I can drive in Sweden under my Australian license if I register the details with the local authority. But given the amount of time I will be here, different conditions (read snow) and some variation in rules, I thought it best to get my Swedish driving license. I confirmed I could complete this process in English, but it did not go as smoothly as planned. Below is an anonymized version my letter of complaint to the authorities here in Sweden. I will post the response when it’s received.

 
Vägverket
Röda vägen 1
781 87 Borlänge

Tuesday, 2 September 2008 

To whom it may concern,

I would like to make a formal complaint in regard to both a driving examination I completed and information I was provided about the examination process by Vägsverket. I cannot accept that I was treated fairly and my attempts to understand the situation have been impaired by conflicting information provided by Vägsverket.

Prior to starting my driving education in Sweden I had confirmed through my driving school that I would be able to complete the process in English. Having successfully completed my theory examination and hazardous conditions course in English, and at the direction of my driving school I took my driving test in Karlskrona on Friday, 15 August 2008.

After greeting my examiner in English and getting into the car, I was informed that the examination had to take place in Swedish. My Swedish is rudimentary, and I would not have chosen to spend the 700 SEK required by Vägsverket and 900 SEK required by the driving school had I known of this situation in advance. At least not without the appropriate preparation.

My understanding of what was said was limited to some basic keywords. To further confuse the situation the examiner chatted in Swedish with my driving teacher for the duration of the test about driving and testing. I was not always able to understand what was directed to me, and what was directed to my driving instructor. And then to only understand one word in a two-sentence command and have to act on it can only be described as stressful and confusing. On several occasions I tried to confirm my interpretation of what was said using English, but received no support from the driving examiner.

Finally, to then be told my driving was not sufficiently planned showed a complete disregard for my situation. How one should show planned driving when one does not understand what is being requested of them is no mean feat. The entire process was humiliating, insulting and unprofessional.
I have taken up several of these issues with my driving school. I am happy to acknowledge that my driving was not up to my usual standard, but given the surprise and subsequent stress, confusion and lack of assistance I am not surprised. To say the environment created during the examination allowed a fair assessment of my driving ability is reprehensible.

Following the test I was again told that it is only possible to complete the driving practical exam in Swedish. This fact was again confirmed in a phone call to Vägverket’s customer service, in which I was also informed that learning Swedish was not a difficult undertaking.

I work in a university with many colleagues who do not speak Swedish. On discussing the circumstances of my driving examination with my colleagues I learnt that many of them had successfully completed their driving examination in Sweden in English.

Exasperated, I took this issue up with my driving school who kindly offered to contact Vägsverket on my behalf. Contrary to my experience, the driving school was not only told that all examiners should be able to take the driving exam in English, but they are given support material so that if they do not feel they can adequately explain what is required, then they are able to provide written instructions that can be read by the examinee.

While Vägsverket has a responsibility to ensure the quality of the drivers whom it issues licenses, it also has a responsibility to ensure that a fair and just examination environment is created for all examinees. This was not provided in the case of my exam, for which I have been made to suffer both financially and in elapsed time – as I am not able to resit the exam for a number of weeks. Further I fear that a repeat of this incident is all too likely given the conflicting messages that have been provided by different parts of the Vägsverket throughout this process.

In response to my experience I believe two actions need to be taken:

1. I do not believe I should be made to pay the fee of my re-examination given my unjust treatment.
2. Further, I think it is critical that all of the appropriate customer facing roles in Vägsverket are made aware of the actual language requirements for the testing process to ensure that all examinees are treated equally and fairly.

Holding an Australian driving license, I could have chosen to register my details with the Länsstyrelsen for a fraction of price required by the Swedish driving license programme and still drive on Swedish roads. But given the amount of time I will be spending here I thought it prudent to ensure that I understood the Swedish rules and driving environment to the best of my ability.

Given my experience I am recommending to all temporary visitors to Sweden to only register their details with the Länsstyrelsen, as gaining a Swedish license is expensive, unnecessary and failure to gain it is not necessarily an indication of ones driving ability. I think this is a most unfortunate situation, as Sweden would have safer roads with its long-term temporary residences having a stronger understanding of the Swedish driving environment if they were to complete their Swedish license. I hope Vägsverket is serious about Vision Zero and is able to change its practices to create an environment better able to foster drivers in similar circumstances to my own.

I look forward to your response.

Kind regards

Sebastian