WAGGA is one of the most difficult places in the state to become a P-plater, according to figures in a driver safety report released by the auditor general.
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And it is such a well-known fact that some of the city's high school students bypass Wagga's RTA office and book their tests in at neighbouring towns Narrandera, Cootamundra and Tumut.
While there are some places in regional NSW where pass rates for the P1 licence test are as high as 91 per cent, Wagga's pass rate of 56 per cent is in the bottom five.
It's a frustration that some driving instructors freely admit to and is an issue that regularly bobs up in high school playground discussion.
Izzi Zacharia, 17, passed her licence test in Wagga at her second try in September.
In the lead up to her test, Izzi took 10 professional lessons from a driving instructor but said she failed at her first attempt due to a technicality in turning right at an intersection with traffic lights.
“Most people I know failed first time,” Izzi said.
“People say it depends (what instructor) they get for the test and quite a few people go to other towns to take the test after failing it here the first time.”
Janayah Christoff, also 17, had 13 professional lessons before also failing her first test.
She said that while the driving lessons helped with technical advice about “head checks” and other subtle hints, it was still a tough task to pass first go.
“A couple of my friends went to Tumut so they could get it first go,” she said.
The Advertiser asked several driving instructors about the testing in Wagga and while most denied it was any different to other registries in NSW, one was openly critical of the technicalities people were regularly failed on.
“I’ve just had two of the most competent learners fail the test for the most ridiculous reasons,” the instructor said.
“You turn yourself inside out teaching and they turn themselves inside out learning but sometimes it seems like the better they drive the less chance they’ve got of passing the test.” The instructor also said it was “common knowledge” that it was easier to pass in Narrandera and Leeton.
But if testing is less robust in one place than another, it’s only because of uncontrollable factors according to a spokeswoman for the RTA.
“While considerable effort is made to achieve test uniformity, some variation in delivery and outcomes will always exist,” she said.
“For example, two metropolitan test locations within kilometres of each other may have different traffic conditions or customer bases.”
