Driving instructor criticises decision to take truck testing out of Carrick-on-Shannon

The RSA have discontinued carrying out truck tests in Carrick-on-Shannon and a man who said he is the only driving instructor in Carrick providing truck lessons said "it was disappointing to be told by my customers and not the RSA."

He said this means that six men due to lads to do their test in Carrick will now have to change to Sligo test centre. 

Tom O'Dowd told the Leitrim Observer: "It was rumoured a long time ago and I got an email that was sent to me today (Friday)."

The email stated that from 1 January the Driving Testing Section will not be testing Category C/D in Carrick-on-Shannon driving centre as the test centre has been deemed "not suitable for this category due to health and safety purposes. Customers in this area can make an application to do their HGV test in Sligo or Longford or any other driving test centre of their choice." 

He said that he found out initially through a customer so "I had six lads waiting on truck tests and they were contacted a few weeks ago to be told that they would be no more truck testing in Carrick."

He said that the health and safety purposes reason given did not satisfy him as this would apply to centres in Roscommon, Longford and Cavan and "any of these places that don't have compounds to do a reverse."

Mr O'Dowd said that six men due to sit their test in Carrick will now have to do the test elsewhere.

"I had heard it before but didn't hear it officially until that email today and the decision is made at that stage."

He continued: "Once those six men are done I'm selling the truck; it's gone. I still have the car so will continue to do that."

Mr O'Dowd said that the amount of people sitting the truck test "has died off a lot because of the fact that no one is going through for it because nobody wants to get into that industry due to bad conditions, bad pay and basically it's the only job where if you did overtime, you could be put in jail for it. There's a major shortage of truck drivers; not just in Ireland and England."

Referring to the service being removed, he said: "It's taking business out of the town because those lads would have been coming into me. These lads shouldn't have been allowed Carrick to be booked as a test centre if they knew they were closing."

Mr O'Dowd said he will lodge a complaint about the issue but is not hopeful of a positive outcome.

"Realistically, they know that I was the only one doing those lessons around here and they could have let me know before this. I actually was intending to upgrade that lorry but, luckily, the price of lorries is so high, I couldn't afford anything out there at the time."