access to the Internet or is computer literate. However, that is where driving schools can help.

We urge the authorities to allow this system to become the permanent means of booking tests as soon as possible, and that capacity is upgraded urgently.

At the same time, there are too few testing centres available, so why not use the same system as is used overseas? It is possible to test new drivers directly on the road without the need of a testing centre. After all authorities, driving instructors take that risk with every new pupil, so why is so much fuss made about parallel parking etc. in test centres away from traffic?

Have you ever heard of someone killed on the road while parallel parking?

Let’s get real here!

Let’s get out there in the traffic and test drivers to see if they can cope in the real world without doing our best to fail them in the “yard work” if they roll half a centimeter!

Just a thought ... !

Article reference:

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