Transport Select Committee chairwoman Gwyneth Dunwoody says she has serious concerns about outsourcing VOSA's activities after worrying evidence from the bus sector on the effects of allowing private firms to test drivers.
But the Driving Standards Agency in its recent consultation responses document has rejected concerns about falling driving standards if freight operators could conduct truck driving tests.
Dunwoody tells Motor Transport she is worried about the 11% pass rate differential between the testing of bus drivers carried out by examiners attached to private firms and by DSA examiners. "I am personally very concerned about this example," she says.
Her comments come after the all-party committee expressed serious reservations about the possible privatisation of VOSA's responsibilities such as 
truck tests and enforcement in last week's damning report on the DfT.
The report also highlights safety concerns about the number of foreign-registered trucks on UK roads involved in collisions. Using casualty statistics revealed by the DfT for the first time, the committee pointed out that 40% of trucks involved in collisions are foreign-registered, but they make up just 3% of the trucks on the road. "This is something that has been raised by the Committee time and time again," says Dunwoody.
A DfT spokesman says: "VOSA is undertaking a detailed feasibility study into private sector involvement in the provision of its services which aims to establish whether or not outsourcing would deliver better value for money, improve customer services, lighten the regulatory burden and deliver wider government objectives."