DSA national and local policy to avoid nuisance to residents on residential roads and test routes
Published 15 May 2014
Applies to England, Scotland and Wales
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This is Freedom of Information request ia0036913.
Request
What is the DSA national and local policy on steps that should be taken to avoid nuisance to residents of those residential roads included in driving test routes.
Response
Information about steps that should be taken to minimise nuisance and inconvenience to residents is published at section 12.05 of DSA standard operating procedures for conducting of tests (DT1). This information is therefore exempt from release under section 21 (information accessible to the applicant by other means) of FoIA. A copy of this exemption in full is attached at Annex A.
Request
What is the DSA national and local policy on the maximum duration a residential road may be included in driving test routes.
Response
This information is not held as DSA does not have a specific policy or any recorded information about the maximum duration a road will appear on a test route.
Request
How long has Ennerdale Rd, Reading, Berks (RG2 7HH) been included in driving test routes.
Response
In how many driving test routes is Ennerdale Rd included. I can neither confirm nor deny if information is held as to whether Ennerdale Road forms part of current test routes used at Reading Driving Test Centre. We are exempt from providing this confirmation under section 36(3) of the FoIA. If any information was held, it would be exempt from release under section 36(2)(c) as it would prejudice the operational efficiency in delivering of driving tests. These are qualified exemptions which are subject to the public interest test as to whether the balance lies in favour of withholding or disclosing the information and whether it is in the public interest to confirm if information is held. We have concluded, applying a presumption in favour of disclosure, and in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining these exemptions outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.
Alternatively, the information you have requested may fall under the Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs). If this is the case, we are withholding it from release under regulation 12(5)(a) (adverse impact on public safety) and are not required to confirm if information is held under regulation 12(6). These are qualified exceptions which require us to conduct public interest tests to establish whether it is in the public interest to disclose or withhold the information requested and whether it is in the public interest to confirm if information is held. We have concluded, applying a presumption in favour of disclosure, and in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exceptions outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. This is because its release will jeopardise the delivery of the independent driving test and also adversely affect public safety.
Please find at Annex B, a copy of the FOI section 36 exemption and EIR regulation 12 exception in full. Both the FOI exemption and EIR exception have similar arguments so these have been combined into one public interest test which shows the factors for and against disclosure. Attached at Annex C is a copy of the test conducted to establish whether we should confirm or neither confirm nor deny if information is held.
Request
Is there a specified number of tests that each local Test centre (and specifically Reading) must complete every day? If so, how many.
Response
No. The number of tests delivered at a test centre is governed by the local demand. Any driving examiner may carry out up to seven tests per day and the number of tests conducted from each test centre will depend on the number of examiners based there. Reading is one of our busiest test centres, conducting an average of 56 tests per day.
Request
What criteria are applied in selecting residential roads for inclusion in driving test routes, and what constraints are applied in limiting nuisance to residents caused by inclusion of those residents roads.
Response
Guidance issued to test centre managers about test routes is published at sections 7.29 and 12.05 of DT1. As stated in the first response, this information is published and is therefore exempt from release under section 21 of FoIA.
Additional internal guidance states that:
When should test routes be reviewed?
Test routes should be reviewed and, if necessary, updated on an annual basis. Test routes should also be reviewed if there are any road works, diversions or if there has been a complaint resulting in a test route being changed. If examiners bring a potentially short route to the attention of the TCM, an amendment should be considered, and where this is not subsequently applied, an explanation provided. All test routes should be laid out by the TCM and approved by the SM.
If diversions or road works are only for a short period of time, unless this directly affects many test routes, it may not be necessary to update them all. If any road works are long term the affected test routes should be amended and submitted and saved in a temporary folder.
and:
Routes are devised in such a way that test requirements are adhered to, the length of test is such that there is only a certain distance that can be travelled before returning to the test centre – residential roads will be included to ensure the candidate on test can adhere to conditions relevant to these roads
Request
What is DSA policy on keeping records of how long residential roads are included in driving test routes.
Response
DSA does not have a policy about how long residential roads are included on test routes. We have to try and ensure that each test route meets the requirement of the modern day test, and so long as the route and the roads within them do, we are likely to keep that route.
Request
When were the driving test routes used by the local Reading test centre last revised.
Response
The test routes used at Reading test centre were comprehensively revised with the introduction of independent driving in October 2010. However, test routes are constantly reviewed to take into account any changes which may affect the ability to conduct the test. The most recent change took place on 8 July 2013 due to road works on a test route.