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 Congratulations to Ben Flood!

Ben Passed his Driving Test in Limerick last night after battling with a Frisky VW Polo TDI and the heatwave!

 Preparation...and lots of it over the last few weeks made the difference.

There is no substitute for in depth preparation on the lead up to the Driving Test!

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The world of Driving, Learning to Drive and Driving Tests continues to create headlines here in Ireland as elsewhere in the world as more and more young people take to the road behind the wheel and never return home!

Why does it take so long and so many deaths and heartache before the slow and laborious process of Government crawls into second gear? After successive weekends of carnage every politician gets on the band wagon giving their own particular slant on the problem and offering easy to implement solutions.

The fact of the matter is that the road Fatality situation is a simple one to bring under control but certainly not easy and certainly not as simple as flicking a switch.

Virtually all serious accidents are the result of the loss of control of the vehicle which stems from a serious deficiency in the skills level of the drivers concerned.

Why is there such a skills deficiency? Simple! No training either basic or ongoing! It’s as simple as that! Why no training? There has been no mandatory requirement for Driver Training up to this point and until there is we will continue to witness a stream of deaths and serious injury on the roads.

The good news is that there is a worldwide concern now for this spiralling problem of death on the road and most countries are waking up to the fact that it not only requires serious commitment to resolve but massive action.

Graded learner driver licensing is high on the agenda of countries in all hemispheres and the results from those countries who have taken action; massive action, are creating quite a stir worldwide; Sweden being one of the foremost. Their fatal accident rate of just 45 deaths last year is a phenomenal achievement and stems from serious driver training and mandatory skid control for Learner Drivers. Losing control of a vehicle is one of the most common causes of accidents and is often the result of just a few miles per hour over the threshold.

We will continue this theme over the coming weeks and explore ways in which learner drivers can reduce the chances of serious accidents without breaking the bank. The newly launched, upgraded Astral Driving School website already has a mountain of information, tips and techniques for Drivers of all ages and comes from the experience of five decades of driving in a professional capacity!