15 charged in driving test probe

Don't get me started on driving tests.

Most licence holders today wouldn't pass if they were forced to take the test again. The reason is it has become ludicrously convoluted, discriminates against older people and yet still fails to keep idiots off the road!

So people resort to faking test results, buying forged licences or simply driving without any valid licence at all.

I wonder if the driving test centre was taken over by Greeks? Why? Well, in Greece, it is legal for a driving school pupil to pay for a pass without actually taking the test.........the pupil only needs to have completed a minimum number of lessons....... It is supposed to be so that pupils who are made nervous by being tested can avoid being failed due to being scared witless..... However, it's illegal for the pupil to pay the examiner the 200 Euros directly - that's bribery; the pupil has to give the dosh to the driving instructor to hand it over to the examiner on the his/her behalf.

You only need to experience Greek drivers to realise the implications of their approach to driving tests......

And, just to complete the picture, Greek MoTs (which are two-yearly) are carried out by the car's owner, who has to do to the car what the examiner tells him/her, and the examiner notes the results. Now, I ask you, would you ride in a Greek-owned car of MoT-able age, driven by a "nervous" Greek driver...?

No, nor me!!

The UK has gone to the opposite extreme whereby learners are now required to pass a written theory exam and win a videogame challenge in addition to the regular test.

These are great money spinners for the bigger driving schools but in no way weed out the applicants most likely to cause an accident.

And I thought you might find the Greek anecdotes amusing.....!

Coventry man travelled country sitting driving tests for other people



A MAN from Coventry who travelled the country sitting driving tests for other people has been jailed for 18 months.

Shivan Ibrahim, 29, was paid a “going rate” of between £100 and £120 each time he took the theory exam.

But the Iraqi Kurd, of Barkers Butts Lane, Coundon, was caught out after he booked a test for a centre in Huddersfield.

He was jailed for 18 months at Bradford Crown Court.

The court heard that before he was caught in Yorkshire, Ibrahim was involved in similar scams in Harlow, Sutton Coldfield and Southampton.

Ibrahim admitted three charges of fraud and asked for a further nine matters to be taken into consideration.

He claimed that he was given details about the tests by another man and he did not approach the would-be drivers himself.

Judge Jonathan Rose was told that Ibrahim admitted booking the theory tests but claimed not to have turned up for every one.

But prosecutor Andrew Kershaw revealed that at least two men had gone on to pass the practical part of the driving test after Ibrahim had completed the theory exam for them.

Mr Kershaw described how Ibrahim had tried to sit a theory test for a man in Doncaster, but there were issues over his identity and it never went ahead.

Seven months later another test was booked for the same man, this time in Huddersfield, and when Ibrahim turned up he was arrested.

Mr Kershaw said Ibrahim maintained the false identity until inquiries were made with the UK Border Agency.

Mr Murphy urged Judge Rose to consider a suspended prison sentence, but the judge said Ibrahim had played a significant role in a carefully-planned operation.

The judge said Ibrahim’s only motive was financial gain and he was clearly prepared to travel far and wide to commit the offences.

Ibrahim’s lawyer Neil Murphy said his client had made “modest sums” from the offences, but he admitted there was a risk to public safety.

“I have to concede these offences are serious because they put members of the public at risk and there is an erosion of public confidence in terms of the driving test procedures if people get away with it,” said Mr Murphy.

Judge Rose said the 18 month sentence would deter others who might be tempted to try the same thing.

“In exchange for that money you have caused at least 12 people potentially to be on the roads without having the necessary qualities and qualifications,” he said. These are extremely serious matters. They are difficult offences to detect which is how you have got away with it for so long”.

Ibrahim, who himself worked as a driver, has now been banned from driving for a year.

At the moment it is unclear what will happen to the drivers whose test he sat.