Almost 90 per cent of young men consider themselves "good" or "very good" drivers even though 62 per cent say they drive "fast", according to a survey. Patrick Logue reports.
The RAC survey of 1,525 young drivers also shows that 25 per cent admit their driving is "aggressive". Of those questioned, 73 per cent said their driving was "controlled", 64 per cent said they were "confident", 54 per cent said they were "safe", 28 per cent "considerate" and 21 per cent "patient".
But, while a significant 86 per cent of those surveyed said they were "good" or "very good" drivers, 62 per cent said they drove "fast", 38 per cent said their driving was "risky" or "exhilarating", 11 per cent said their driving was "dangerous" or "aggressive" and 25 per cent said their driving was "aggressive". Only 2 per cent said they were "slow" drivers.
The survey was conducted in Britain among 1,525 respondents, 85 per cent of whom were under the age of 25. Of these 86 per cent held a full driving licence, 59 per cent of those for less than two years.
Robert Taylor, managing director of RAC Ireland, said that although the survey was carried out in Britain it was "safe to assume that the same mindset exists among young drivers in Ireland".
"Remember, our shambolic licensing system allows drivers on the road with no experience or training of any kind," he said.
The Government is planning to introduce a Driver Testing Standards Agency (DTSA) before the end of the year, which will tackle the wait of up to 66 weeks for a driving test. It will also overhaul the current system of testing drivers, set standards for driving instructors and take on a broad brief to monitor general driving standards in the State.
The number of people dying on the State's roads continues to rise, with 212 fatalities since the start of the year. This represents an 11 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.
The Department of Transport said earlier this month the Government's Road Safety Strategy for 2004 to 2006 - which will include the DTSA - is ready for publication in English, but cannot be released because the Irish version has not yet been completed.
The strategy will attempt to reduce road deaths by 25 per cent. It will see the introduction of random preliminary breath testing for drink driving, a new speed limit structure, a network of speed cameras to be operated by the private sector, the rollout of the full system of penalty points and the establishment of a dedicated traffic corps.