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Up to 306,000 applicants for the driver's license are waiting in Spain to take the practical test.

A period that, in some provinces, can exceed three months to the despair of driving schools, which see how the quality of training deteriorates.

Or the students have to continue giving refresher classes, with the consequent additional expense.

This has been denounced by Formaster, an association of companies that, among other tasks, is dedicated to training traffic examiners.

This same week, the DGT announced the incorporation of

50 new examiners, who will be distributed among 28 provinces.

Of these, 24 will start directly carrying out their functions,

since they have completed all the necessary courses.

The rest will do so in a few weeks when they finish that training.

In addition, last August another 60 professionals joined, to reach a workforce of more than 960, "the highest figure since 2009" according to the body directed by Pere Navarro.

10% fewer professionals

"It is a positive measure and one that is on the right track, but it is insufficient and still does not solve the problem,

since current pensions are not even covered,"

they say from the association.

And they remember that in the last 12 years around 10% of examiners have been lost, which has caused an endless collapse in access to practical tests.

According to Formaster,

so far this year, the waiting list has dropped by just 14%, so with the current number of examiners, it would take almost 4 years to reach a "zero" waiting list

.

This, without taking into account the incorporation of new students.

In some provinces, this delay could even triple.

Danger of closing of driving schools

Likewise, if this problem is not resolved, they estimate that up to 30% of driving schools

-especially the smaller ones and those located in less populated towns- could close, as they cannot offer a quality service

to their students .

, leading to a situation of unemployment for more than a thousand families.

"We see that Traffic is not capable of responding to the demand for exams that it has. It is true that it requests more personnel for its headquarters, but the public function does not grant it the number of positions required, forcing that,

at times like the months summer, in numerous provinces exams have to be suspended, something that also happens in the months of December or Easter",

comments Antonio Macedo, president of Formaster.

It must be remembered that the sector has indirectly overcome great difficulties for years,

starting with the examiners' strike in autumn 2019, the Pandemic, the mobility restrictions of 2020, and today the consequences of the War in Ukraine that have triggered the costs of living for citizens, mainly energy and fuel prices.

All this, added to the lack of examiners and the slow process to access the practical tests, has led to an absolute mess in the sector.

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  • DGT

  • Traffic

  • Peter Navarro