Driving schools must learn to manage license candidates who are somewhat confused on the road. And rightly so, 40% of code certificates issued are fraudulent, according to the National Union of Driving License Inspectors, Managers and Administrators, Snica FO. They are obtained by cheating during the exam, sometimes with the complicity of supervisors, when they are not purchased directly online, on social networks.
“A young man told us clearly from the beginning: there you have it, I bought my code test, here is my certificate,” says Nassim Bouzid, driving teacher at ECF Paris 12.
“There really is a total discovery of everything that happens along the way. We have no tools or any right to review the veracity of the code or the validity of the document. So we settle,” laments the teacher.
Fraud has skyrocketed since privatization in 2016
Cheating has reportedly exploded since the privatization of test centers in 2016. Previously supervised by driving license inspectors, the organization of this test was entrusted to eight private operators: La Poste, ObjectifCode , Code’nGo!, Pointcode, Dekra, French Code, Exacode and My Easy Code.
“We would like the highway code test to return to the public domain. We would need around 90 driving license inspectors to be able to carry out all these tests,” estimates Simon Bergue, secretary general of the National Union of Snica Inspectors. FO.
“During this time, inspectors would not attempt to look for actual fake codes,” he adds. According to him, the privatization of the event is responsible for the situation. “We know that when it was the administration that carried out the exam, fraud was almost non-existent,” says Simon Bergue.
80 exam centers closed
Road Safety, which has closed 80 examination centers since 2016, considers the figures presented by the union to be exaggerated, reports France Info. However, fraud has increased in recent years.
Cheating on the highway code exam is a crime punishable by three years in prison, a fine of 45,000 euros and a ban on taking the exam for five years, reminds the ECF driving school network. But in reality, fraudulently obtained diplomas are most often simply canceled.
Privatizing the code test would have made it possible to offer a greater variety of dates and times to take the exam. It led to the creation of 142,000 additional places for candidates, according to government data. broadcast by RMC.
Source: BFM TV
