LEARNER drivers have a better chance of passing their licence test in Portland and Warrnambool than in many other centres across the state.
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Documents obtained under Freedom of Information found that Portland and Ararat topped the state with the highest pass rate for driver licence tests in 2013.
New drivers passed about 93 per cent of tests at the VicRoads customer service centres in each of those cities.
Warrnambool recorded the second highest pass rate in Victoria of 88 per cent.
Sunshine was the least successful place for tests, with almost half of the 10,573 participants failing.
Ararat, Portland, Warrnambool, Cobram, Wangaratta and Colac had the highest driver licence test pass rates in regional Victoria.
In the city and wider metropolitan area, Dromana, Mooroolbark, Sunbury, Frankston, Pakenham, Burwood East and Melton had the highest rates. The data also revealed a greater percentage of people passed their tests in regional Victoria than in metropolitan areas.
Sunshine recorded the greatest number of immediate fails (3997) in Victoria, followed by Oakleigh South (3916) and Werribee (3850).
VicRoads Western Rural area manager David Lavithis said the high pass rate at Portland and Ararat did not mean the test was easy.
“Not necessarily. The testing regime we use is the same wherever we do the tests,” Mr Lavithis said. Far more people sat tests at metropolitan centres each week compared to their rural counterparts, he added.
Mr Lavithis did not believe new drivers travelled to certain centres because they perceived the test to be easier.
“There is no real evidence of people travelling to those locations,” he said.
“The criteria of the test is the same, regardless of where you do the test.”
Mr Lavithis said new migrants applying for their driver’s licence contributed to the higher fail rates in some areas due to language barriers and understanding the road rules.
“In Sunshine the demographic is a lot different,”he said.
“We have a lot of migrants and internationals that don’t have the road safety experience that we require in Australia to be able to get their licence ... so hence the lower pass rates.”
About 65 per cent of new Victorian drivers passed their licence test in 2013, with young drivers aged under 21 passing at a rate of 80 per cent.
?— Ballarat Courier
