Over one-sixth of drivers on Irish roads have not passed their driving test, new figures revealed today.
A total of 2.45 million driving licences were in circulation at the end of 2006, of which 431,900 or 17.6 per cent were provisional licences.
The data is contained in the Bulletin of Vehicle and Driver Statistics, released today by the Department of Transport.
A total of 158,700 driving tests were carried out in 2006 and had an overall pass rate of 52 per cent. Second-time tests had a slighter higher pass rate of 55 per cent.
Overall there were 2,296,393 vehicles on the road, an increase of some 157,713 or 7.37 per cent on 2005. The number of private cars increased by 7 per cent from 1,662,200 in 2005 to 1,778,900 in 2006.
A total of 82,400 imported used vehicles were licensed for the first time in 2006.
The study found 681,800 car tests were carried out by the National Car Testing Service in 2006, with an overall pass rate of 95 per cent.