Traffic Police Suggested as Driving Test Examiners

A national federation representing driving schools across Spain has come up with a proposal to help reduce the backlog of examinations caused by recent industrial action by examiners.

The CNAE say that more than a dozen provinces have not yet recovered from the action, with student drivers having to wait for between one and two months for an appointment for their driving test. In some cases, the student driver isn´t notified until 48 hours before the practical examination.

The situation seems to be getting worse, according to the federation, with attempts to fill vacancies for examiners failing and more leaving the industry on a daily basis.

The solution the CNAE have come up with and are proposing, is utilising serving officers from the Guardia Civil traffic department to conduct both the theory and practical examinations.

Although the idea of a uniformed traffic cop sitting alongside a nervous, novice driver conducting the test might well be one of the most daunting prospect that the candidates may face, the federation believe that the officers are uniquely placed in their knowledge of traffic law and procedure to conduct the tests, and would require very little additional training in order to achieve this.

The idea comes from France where the government has allowed other departments to control the theory test, and, in some cases, have used gendarmes in test situations on closed tracks.

It should be pointed out however that this is just a suggestion from the federation and has not been formally proposed, so is unlikely to become a reality any time soon, if ever.