Booking a Driving Test | Here What People Have to Say!

People on this page a commenting on the broadcast I have sent out about How Booking a Driving Test is so Frustrating These Days!

Good morning Priscilla

Hi Priscilla,

Just wanted to share that yesterday, 10 July, after 12 months of trying to get through to the "old" number of 0860358358, I finally managed to get a drivers test booked.

I phoned that old number and was informed of the new number, 0860 GAUTENG, and upon dialling it went through a 30 min "please hold" and giving details process, until I was finally told that I was lucky because they had just opened bookings for Benoni yesterday and I could get a test for next week, Wed 18 July. Eesh! Around the corner! I was hoping for like 3 weeks from now!

Unfortunately they cannot give me a later date, I would have had to phone next Wed, but I said I will take it because I am so scared that I do not get through again before my learner's expires in Dec!
Anyway so the new system seems to be at least a bit better than the old one, and good luck to all the others still needing to get through!

Thanks

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Hope you can give me some advice.
I went for my driving test yesterday and failed, however I am not disappointed in myself because I feel I did pretty well. I am however; very disappointed in the reason they failed me.

I thought I had passed, because when we came back to the Traffic Department, the officer told me to follow him upstairs, he told me to wait on the bench and called me a couple of minutes later he then proceeded to count my penalties and explained that everything else was fine but I did not make it because my problem is, I was not using the pull and push steering method enough and the fact that I am observing into the side roads.

He went on to say that I shouldn’t do that. I told him that my instructor taught me this observation and told me to make sure that the officer sees me actually bending forward slightly and looking, I checked my penalties and if he had given me at least 2 penalties for these two problems, then I would have passed.

Instead the penalties for the steering method and the side road observation amounted to 93. I realised that I had failed, not because of my physical driving skills were bad, but because of the officer’s opinion, regarding my observations and my steering method. Please note that not using the pull and push steering method enough, however, did get us around safely. He did not say that I didn’t use it at all, just not enough I feel so helpless and cheated. He then sent me to make another appointment, they said the soonest would be October, and my learners expires November. The lady also insisted that I go through the entire process of eye testing etc. again.

I want to contest this result, but I don’t know where to start, I also feel that my driving instructor should query this too as he said there is no set rule about when you observe the side roads, because you should only be penalised for not observing the side roads I feel I was unfairly failed and I want to do something about it, what can I do?

Please help

Desperate

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I thank you for all you tips and I must say this e-mail is a definite
must for me as I have been trying to book for the past 4 months and now
my learners has expired - I am very frustrated as I now have to go
through the Learners AGAIN! The department has to do something about
this, you will not believe what I went through - I got told that I had a
date for my drivers testa nd drove 3 hours to the place that they said
the test will be at (That is how desperate I was) and I reach the
testing grounds to be told they do not have a booking for me!

Do you know how I can get assistance with this matter as I really do not
think that it is my fault that my learners has now expired?

Thank you

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Oh gosh… I get so frustrated because my brother is in London and I told him my whole saga and he says over there you do it all in ONE DAY!! You go in, book and do the test that same day – no problem! We need something like that.

Also the driver’s license card – if you loose it you just phone in and they post it to you in 2-3 days – no extra payment etc or hassles of going in!

I tell you something only after all of this that I have been through do I understand why people buy their license and why the testing grounds are so corrupt! I am trying to do it the right way and yet I am getting no where and yet it seems that if you do it illegally you get away with it!

I just don’t see myself doing it illegally though so I guess I must just fight on!

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Hi. Zulu princess

I read "how I got my license test booking" on your website and decided
to do the same. I kept calling and holding for about 30 min on the
Ekerhuleni Call Centre but I finally went through and got a booking. I'm
testing next week Friday, the 13th July at Edenvale testing station.
I've been reading your emails and they are very helpful.