What is happening in the Wonderful World of Driving Tests?

Since October 2006 extra Driving Tests have been undertaken under contract to the Department of Transport in an effort to reduce the lengthy waiting time for Driving Tests in Ireland. The contract calls for 40,000 Driving Tests to be carried out during a one year period.

There has been talk of this outsourcing of Tests to be extended only time will tell whether or not this is successful and whether is has any real effect on the waiting lists nationwide.

Unfortunately for those Learner Drivers living in areas outside the greater Dublin area and a few locations in the East Coast vicinity, this contract does not provide any relief. However it is a start and providing Learner Drivers don’t leave it to the last moment to take Driving Lessons then there will be a beneficial effect which can then be analysed for the future.

As the population of Ireland grows along with its prosperity, the ability to be able to sit and pass a Driving Test in a reasonable period of time will be essential. For the last couple of years the Year long wait for most candidates has prolonged the agony in several key areas.

The inability to achieve a reasonable rate for Car Insurance because of a Provisional License instead of a full License is a key difficulty for many Learner Drivers.

The long wait for those untrained and unskilled Drivers before they come to the stark realisation that they really are not as good as they thought they were, creates a very dangerous situation on the Roads for all drivers, especially those who are driving on a provisional license.

 It should be possible to identify the problems by sitting and failing a Driving Test sooner rather than later and then maybe the penny will drop and those candidates who fail their Test regularly will take some professional lessons and start the long road to Driving competence.

Currently in Ireland there I absolutely no culture of realisation that Driving is a skill that takes time and effort to acquire. Swanning around in a car with little or no basic skills and no Driving Lessons taken, is a recipe for the continuation of the fatal accident rates which are prevalent in Ireland and a continuation of the lengthy waiting list for a Driving Test.

 Summing up the situation as we move through 2007, this year should be the year that change will take place. A mountain of legislation regarding Learner Driving and other Road regulations is awaiting implementation, including the complete overhaul of the current Provisional Licensing system which has been partially responsible for the current situation.