New Driving Regulations in Ireland
national |
consumer issues |
opinion/analysis 
Saturday September 04, 2010 13:06
by Ceibhfhionn
understaffed gardai to to deal with company car drivers
By april 2011,what the new (or not so new) road user will need before applying for their test is £1,125 euros,and a lot of time on their hands,as they will be expected to undertake 20 lessons,after completing their theory test,which will set them back an extra 50 euros.
Not everybody passes their test on the first round,and the driving testers,sometimes have the wrong attitude and no people skills,and will just fail you for the smallest slight non endangering mistake.
Suggestions have been made in the Dail,in reference to driving rules,by april 2011,anybody who is interested in completing their driving test will have to complete over 20 lessons from a driving instructor or undertake lessons at one of irelands driving schools.The cost of applying for one's driving test is currently 75 Euro,unless that has increased again.The waiting list is ridiculous for most applying,and driving lessons (per lesson) , cost in the reigion of 40 - 50 euro (and you will have to do 20 of them,which will set you back 1,000)respectively,making it difficult for a first time learner,as some learners as we know are quite young and still school going,and of course there are some,not many that have to resit their test again.Everybody has the right to learn,but given the new restrictions,that will make it even more difficult.Another rule in place is the R plate(which means restricted newly qualified driver),which is a more sound rule to have in place.Learners tend to be more aware and careful as it is their first time driving and will be seen as a lot more cautious.
There are a lot of road users,who have passed their driving tests in the 80's and 90's ,who have never had to go through these rigourous structures,and yet still have their licenses,and are driving today?!
Another proposal was give drivers of company cars a fine,for using their company cars outside of company hours,or for other functions,such as picking up the kids from the creche,or going on a countryside trip.How would the gardai (who are curretly understaffed) be able to pull each and every person who is breaking the new rules(of driving their company car) over,how would the gards even know that the person driving their company car is using it outside of hours,while in transit,some of the new rules being discussed,are not well thought through.The gardai should not have thier time wasted,as the gardai are understaffed as it is,and still do not have all their resources freed up.
This is a question that nobody in the Dail has thought about properly..There are other more pressing issues to deal with ,such as real crime taking place on our streets and in our rented homes and apartments.Some of the ideas proposed and put into action made sense,such as having your theory test completed before,being allowed to apply for your driving test,and of course having a quick theory test,before stepping in the car,and being asked questions about where the engine is and how the car works,and what to do in the event of a breakdown.
The drink driving limits for drivers with learner permits and those in their first two years on a full driving licence will be reduced to 20mg/100ml. This legislation has been passed by the Oireachtas and will come into effect in September 2011.
Comments (8 of 8)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8The government couldn't care less about road deaths. Most if not all road deaths are either drink related, speed related or road related or all 3. They refuse a zero alcohol law because their rich friends in the vintners association will object. They haven't done anything about speed limiting tech in cars because the auto industry would no doubt object. They only really spend money on roads when their rich friends can benefit from PPP schemes and tolls or which involve their pals selling land to the state at inflated prices (and who no doubt show their gratitude at some point!!!).
Poor people trying to get on the road so they can have more options to get jobs are just easy meat for a stealth tax.
Fact is, It doesn't matter how good a driver you are if the other guy is pissed, is speeding or if the road is dangerous. No amount of stupidity piled on to the already artificial driving test will change that. It's just bollocks. So is the NCT for that matter. Less than 1% of accidents are a contributed to by mechanical failure.
The drivers in this country are subjected to one money grabbing scam after another, whilst real measures tackling the real issues are sidelined because of lobbying. The most effective measure in ages was random breath testing. Learner drivers are not the problem. They are just scapegoats and lucrative tax targets.
If road deaths mattered, Wouldn't it be better for the community to have FREE testing to encourage more people to apply, rather than raising the barrier. It's not only poor people that cause accidents. Government policies would make you think otherwise.
i couldn't even afford this right now,we are in a recession we are in financial crisis,anymore bright ideas..
I agree that testing should be free but I also agree in a minimum amount of lessons given by professionals. Learner drivers should not be allowed on the roads with L plates. They should take the lessons with an experienced professional who has control of the pedals and steering wheel if need be.
Provisional licenses in Ireland are a joke and should be stopped.
The standards in Irish driving are a joke and clearly Irish drivers dont understand correct methods of driving and how to behave in certain situations. They need to learn properly from professionals and standards in testing need to be raised.
I dont see dangerous driving in the form of excess speed, I see it as utterly shit driving, like not using mirrors, not bothering to use indicators, driving at half the speed limit on a motorway in the right lane, overtaking on a motorway at half the speed limit, truck over taking on a hill when they cant got any faster that what they are over taking, stopping at a roundabout and putting on the handbrake even though there is nothing on the roundabout and nothing about to get on
A lot of the time its people who are half blind, who are afraid of driving and have no consideration for other road users and are utterly incapable of logically managing and analysing spacial matters when it comes to driving which results in very dangerous situations and no consideration for other road users.
These people should never get licences and shouldnt drive cars
There is always an assumption that its drink or speed but quite often it is just stupid muppets who shouldnt be driving on a provisional and who must have bribed the driving test examiner to pass the test that are causing most of the problems
V for vendetta is right our political crooks are constantly looking for ways to make money for themselves and their friends, especially in these hard times. If they were trully interested in the safety of the public they would have driving and road safety as a subject for all school children.
The taxes paid by motorists are put into the political pig trough and very little is spent on our rural roads which were designed for donkey traffic. Millions have been spent on much needed motorways, but it was only to benefit the political friends and benefactors of the government who have made fortunes by overcharging.
The current policy of these cowboys is to penalise the youth in the hope that they will leave Ireland and lower the dole numbers.
In a country with an appalling transport system,to have a chance to obtain employment it is neccessary to drive a car or motorbike.
I agree that testing should be free but I also agree in a minimum amount of lessons given by professionals. Learner drivers should not be allowed on the roads with L plates. They should take the lessons with an experienced professional who has control of the pedals and steering wheel if need be........then how are you going to learn how to steer a wheel,i had an experience with a driving instructor who always hit the pedal at the right moment,when i was about to accelerate,as a result,when i stepped into my car with my dad,i jolted off (and nearly into the footpath as a result),this driving instructor,did nothing for me,he always took control of the car(because he was being too careful with his car,and couldn't be bothered with going through the motions of teaching a young girl how to drive).Needless to say i got my experience elsewhere,and there is no experience like real experience,they should not take away the right for a learner to LEARN.
Learner drivers are careful on the roads,you should see some drivers after they get their car,they are speeding off the roads.
I feel very sorry for new learner drivers,some who are first timers and others who have to re sit them even,as they have to fork out over 4,000 in truth,if you take into consideration most people do not pass their driving test on the first round,and obviously the cost of a car..
"There are a lot of road users,who have passed their driving tests in the 80's and 90's ,who have never had to go through these rigourous structures,and yet still have their licenses,and are driving today?!"
There are a lot of road users,who have got their driving tests in the 1960's or 70's who never did a test at all.
Including the chairperson of the RSA
of course it does not matter if some apply for their driving tests before april 2011 for cars and december 2011 for motorcycles,as if you do not have your provisional for the last 2 years..
What planet are these people on who make up these rules?
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