Hundreds more learner drivers could clog the roads of Chippenham if plans to shut the Trowbridge test centre go ahead.
The Driving Standards Agency has announced plans to shut the centre in September and redirect all tests to Chippenham at Cavalier Court, Bumpers Farm Industrial Estate.
The news has caused a backlash from driving instructors, pupils and residents who fear the massive influx of learners could clog the town's busiest roads.
North Wiltshire MP James Gray, who took part in a protest outside Chippenham test centre on Friday, said: "If the Trowbridge test centre closes, all the people from the north of the county will come to Chippenham.
"The streets will be clogged up with learner drivers. I have already had complaints from residents in Monkton Park because instructors use the quieter roads there.
Mr Gray said he had heard rumours that the next step would be to close Chippenham test centre and send learners to Swindon.
advertisement
"Why should be people driving for one hour just to start their driving lessons?" he asked.
The Chippenham test centre examines up to eight people a day and this is predicted to more than double if the move goes ahead.
Instructor Roger Brunt said: "The effect could be catastrophic and put a huge strain on Chippenham roads.
"The industrial estate already has very heavy traffic with lorries and vans and this move could cripple the place.
"Not only will this mean an increase in the number of driving tests, but more and more learners will have to drive into Chippenham to practise.
"If the DSA really believes that closing Trowbridge would not cause a problem for candidates, then let it at least go through a formal consultation in line with its own guidelines - that would give both sides a chance to make their case."
People living near the Chippenham test centre have also attacked the decision.
Aaron Sherwell, 55, who lives in Lords Mead, said: "I think this decision is ridiculous and will just cause a traffic nightmare.
"Every day we have learners around our streets.
"I know everyone has to learn somewhere, but the numbers of drivers they are talking about is just plain stupid.
"I am glad that the instructors are making a stand. They have the full support of local people."
A spokesman for the DSA said: "Chippenham driving test centre will easily absorb the demand from Trowbridge without affecting waiting times."
The latest protests follow a rally on April 25 outside the doomed centre in Trowbridge.
Posted by: ahudspith, Chippenham on 4:32pm Wed 14 May 08
Pointless whinging.
If we need to make cost savings by closing Trowbridge then so be it.
Tests will double ... from 8 to 16!!!
Whoo ... 8 extra cars on the road. I take it all back - this could cause chaos.
Pathetic.
Pointless whinging.
If we need to make cost savings by closing Trowbridge then so be it.
Tests will double ... from 8 to 16!!!
Whoo ... 8 extra cars on the road. I take it all back - this could cause chaos.
Posted by: rosco, Chippenham on 5:21pm Wed 14 May 08
[quote][bold]ahudspith[/bold] wrote:
Pointless whinging.
If we need to make cost savings by closing Trowbridge then so be it.
Tests will double ... from 8 to 16!!!
Whoo ... 8 extra cars on the road. I take it all back - this could cause chaos.
Pathetic.[/quote] I agree, very low number to worry about. But I would say that it doesn't sound so reasonable to make people have to go to Chippenham from Trowbridge to do their test, especially considering that Trowbridge is where the county hall is!
ahudspith wrote:
Pointless whinging.
If we need to make cost savings by closing Trowbridge then so be it.
Tests will double ... from 8 to 16!!!
Whoo ... 8 extra cars on the road. I take it all back - this could cause chaos.
Pathetic.
I agree, very low number to worry about. But I would say that it doesn't sound so reasonable to make people have to go to Chippenham from Trowbridge to do their test, especially considering that Trowbridge is where the county hall is!
Posted by: tghewett, Chippenham on 9:32pm Wed 14 May 08
Drivers on Bumpers Farm need to get used to going a bit more slowly and being much less single-minded, so a few L-drivers doing three-point turns might just do the job.
Drivers on Bumpers Farm need to get used to going a bit more slowly and being much less single-minded, so a few L-drivers doing three-point turns might just do the job.
Posted by: blonde with brains, Chippenham on 1:30pm Thu 15 May 08
[quote][bold]ahudspith[/bold] wrote:
Pointless whinging. If we need to make cost savings by closing Trowbridge then so be it. Tests will double ... from 8 to 16!!! Whoo ... 8 extra cars on the road. I take it all back - this could cause chaos. Pathetic.[/quote] i can see your point of view. however thats 8 extra cars for tests only. Think of all the learn drivers on lesson will have to come to chippenham to practice. Also it won't just be trowbridge it will be all the surrounding areas that use trowbridge.
ahudspith wrote:
Pointless whinging. If we need to make cost savings by closing Trowbridge then so be it. Tests will double ... from 8 to 16!!! Whoo ... 8 extra cars on the road. I take it all back - this could cause chaos. Pathetic.
i can see your point of view. however thats 8 extra cars for tests only. Think of all the learn drivers on lesson will have to come to chippenham to practice. Also it won't just be trowbridge it will be all the surrounding areas that use trowbridge.
Posted by: TonyJanson, Chippenham on 10:12pm Thu 15 May 08
[quote][bold]blonde with brains[/bold] wrote:
[quote][bold]ahudspith[/bold] wrote: Pointless whinging. If we need to make cost savings by closing Trowbridge then so be it. Tests will double ... from 8 to 16!!! Whoo ... 8 extra cars on the road. I take it all back - this could cause chaos. Pathetic.[/quote] i can see your point of view. however thats 8 extra cars for tests only. Think of all the learn drivers on lesson will have to come to chippenham to practice. Also it won't just be trowbridge it will be all the surrounding areas that use trowbridge. [/quote] BLONDIE: Anyone having to be tested in a "strange" town will need several lessons just before test day to learn the roads. Half an hour is normal for a qualified driver to drive from Trowbridge to Chippenham so a pupil will have to pay a driving school for two hours instead of one !
blonde with brains wrote:
ahudspith wrote: Pointless whinging. If we need to make cost savings by closing Trowbridge then so be it. Tests will double ... from 8 to 16!!! Whoo ... 8 extra cars on the road. I take it all back - this could cause chaos. Pathetic.
i can see your point of view. however thats 8 extra cars for tests only. Think of all the learn drivers on lesson will have to come to chippenham to practice. Also it won't just be trowbridge it will be all the surrounding areas that use trowbridge.
BLONDIE: Anyone having to be tested in a "strange" town will need several lessons just before test day to learn the roads. Half an hour is normal for a qualified driver to drive from Trowbridge to Chippenham so a pupil will have to pay a driving school for two hours instead of one !
Posted by: Loquax, Chippenham on 8:35am Fri 16 May 08
[quote][bold]TonyJanson[/bold] wrote:
[quote][bold]blonde with brains[/bold] wrote: [quote][bold]ahudspith[/bold] wrote: Pointless whinging. If we need to make cost savings by closing Trowbridge then so be it. Tests will double ... from 8 to 16!!! Whoo ... 8 extra cars on the road. I take it all back - this could cause chaos. Pathetic.[/quote] i can see your point of view. however thats 8 extra cars for tests only. Think of all the learn drivers on lesson will have to come to chippenham to practice. Also it won't just be trowbridge it will be all the surrounding areas that use trowbridge. [/quote] BLONDIE: Anyone having to be tested in a "strange" town will need several lessons just before test day to learn the roads. Half an hour is normal for a qualified driver to drive from Trowbridge to Chippenham so a pupil will have to pay a driving school for two hours instead of one ! [/quote] If you can drive, you can drive, whether it be a 'strange' town or one you are familiar with. You are either a competent driver and will pass your test, or you are not?
TonyJanson wrote:
blonde with brains wrote:
ahudspith wrote: Pointless whinging. If we need to make cost savings by closing Trowbridge then so be it. Tests will double ... from 8 to 16!!! Whoo ... 8 extra cars on the road. I take it all back - this could cause chaos. Pathetic.
i can see your point of view. however thats 8 extra cars for tests only. Think of all the learn drivers on lesson will have to come to chippenham to practice. Also it won't just be trowbridge it will be all the surrounding areas that use trowbridge.
BLONDIE: Anyone having to be tested in a "strange" town will need several lessons just before test day to learn the roads. Half an hour is normal for a qualified driver to drive from Trowbridge to Chippenham so a pupil will have to pay a driving school for two hours instead of one !
If you can drive, you can drive, whether it be a 'strange' town or one you are familiar with. You are either a competent driver and will pass your test, or you are not?
Posted by: shamrock, Staverton on 8:31am Sun 25 May 08
[quote][bold]Loquax[/bold] wrote:
[quote][bold]TonyJanson[/bold] wrote: [quote][bold]blonde with brains[/bold] wrote: [quote][bold]ahudspith[/bold] wrote: Pointless whinging. If we need to make cost savings by closing Trowbridge then so be it. Tests will double ... from 8 to 16!!! Whoo ... 8 extra cars on the road. I take it all back - this could cause chaos. Pathetic.[/quote] i can see your point of view. however thats 8 extra cars for tests only. Think of all the learn drivers on lesson will have to come to chippenham to practice. Also it won't just be trowbridge it will be all the surrounding areas that use trowbridge. [/quote] BLONDIE: Anyone having to be tested in a "strange" town will need several lessons just before test day to learn the roads. Half an hour is normal for a qualified driver to drive from Trowbridge to Chippenham so a pupil will have to pay a driving school for two hours instead of one ! [/quote] If you can drive, you can drive, whether it be a 'strange' town or one you are familiar with. You are either a competent driver and will pass your test, or you are not?[/quote] Chippenham Test Centre will actually be able to take (at least) 8 cars per test and there are 8 test times per day. This is double the number of cars per test than there can be now so there will be on average 32 additional driving test cars on Chippenham roads per day. In addition to this, taking into account that there are 8000 tests per annum at Trowbridge (double the Chippenham number) and most of these will move to Chippenham as a very rough guestimate I reckon there could be around an additional 25 driving school cars around Chippenham (especially A350, Shaldon Rd, Bridge Centre Roundabout, Monkton Park, Fowlswick, Corsham) at any one time. So that's around an additional 30 learner cars driving around the above mentioned areas in Chippenham at any one time. Please remember that these instructors and pupils also want to stay in and around Trowbridge (so were all on the same side!).
Loquax wrote:
TonyJanson wrote:
blonde with brains wrote:
ahudspith wrote: Pointless whinging. If we need to make cost savings by closing Trowbridge then so be it. Tests will double ... from 8 to 16!!! Whoo ... 8 extra cars on the road. I take it all back - this could cause chaos. Pathetic.
i can see your point of view. however thats 8 extra cars for tests only. Think of all the learn drivers on lesson will have to come to chippenham to practice. Also it won't just be trowbridge it will be all the surrounding areas that use trowbridge.
BLONDIE: Anyone having to be tested in a "strange" town will need several lessons just before test day to learn the roads. Half an hour is normal for a qualified driver to drive from Trowbridge to Chippenham so a pupil will have to pay a driving school for two hours instead of one !
If you can drive, you can drive, whether it be a 'strange' town or one you are familiar with. You are either a competent driver and will pass your test, or you are not?
Chippenham Test Centre will actually be able to take (at least) 8 cars per test and there are 8 test times per day. This is double the number of cars per test than there can be now so there will be on average 32 additional driving test cars on Chippenham roads per day. In addition to this, taking into account that there are 8000 tests per annum at Trowbridge (double the Chippenham number) and most of these will move to Chippenham as a very rough guestimate I reckon there could be around an additional 25 driving school cars around Chippenham (especially A350, Shaldon Rd, Bridge Centre Roundabout, Monkton Park, Fowlswick, Corsham) at any one time. So that's around an additional 30 learner cars driving around the above mentioned areas in Chippenham at any one time. Please remember that these instructors and pupils also want to stay in and around Trowbridge (so were all on the same side!).
Posted by: shamrock, Staverton on 8:36am Sun 25 May 08
Forgot to mention in my comment above that I have based my figures on the fact that I envisage most Trowbridge area instructors will bring their pupils up to Chippenham for pre-test familiarisation only (maybe 6-10hrs plus travel time to and from). I agree that test candidates should be able to drive anywhere but each town has its own peculiarities and when you add test day nerves to this even the DSA Chief Executive has acknowledged in writing that test candidates need some pre-test familiarisation lessons.
Forgot to mention in my comment above that I have based my figures on the fact that I envisage most Trowbridge area instructors will bring their pupils up to Chippenham for pre-test familiarisation only (maybe 6-10hrs plus travel time to and from). I agree that test candidates should be able to drive anywhere but each town has its own peculiarities and when you add test day nerves to this even the DSA Chief Executive has acknowledged in writing that test candidates need some pre-test familiarisation lessons.
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
Print
Email this
Comment
