The wait for driving tests in the country still continue without much improvement, a new report says. According to the RSA report seen by RTE News, the learner drivers are facing an average wait of 10 weeks for a driving test.
The Road Safety Authority (RSA) has confirmed that eight of its 60 test centres have longer waiting times than 10 weeks, while driving instructors and learner drivers say they are experiencing lengthy waiting times.
There are 33,000 drivers waiting to take their driving test, according to RSA figures. With an average of 3,500 tests being done per week, the RSA says it would take ten weeks to clear those tests.
Despite the figures, driving instructors say some people are experiencing longer waiting times.
Many learner drivers are concerned that, with Covid-19 restrictions lifted, they are still unable to go to work or to friends as they haven’t got a license yet.
The RSA has said that as Covid-19 rules are relaxed, they will be able to focus on a small number of centres with longer waiting times to provide extra capacity and reduce waiting times.
These are the top five centres with the longest waiting times, according to the RSA:
Drogheda – 18 weeks
Mulhuddart – 16 weeks
Mulhuddart (Carlton Hotel) – 14 weeks
Killester – 14 weeks
Galway – 14 weeks