By Joey Aguilar
Staff Reporter


Clearing driving licence tests has got tougher even as the number of trainees swell at training schools, sources have told Gulf Times.
“We receive a lot of learners almost every day, for either the half or full course, but they have to wait for months before they could start their actual driving lessons,” a supervisor from a leading driving school in Doha said.
“It is very difficult to get a driving licence nowadays and the process is longer. Our customers who fail tend to pass the blame onto us but what can we do?” he stressed.
While there are more male learners than female, the passing rate for the latter is lower, according to the source.  He was not sure of the reason but many female learners are failing, especially the road test.
According to the supervisor, earlier three to four persons out of 35 would pass the test in a day. Now, the number has come down to two out of 50.
He said those who failed the road test had to wait for at least three to four months before they could take the test again.
“So what happens is that all these people get stuck and continue to increase in number, which makes the next test schedule even longer for them,” he asked.
In another driving school, one of the staff members said they were hoping that the pass rate for the road test (which happened to be the final test) would rise in the coming months.
He lamented that some of those who failed during their first try did not return, with some deciding to scrap their plan of securing a driver’s licence.
“I probably lost my patience to wait though I paid more than QR3,000 for the full course. After failing the second time, I was really disappointed and had to wait for a very long time before I could retake the test,” said a Filipino expatriate who had been working in Qatar for nearly 15 years.
Besides the test, he also complained of the “inefficiency” of his instructor, saying the latter was impatient while teaching.
“I should have done this (driving lesson) five years ago when it was easier to secure a driver’s licence,” he added.
Meanwhile, the supervisor said workers who were recently hired as company and family drivers also struggled to get a licence. They included newly-hired driving instructors of one of the driving schools.
Asked about the surge in the number of trainees despite the difficulty in getting a driver’s licence, he noted that many residents preferred owning and driving their own car than taking a taxi or bus.