This is the case of Autoescuelas Carmelo, who blames the lack of personnel in the Island Traffic Office for this measure, which causes serious problems for the driving school workers, who must start preparing the paperwork on the same Friday, since they only have until 1:00 p.m. on Monday to deliver it.
This was stated yesterday by the head of Autoescuelas Carmelo, Carmelo Reyes, who complained about the precarious conditions in which the island's Traffic office finds itself, which does not fulfill the function for which it was created, since instead of facilitating management and service, the shortage of personnel it suffers from causes delays in procedures. "The creation of the Island Traffic Office has not been the solution to the problems that occur in Lanzarote in this matter, quite the contrary, it has aggravated them," declared Reyes, who also assured that those responsible for the Lanzarote driving schools tried to soften the measures and for some time Traffic allowed the documentation to be delivered every Tuesday. "We have returned to the old ways, supposedly because they don't have personnel," explained the head of Autoescuelas Carmelo, for whom this pressure measure "is producing a comparative grievance in which the training centers of the smaller islands are once again harmed." And it is that with this measure the teachers practically do not have time, in various cases, to present the documentation of those students who are considered sufficiently prepared to take the exam.
For the moment, Carmelo Reyes has addressed his formal complaint to the Government Delegation and the Island Traffic Headquarters, from where the documentation of the students to be examined is sent each week, but the head of Autoescuelas Carmelo does not rule out carrying out other actions as a protest against the treatment given from Las Palmas. "I do not rule out bringing the case to the attention of the General Directorate in Madrid," threatened the administrator of this road education school, who believes that the rest of the driving schools "do not open their mouths" for fear that Traffic "will run over them and not approve any of their students."
The Lanzarote Driving Schools Association sees no problem with the measure
For its part, the Lanzarote Driving Schools Association (Asocaelan), which represents 95% of the total number of driving schools on the Island, assured in the words of one of its members, Óscar Pérez, that it is not opposed to the new circular issued by the Traffic Directorate of Las Palmas, because it does not represent a "damage to the students", but in any case it will cause some inconvenience for the employees of the driving schools, who will have to speed up the sending of documentation and work a couple of extra hours on Fridays." In any case, Pérez was understanding of the problems suffered by the Island Traffic Office, although he hopes that they will be resolved soon with the incorporation of three new officials in October, which will surely make management more efficient. "The Island Traffic Office requires a total of 14 workers, and currently has 6 or 7, so it is logical that they cannot cope with all the paperwork. We hope that with the incorporation of these three new members, management can be improved," declared Óscar Pérez, who is also the director of Autoescuelas Volcán.
Examiners' vacations
On the contrary, Óscar Pérez was critical of the situation experienced during the months of August and September, coinciding with the period in which the examiners enjoy their vacations. In this sense, the head of Autoescuelas Volcán reports that the Traffic Directorate of Las Palmas does not hire substitutes for those months, so it decrees a reduction in the quota of students who will be examined from each driving school. This fact, in Pérez's words, is inadmissible, since it is precisely in the months of August and September when there is the greatest demand in driving schools, since young people enjoy their summer vacations during those dates and take the opportunity to obtain a driving license.
Likewise, Pérez denounced the sudden changes in exam calls decreed by the Traffic Directorate of Las Palmas, which causes serious inconveniences for students. In this sense, he reported that a few hours ago Traffic postponed the exam that more than 90 students were supposed to take tomorrow Friday to Tuesday of next week. "There are students who were going to travel this weekend and who will have difficulties taking the exam on Tuesday, and that is not right," concluded Óscar Pérez, who did not rule out starting conversations with the rest of the driving schools on the Island to prevent situations of this type from happening again in the future.
