Re: Learner Drivers

Learner Drivers

The learning process is shockingly bad here. We had American friends of ours over last year (longer?) when the lists for the driving test were newsworthy. They couldn't get over the fact that you could drive to your test yourself, fail and then still drive home afterwards!

The learning process (and testing) here is far too preoccupied with the mechanics of operating the car alone to the detriment of the actual driving experience; traffic, pedestrains, weather conditions, type of car, road conditions, looking ahead, appropriate speed etc. etc.
 
Saw a "Baby on Board" sticker this morning together with an L plate.

What a joke.

Whatever about learner drivers driving on their own how can it be legal to let an unqualified driver take children/babies as passengers? Is that not putting the life of children in danger?


Edit - and yes, it was a learner driver, not someone just 'driving the car' which was normally used by an L driver, she could not have been qualifed that was obvious enough.
 
Saw a "Baby on Board" sticker this morning together with an L plate.




Edit - and yes, it was a learner driver, not someone just 'driving the car' which was normally used by an L driver, she could not have been qualifed that was obvious enough.


You only saw the L plate, the driver and the baby on board sign, but you didn't see a baby? Could she be learning to drive in, say her sisters car, who happens to have a baby?
 
You only saw the L plate, the driver and the baby on board sign, but you didn't see a baby? Could she be learning to drive in, say her sisters car, who happens to have a baby?

why do people always try to find the most unlikely option? Do you drive Joe? If you do with any frequency, you will know that there are plenty of L drivers around driving their kids to schools / creches /shops etc. They mightn't all have a "baby on board" sticker but generally do have the baby.

Unless of course they are all qualifed drivers bringing their kids to school in their learner sisters car. Hmmm.
 
why do people always try to find the most unlikely option? Do you drive Joe? If you do with any frequency, you will know that there are plenty of L drivers around driving their kids to schools / creches /shops etc. They mightn't all have a "baby on board" sticker but generally do have the baby.

Unless of course they are all qualifed drivers bringing their kids to school in their learner sisters car. Hmmm.

Yes, I do drive, every day. I do know that there are pleanty of L drivers driving their kids about.

My query was, "did you see a baby"?
 
Yes, I do drive, every day. I do know that there are pleanty of L drivers driving their kids about.

My query was, "did you see a baby"?


No, I didn't look in the window to check. I'm sure you will agree it was a distinct possibility given that you yourself have seen plenty of learner drivers driving their kids about. That was the point I was trying to make.
 
No, I didn't look in the window to check. I'm sure you will agree it was a distinct possibility given that you yourself have seen plenty of learner drivers driving their kids about. That was the point I was trying to make.

Of course it is a possibility. I know learner drivers, who have kids, and I know that the only way of getting them to school, is for the learner parent to drive them. One such person that I am thinking of is a man in his mid 30's.
 
I'm not sure exactly what you are asking here. I did no other driving at the time; until I passed the Test I had only ever driven with an Instructor.
Presuming that you weren't able to drive before the lesson's you must be one hell of a driver, 25 hours driving with instructor no practice driving and passed your test first go.
 
Presuming that you weren't able to drive before the lesson's you must be one hell of a driver, 25 hours driving with instructor no practice driving and passed your test first go.

I did the exact same as MichaelM. I had never driven a car before, did lessons with an instructor, didnt do any extra practise on a non-instructor car, and passed the test first go.
I think its the best way to learn, since you never have the chance to pick up bad habits, and I learnt the correct way to parallel park, be aware of surrounding, lane control etc.
 
Presuming that you weren't able to drive before the lesson's you must be one hell of a driver, 25 hours driving with instructor no practice driving and passed your test first go.
I didn't actually pass first go. I did a test after 20 lessons but failed due to being too casual on the hill start (no way was it a hill :)); in hindsight I'm glad that I didn't pass first time. Anyway, I did another five lessons before my second test and passed no problem.
 
parents don't seem to care - they actually buy young Johnny a car for his 18th

I bought my daughter a car for her 18th birthday....I really don't see how that therefore means I don't care?
 
We are all screaming for more Gardai on the roads "This will stop the carnage"..... As said by others the 17 - 20 year old boys (and girls lately....yes they speed too they are not bloody angels and i really think we will be having this discussion about girls in the next year or so) are nutters on the road, the other day I was driving on the M7 I overtook a car and pulled back into the driving lane and as I did a young male driver pulled in behind me and undertook me in the hard shoulder we exited the motorway at the same junction and the abuse this muppet gave me was unreal (and this is now in the hands of the Gardai). Anway back to my point, the Gardai need to stop "shooting fish in a barrell" and redeploy to the "back roads" where the majority of this lunactic driving occurs we need to report these drivers for crazy driving we also need to tell the parents of children of these young drivers (somebody who knows these kids must know the parents as well) ok I know that it may open a can of worms with the parents but at the end of the day if it saves a life who cares, we see everyday of the week in the government is doing nothing about this major problem in Ireland, I'm sorry folks but it's not only up to the Government it's up to us it's typical of we irish to pass the bloody book. It's time we did something about this ourselves not stop passing the book... To suggest that we put speed limiters on cars is ok but you have to allow how may trucks have speed limiters and are able to drive over their allowed speed (it's easy to bypass thses units and you know if it can be done it will be done) yes the R plates are a good idea although the idea of the driving test needs to be updated."oh yeah I can do a hill start and a three point turn so I can drive on a motorway". Ithink what has been forgotten here is that our roads have changed so much in the last 10 years or so and nothing has changed with regard to testing and disipline with the people on our roads both young and old, how many mature drivers in the country drive within the speed limit? ( they all do!! yeah right!!!) we need to look at ourselves first folks before we start to blame the laws and government..............
 
I still find it ludicrous that there is a flat ban on learner drivers on the motorways. There should be a requirement to do a minimum number of hours motorway driving with an instructor. Motorway driving is an acquired skill, and is very different from driving on regular town roads.
 
I still find it ludicrous that there is a flat ban on learner drivers on the motorways. There should be a requirement to do a minimum number of hours motorway driving with an instructor. Motorway driving is an acquired skill, and is very different from driving on regular town roads.

Yeah I would agree with that. I just passed my driving test the other day and now I'm free to go on the motorway. I just think that it's funny that I was banned from using the motorway on the way to the test and then I could have used it back home without ever having any practice with a more experienced driver.

Instructors should be able to take learners out on the motorway and it should be included in the test. While they're at it they could drop the reversing around corners section.

I decided not to be reckless and took the longer way home.
 
As for doing a minimum number of hours motorway driving with instructor... Would driving from the Tallaght ramp onto the M50 upto the Lucan exit during rush hour (well actually any time bar night) count as your 2 hours? Ok you would only have done 4/5 miles but you would have your hours up. I have driven on major roads in most of the major western world countries barring Japan and I haven't come across the propensity to hog the overtaking lane as much as is done in this country. Actually in Australia and NZ they have the following signs "Keep Left unless overtaking" along dual carriageways. Did anybody ever think about putting them up around here????
 
I saw at the weekend that the N7 eastbound (or is it Northbound?) had a similar sign up. Ignored by many I have to add.
 
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