Mother fails her driving test - for splashing man at bus stop

But for one learner driver they have become a particular problem  -  after an examiner failed her for accidentally splashing a pedestrian.

Michelle Kelly, 31, was told the incident was technically a crash, and that she should have stopped and exchanged details with the man.

Furious: Michelle Kelly said the examiner's decision was 'ludicrous'

Last night she called the examiner's decision ' ludicrous'. Officials have promised to carry out an investigation into the incident.

Miss Kelly said: 'It was a small kerbside puddle. I didn't see it but I did drive through it because I saw it splash a pedestrian.

'It wasn't a big splash  -  it was only small and I didn't think I had committed a fault so carried on driving and concentrating on my test.

'But when I pulled in at the centre the examiner said he'd failed me.

'He then spoke at length about the splashing and told me it constituted a traffic offence and he was treating it as a road accident. He said that because I had splashed the pedestrian I should have pulled the car over and exchanged details with him.'

She added: 'It was obvious I didn't do it on purpose and I didn't really think that much of it at the time but he said it was a fault.'

Splash-down: Michelle Kelly accidentally splashed a pedestrian waiting at a bus stop (file photo)

The Highway Code does not forbid the splashing of pedestrians but Rule 144 states that you must not 'drive without reasonable consideration for other road users'.

Rule 147 says that drivers must 'be careful of and considerate towards all types of road users'.

Miss Kelly, who works for a funeral director, has failed her test twice before and was desperate to pass it on her third attempt. She was more than half way through the test and felt it was going well when she drove through a small puddle near a bus stop in Blackley, Manchester.

The water splashed the man waiting at the stop but Miss Kelly carried on driving.

The mother of two said: 'It was my third test and I was really confident.

'To fail for something like that really annoyed me. It's ridiculous. Why should you hand over your details? What good would that do?

'It wasn't as though I'd deluged this pedestrian. And if I'd swerved to avoid the puddle I might have caused an accident.'

Miss Kelly, who now faces a bill of around £200 to take the test again, said other learner drivers should be warned against driving through puddles.

'It's a right pain,' she said. 'I'll have to wait until I get paid again. It's nearly £60 for the test, £40 to use the car for the test and I'll have to have more lessons in the meantime.

'I spoke to a firm of driving instructors with over 60 years' experience and they had never heard of it.'

Last night a spokesman for the Driving Standards Agency said that it was investigating what had happened on the test.