Teen Fails Driving Test Without Even Driving Because Car Was Too Dirty

A driving examiner allegedly flunked a teenager at her driving test even before she had a chance to take the wheel. The teenager’s father claims this was because the examiner found the car, which belonged to her instructor, too dirty.

The father, Paul Turner, said his 17-year-old daughter had been waiting months to take the test but is now left “distraught” by the entire ordeal. He also said she hasn’t sat in the driver’s seat ever since the examiner at the Blackpool Test Centre in the U.K. failed her for something that had nothing to do with driving, according to Yahoo News UK.

“It was the instructor's car and it was spotless apart from a few tiny bits of rubber from when the instructor had rubbed something out of his diary,” said the father, as quoted by the outlet. "The filings weren't on the seat or anywhere where the examiner would be sitting. It wasn't like there were crisp packets and empty tins everywhere.”

Turner said the examiner refused to get inside the car, so his daughter’s instructor stepped in and asked for a second opinion. However, the examiner paid no heed, the father said.

“It's ridiculous. They spent about 10 minutes trying to discuss it and sort it out, but got nowhere,” the publication quoted the father saying. "So she's failed without even driving the car, and there's no way of getting the money back. She was distraught, in floods of tears."

The father also spoke about how individuals, hoping to get a license, have to stay on a waiting list for four to five months before taking a practical driving test. “I can't see a reason why he couldn't get into the car,” the father reportedly said. "At the end of the day, these people are civil servants and they need to be accountable. There's such a backlog of people wanting to take their test, and this is making it worse."

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) provided a statement to LADbible and said having cars cleaned was part of the protocols put in place due to the pandemic.

“DVSA’s priority is to protect our customers and staff and stop the spread of COVID-19,” the statement said. "Guidance has been issued that cars used on driving tests must be cleaned before the test to lessen the chance of infection. Driving tests will not go ahead if this has not been followed to ensure public safety.”