How Not to do a U Turn…

The Fascinating World of Driving in Ireland.

Just in the last three weeks an amazing U Turn was executed by the Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey. There was smoke, squealing tyres and not an indicator in sight!

The proposed implementation of the traffic regulation “Accompanied Learner Drivers” was planned to come into force despite it having been Law for years but not enforced.

 I guess that pressure from Europe, which is quite a regular occurrence on this little Green Island, had finally perculated through to the corridors of power and something had to be done to keep Brussels happy.

So it was decided to finally reel in all the Learner Drivers who have been going quietly about their unlawful business for years with not an accompanying driver in sight. Time to call a halt to Learner Drivers swanning around on their own and just give them a week to get themselves organised and all will be well again on the roads and particularly in Brussels.

The fall out was so great and vocal that the hard pressed Minister with R.S.A advisory committee in tow was forced to backtrack and set a new date for Learner  Drivers to get used to the stringent application of a law that is accepted as the norm in most developed countries and certainly in Europe.

All those wishing to drive unaccompanied in the future (that being June 2008) would have to face the unenviable task of finally owning up to their Provisional License status and hire a qualified Driver to ride with them or actually sit and pass a Driving Test!

All very noble stuff this and clearly the need to commence a culture of Learning to Drive with a Qualified Professional  here in Ireland will eventually catch on and then after a further period of time we should see an improvement in Road fatality statistics which are long overdue.

An unfortunate side effect of this shock tactic has been to bring about a flood of Driving Test applications which in turn will make the wait for a Driving Test appointment somewhat longer in the short term. Great strides are being made however in reducing the wait to something approaching an acceptable level and in line with other European countries.

For insider tips to Passing your Driving Test without it taking forever, sign up for our Mini Course before it is taken down .