The latest move by the Government to clamp down on unaccompanied driving by holders of learner permits is unlikely to satisfy road safety advocates, but is welcome nonetheless. It is a further effort to reconcile the yawning gulf between what the law provides and what the State allows in practice.
The law is clear. Learner drivers must always be accompanied by a qualified driver who is over 21 and has held a full licence for more than 2 years. The reality is somewhat different.
Over 10,500 unaccompanied learner drivers received fixed charge notices last year and 6,500 vehicles were seized. The implications for road safety are clear. Of the 14 learner drivers involved in fatal collisions in 2023, 13 were unaccompanied.
The Minister of State with responsibility for Road Safety, Seán Canney, has this week signed legislation that will require a learner driver to sit a driving test after 4 years if they want to renew their permit. This will, in effect, mean that a test is mandatory after your third learner permit.
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The measure is aimed primarily at catching serial offenders who for whatever reason are actively avoiding sitting a test. It is a not insignificant number. Of the nearly one in five learner drivers that have renewed their permit three or more times, almost 60 per cent – 38,000 people – have yet to sit a driving test, according to Canney.
It is important, however, that the new law is paired with measures to address unnecessary obstacles to obtaining a full license. Frustration with the length of the process is a significant cause of unaccompanied driving.
The average wait nationally for a driving test is 10 weeks, but the reality is that in the larger urban areas it is closer to twenty. Significant investment is clearly needed in this area.
Other obstacles to obtaining a licence not directly under Government control can be influenced by policy. They include the availability and cost of driving instruction. The new measure announced this week does not come into effect for another year, which gives the Minister an opportunity to address these other issues.
