Crackdown on Prov License Drivers - Will it stick?

It wont' stick because our goverment just caved in:

[broken link removed]

122,000 people on a 2nd provisional license now can drive arround until June 30, 2008.

Once again it has been proven that our goverment does not have the power to stick to what would be right for the country and caved in just because some people complain.

So still people failing their driving test can drive home...
So still people who don't have any real training can make our streets unsafe.

I suspected that this whole rule in the 1st place was only an attempt to get 400,000 + cars from the road to make the traffic appear lighter and with this new cave in I think I was right.
 
I suspected that this whole rule in the 1st place was only an attempt to get 400,000 + cars from the road to make the traffic appear lighter and with this new cave in I think I was right.
What makes you think that there is a one to one relationship between provisional licenses and cars. Not everyone who has a provisional license owns a car. Your number of 400k+ cars is greatly exaggerated.
 
do provisional licence holders driving a moped still have to wear a tabard displaying "L" from 01/12/07? if so, where would one buy it?
 
What makes you think that there is a one to one relationship between provisional licenses and cars. Not everyone who has a provisional license owns a car. Your number of 400k+ cars is greatly exaggerated.

Uh, there I am making a satirical remark and instead of someone making comments on the satirical element, the number is questioned.

Maybe that thought was right after all than.
 
.I suspected that this whole rule in the 1st place was only an attempt to get 400,000 + cars from the road to make the traffic appear lighter and with this new cave in I think I was right.
Erm...Why on earth would they want to take cars from the road?! Would that not result in less revenue from driving offences? And less reason for the other cars to break the law, thus reducing revenue even more?

Gay Burne was nagging in Dempsey's ear and got him to install new legislation. Fair Enough! - However, in the ignorance of Irish politics, he forgot to look at the "Cons" of this legislation and caused pandemonium in one foul swoop!
 
Original Question:
Crackdown on Prov License Drivers - Will it stick?

Answer: No, (and if it does Ireland has just got 400,000 + new criminals/lawbreakers)

Incorrect as has been pointed out on this thread and the media repeatedly this week, it is currently an offence for drivers on any provisional licence other that a second one to drive unaccompanied. The number of drivers affected by this change is approx 120,000 NOT 400,000.
 

Why is it always the minority that takes precendence over the majority? Why should the lives of the 1.6 million licenced motorists by put at risk by the 400,000 unlicenced drivers on our roads?
 
Why is it always the minority that takes precendence over the majority? Why should the lives of the 1.6 million licenced motorists by put at risk by the 400,000 unlicenced drivers on our roads?

That is exactly the point I'm making. The goverment put the problems of a few (122,000) over the wealfare of the many on the road. If these people are a problem as the NRA say they are (and as most of us experience on the street daily), than stick to what you anounce and don't cave in.


That is true but than again, when is the last time a garda has controlled or even enforced this? I suspect that a lot of people just ignore this.

But in general let's face it, our road saftey is bad and in the typical way we do it, we blame everybody else. Even with 26 weeks waiting time people on a 2nd provision license had more than enough opportunity to take the test.

How can 40+% fail the test but than be allowed to drive home in their own car.

How many time does the "L Plate/Baby on board" sticker at the car makes you wonder what kind of parent would drive arround their children on a provision license.

People who can't drive (and those who fail the test obviously can't) should not be allowed on the street!

People who are learning to drive should at all times have a qualified driver with them.

Someone finaly has the vision to address the driving nightmare and soon after the public outcry our "uhh.. trouble... people reacting" goverment caves in as usual.

Even if the change for the 2nd provisional license was short termed, let's face it, a 2nd provisional license is not there for you to drive arround for business etc, it's there so that you can continue learning to drive or because the waiting period was too long.
 
just returned to ireland ,did test,got licence,other half has prov, i do not have two years exp therefore cannot accompany other half until other half passes test.
 
No one can cure the countrys road problems by a sudden change in the law. The learning system in Ireland has been seriously at fault for over 30 years now - was it 1978/79 the amnesty was brought in because the system back then could not cope? How come three decades later we still have not improved a thing? One poster mentioned how would we like to fly with a pilot who had not passed his exams for competency? Of course we would not but then again, we would expect his teachers/school to be of a high standard, meeting certain generally accepted criteria, etc. We would not expect anyone just to be able to teach him to fly. Yet here, there has been no standards of teaching learner drivers, anyone can get a car and go and teach, without ever being inspected or tested themselves, unlike countries abroad. Teaching standards in some schools of motoring are very poor - it took me about 10/12 tries before I finally found one that taught me properly, and instilled the Rules of the Road in his methods. One used to ask me to accelerate to beat the amber light - in total breach of the Rules of the Road. Get the teaching standards right firstly, then make it mandatory for learners to take say 15/20 lessons or reach a safe standard. To say that a learner is a safer driver because someone who passed a test at least two years ago is sitting beside them again to me is a bit weird. If that qualified driver is not well acquainted with the Rules, etc. he could actually hinder rather than help. I got hit by a learner last year with his dad sitting beside him because his dad told him he had plenty of time to pull out at a stop sign. His dad misjudged what his son could do and result? Lovely smash into my car!! Get the groundwork right before hasty legislation can be brought in to make the roads safer. Everyday I meet people who passed tests years ago who don't know what the speed limit in a built up area is, why you don't hog the overtaking lane, etc. etc. We all as drivers, full or provisional, have equal responsibility on the road to respect life
 
"" The rules applying to a new applicant's learner permit will stipulate that:
· The holder must be accompanied by a driver who has had a full licence for at least two years;
· The holder must have the permit for a minimum of 6 months of supervised practice before applying for a test. ""


Anyone shed light on - "a minimum of 6 months of supervised practice"
 
DublinTexas, rmelly etc - care to produce statistics supporting your stance that provisional drivers cause more fatal accidents per head of population than fully licensed drivers?

Without such backup, your comments are just reminding me of the survey which found that almost all drivers thought they were better than the average.

My personal experience is that the majority of provisional drivers take professional tuition before going out on the road, and drive carefully to avoid attracting garda attention and/or an increase in their already hefty insurance premiums.

I will admit that I probably drove more carefully when I was on a provisional.

Glad to see common sense has prevailed in this fiasco - finally.
I hope the testing backlog will be cleared by 30/6/08 and tests will be available on demand by then... but I'll believe it when I see it.

We would all love to have a country where:
- all drivers are fully licensed
- it isn't possible for any cowboy to set up their own driving school
- testing actually focuses on important road skills
- driving under the influence of drink AND DRUGS is eliminated
- death trap roads are improved
- speed limits are set with regard to the condition of the road in question and not to reflect "classifications" or generate revenue (illustration at http://www.irishspeedtraps.com/SpeedLimits.aspx)

Sadly none of these goals will be achieved overnight.
They are a legacy of years of underinvestment and incompetency... and the events of the past few days fail to convince me that the incompetency has been overcome.
 
do provisional licence holders driving a moped still have to wear a tabard displaying "L" from 01/12/07? if so, where would one buy it?
 
New arrivals can get grants for cars if they claim they have been racially abused on public transport. Up to now all they had to do was get a provisional and off they went. Lessons not necessary.

Please post details of the grant scheme for new arrivals. Which public body pays this grant? How much can be paid?
 
Without wanting to seem racist, there certainly is a huge problem where I live. New arrivals can get grants for cars if they claim they have been racially abused on public transport.

This is urban myth! A friend works at the Dept Social and Family Affairs assures me this does not happen.
 
Originally Posted by shesells
Without wanting to seem racist, there certainly is a huge problem where I live. New arrivals can get grants for cars if they claim they have been racially abused on public transport

You would really have to wonder if there is anyone naive enough to believe this claptrap?