Cork man fails his driving test for a 15th time; says he feels “blacklisted”

A CORK man who has failed his driving test 15 times has claimed he is “blacklisted” by testers.

Ray Heffernan, from Mayfield, told Neil Prendeville on Red FM that his latest driving test, taken in Wilton on Monday, saw him fail for faults such as positioning, observation, clearance when overtaking, signals and vehicle control.

Mr Heffernan said he has plans to appeal the decision and added he has been driving for 49 years and has never had a crash or been prosecuted for anything on the road.

He added that he has driven extensively in the UK and is paying €950 for his insurance premium.

Surveying the test document on air, Mr Prendeville counted 37 faults in Mr Heffernan's test.

Mr Heffernan has appeared on the Neil Prendeville show on a few occasions and has taken Mr Prendeville out driving, on which the radio presenter remarked that he felt in no danger with the 67-year-old learner driver.

When asked if his latest tester knew if he was famous Mr Heffernan said: “when my name comes up it's like a red flag going up”.

“I've driven all over London. I've driven from Wales to London, seven hours drive. I went up to Belfast and I've gone across on the ferry to Stranraer and drove in Scotland.” 

In 2015, Mr Heffernan appealed his 14th failed test in court and claimed there was a vendetta against him. The judge refused his application for a re-test.

“You do your test again and again and again and if did my test every day of the week and went out with instructors and things like that, I would still be failed because I am blacklisted,” said Mr Heffernan yesterday.

“I will fail my next test and the test after and the test after,” he added.

Mr Prendeville has pledged to pay for Mr Heffernan's tests until he eventually passes.