SIGNIFICANT discrepancies in pass rates for driving tests still exist between different test centres, according to figures from the Road Safety Authority (RSA).

Motorists would be well advised to study up on failure rates and pick the centre at which they are most likely to be successful, the figures show. Provisional drivers carrying out their tests in Nenagh, Co Tipperary, had the highest rate of success, with 69% of people passing. But drivers in the south Dublin suburb of Rathgar were the country's worst drivers, if these figures can be trusted, passing tests only 42.5% of the time.

The differential cannot be explained as a statistical aberration, according to AA Roadwatch. Conor Faughnan of AA Roadwatch said: "This phenomenon of wide variation has existed for many years but was supposed to have been eradicated by now by the RSA.

"While there are huge differences from centre to centre, the obvious concern would be that major variations also exist between individual testers. If we had Leaving Cert results coming from different counties showing the same differences, people would be extremely concerned and rightly so as this is supposed to be a standardised state examination."

The RSA said statistical differences like this were impossible to eradicate and existed even when there was no possibility of human error or judgement.

"There is a 9% fluctuation between the pass-fail rates of test centres for the Driver Theory Test. And that is the candidate versus the computer," a spokesman said.

Driving Test Success Rate (asat 15 May 2009)

Athlone 54.5

Ballina 64.1

Birr 56.5

Buncrana 60.1

Carlow 62.5

Ck-on-Shannon 57.4

Castlebar 59.9

Cavan 52.4

Churchtown 59.2

Clifden 60.1

Clonmel 50.4

Cork 61.1

Donegal 59.8

Dundalk 57.0

Dungarvan 56.3

Ennis 60.5

Finglas 54.7

Galway 62.9

Gorey 59.0

Kilkenny 54.9

Killarney 57.8

Kilrush 52.5

Letterkenny 60.7

Limerick 60.4

Longford 58.6

Loughrea 52.5

Mallow 52.9

Monaghan 63.3

Mullingar 51.8

Naas 60.3

Navan 58.1

Nenagh 69.1

Newcastle West 59.9

Portlaoise 60.4

Raheny 57.7

Rathgar 42.5

Roscommon 59.8

Shannon 56.1

Skibbereen 55.4

Sligo 62.5

Tallaght 59.2

Thurles 48.2

Tipperary 45.0

Tralee 54.7

Tuam 56.2

Tullamore 49.8

Waterford 53.7

Wexford 45.8

Wicklow 55.5

Overall 57.2