A learner of motor vehicles, after he/she has completed the whole series of driving lessons in a driving school, the learner must undergo a preliminary driving test held by the driving school called QTI tests.
QTI is a short form for the words, ” Quality Test Instructor”. Put simply, the QTI testers are also known as, “the quality controllers” for their driving schools.
Under one of the Malaysia Road Transport Department(JPJ) set rules, the learners must pass the QTI tests first from their driving school before they are eligible to register for a place for an official JPJ driving test.
Which class of motor vehicle required the learners to sit for QTI TESTS?
The learners for the following classes of motor vehicles need to take the QTI driving tests:
(I) The motorbike (B, B2, and A)
(ii) The motorcar(D, DA and A1)
(iii) The truck(E)
But, for this topic, I would emphasize only the QTI for motorcars, otherwise the subject will be too wide to be discussed in this short article.
There are three types of driving licenses under the class of motorcar as shown below:
(A) The motorcar with manual gear transmission(D)
(B) The motorcar with automatic gear transmission (DA)
(c) The modified motorcar for the disable person(A1)
WHO ARE THE QTI INSTRUCTORS?
The QTI instructors are those who had been trained by the JPJ officers in an academy.
At the end of the training lessons, they have to pass the QTI Qualification Tests before they are certified as QTI testers for their driving institute.
THE SM4 form
The SM4 is a record of the learner’s training lessons at the driving school.
The form is one of the documents needed for the QTI tester to scrutinize first to make sure everything is in order before he/she can continue carry on the practical driving tests.
The SM4 forms are divided into five sessions of lessons from the Driver’s Education Curriculum training program and they are listed as follows:
(1) Student’s particulars.
(2)The Theoretical course (KPP1)
(3) The Practical training on the circuit(KPP2)
(4)The Practical training on the road(KPP3)
and
(5) The QTI tests.
Even though, the duty of a QTI tester starts only from the section of no.5 in the SM4 form.
However, the tester has the responsibility to scrutinize the learner’s SM4 and if he/she finds that there is a wrong description in the learner’s SM4, the QTI tester has the right not to proceed with the tests and the learner will have to be referred back to the office’s administrators for the necessary rectification and a new appointment has to make for another QTI test.
THE STUDENT’S PARTICULARS
During the QTI tests, the learners must bring along their original identity card/passport and also the Learner Driving License to facilitate the QTI tester to double-check the correct details on their SM4 forms.
THEORETICAL COURSE (KPP1)
The driving school must print out a copy of the learner’s JPJL2A Letter and enclose it together with the SM4 form as proof of attendance for the six-hour Theoretical course on Driving Safety.
Practical training on the circuit(KPP2)
The QTI tester must make sure the candidate has at least a record of five-and-the-half-hour of practical training on the circuit under the coaching of a licensed driving instructor.
The student and the instructor both were obliged to put down their signatures into the SM4 FORM to indicate the date, time, and the vehicle used during the driving lessons.
PRACTICAL TRAINING ON THE ROAD(KPP3)
A learner must have a record of at least ten-hour practical driving lessons on the road.
Just like KPP2, both the instructor and the student must countersigned into the KPP3 column of the SM4 on the dates, the times, and the vehicle used during the lessons.
The above information provided in the SM4 must be in order before the QTI testers will proceed to the main duty of conducting the practical driving test on both the circuit and the road.
QTI DRIVING TEST
The duration of the driving tests must not be less than thirty(30) minutes.
The QTI tester uses two difference types of Assessment Driving Tests for the test on the circuit and on the road and they are divided into two test sessions as follows:
(I) Part II- for the testing of the candidates’ proficiency in handling the vehicle and their ability to maneuver the motorcar through the prescribed elements on the circuit.
(II) Part III-for the testing of the candidates of their proficiency to identify and overcome hazards, maintain a suitable speed, and display competency in handling the vehicle on the road.
The assessment forms consist of a list of the traffic rules and regulations they must observe during the driving tests. These test rules fall under two categories as shown below:
(1)The mandatory offenses (fail-on-spot). A candidate who committed a mandatory offense should be automatically declared failed by the tester for the entire driving test, therefore, he/she needs to make a new application for the next QTI test.
(2) Demerit offenses – a mark awarded against the candidate for an offense related to the wrong driving techniques during the tests.
However, if a candidate repeats committed demerit offenses during the test and as a result, he/she cannot reach the minimum passing marks, the tester should also declare
they have failed the driving tests too.
Normally, during the QTI driving tests conducted in the driving school, the testers will give leeway and leniency to the candidates and it is not difficult to pass these driving tests.
The testers will pinpoint the shortcomings of their driving during the test and advise them to take up an extra lesson to brush up on their driving skills in preparation for the official driving tests.
The learner who had passed the QTI driving tests on both the Part II and Part III sections will have their SM4 acknowledged with the QTI tester’s signature.
The SM4 form for the learner is considered complete after he/she passes the QTI tests. The learners can therefore proceed to the driving school to register for a place to sit for an official JPJ driving test.
As for those who failed the QTI tests, they need to go for at least an extra driving lesson before they can register for another QTI test.
As a conclusion in this article, a learner driver after he/she has undergone more than fifteen and a half hours record of practical driving lessons under the coaching of the licensed instructor(s).
There should be no reason they could not even pass the QTI driving tests conducted internally by the driving school.
