Jacob, 27, claims a driving examiner refused to sit on his passenger seat after he travelled almost 300 miles to the driving test centre leaving him to fail the test before he even moved the vehicle
A father who travelled over 285 miles for his driving test was left gobsmacked when an examiner failed him on the spot because the passenger seat had “a few rain drops on it”.
Jacob Caroll, 27, had been attempting to book a driving test near his home in Chichester for months. Unable to find a local slot the father-of-three expanded his search to include the area around his wife’s grandparents’ home in Scarborough – nearly 300 miles away.
To his joy Jacob managed to secure a slot and even had his car professionally cleaned before embarking on the lengthy journey. However upon reaching the test centre on a rainy day with his wife’s grandad, a few raindrops had landed on the passenger seat as he exited the vehicle. Jacob alleges the examiner refused to sit on the seat and also turned down an offer of a blanket.
Despite his efforts to persuade the examiner, Jacob was informed that the test had been cancelled and he would need to rebook. Jacob, a shift manager from Chichester, West Sussex, expressed his frustration and said: “It was just a few raindrops, and she patted it and said she couldn’t do it. It’s literally a joke. The next one there is April, just before my theory runs out.”
Jacob said the whole interaction at Scarborough Driving Test Centre on the 15 December left him “anxious” to go for another test. The 27 year-old said: “I didn’t even get the car moving,” before he was failed.
Frustrated Jacob explained the driving examiner refused to sit in the passenger seat despite seat despite Jacob offering a a dry blanket for the examination to sit on and also having the professional cleaned before the arranged test.
Jacob said: “It was chucking it down and we went to the car. I’ve opened the door, and she said she couldn’t sit in it. There’s a dark patch on the seat but it’s a stain and that wasn’t wet – I had the car professionally cleaned the day before.
“I’ve leaned back to get a blanket […] and before I put the blanket down, she said she can’t sit on it because it’s all creased up. She went to sit on and then said she couldn’t do it.
He added: “She walked off and said I had to pay for another test and that was it.”
Jacob’s mother-in-law, Vicky Bagshaw, 46, said she was “flabbergasted” when she heard what had happened.
Vicky said: “They have three small kids and him being able to drive would take a massive load off my daughter.” She added: “He’s a very competent learner driver and is insured on their car.”
Concerning the ordeal a DVSA spokesperson said: “DVSA cannot comment on individual complaints. We would encourage any learner driver who feels they have been mistreated to report it to us at the earliest opportunity.”