In addition to the shambles of Driving Test waiting lists and no formal mandatory Driver Training (or retraining for disqualified Drivers) there is the issue of what to do and how to deal with those Drivers that constantly flaunt the Law and that are responsible for a large proportion of accidents. Mandatory Training for Learner Drivers is common in Europe and Drivers may not sit the Driving Test without Certification from an accredited Driving School.
This is about to see the light of day in Ireland with June 2007 the date on which new Driving Schools will have to be Certified. An examination and monitoring procedure modelled on the U.K. and E.U standards, is being introduced although it had been planned to have this passed into Law five years ago! Once a Driving School is certified it will then be in a position to provide the certification to Learner Drivers that will allow them to proceed to taking a Driving Test.
Allowing an untrained Driver to sit a Driving Test is a waste of everyone's time and a squandering of scarce resources since most of the time the result is negative. As well as this, it clouds the issue to which there should be more emphasis...that of learning essential skills that will get you through a lifetime of Driving.
Driving for Life is the Holy Grail of Driving Instructors and Driving Schools with a conscience, but unfortunately the emphasis on passing the Driving Test in Ireland seems to outweigh this lofty principle most of the time. It is a rare but uplifting experience to hear from a new pupil that it is the Parent that has insisted on Driving Lessons and when this occurs it is possible to teach the newcomer with a chance of creating an excellent safe driver who could save someone else's life one day!
Getting lessons just in order to pass a Driving Test leads to a distinct lack of advanced skills and often gives the candidate a false sense of security after the Driving Test. Advanced skills are taught by a professional Driving School to all beginners but if there are only a couple of weeks to the Driving Test then these Advanced skills tend to be ignored in the pursuit of a Driving Test Pass with not so obvious consequences for the novice driver in the weeks ahead.
Privatisation of speed cameras will be due to commence in Spring 2007 and it is anticipated that a substantial number of these cameras will appear nationwide. As a complete contrast to the ridiculous situation of a case taking several years to come before the Courts once you are snapped on Camera, so to speak, the retribution will be swift and very painful. A large fine and Penalty Points will be winging their way to the unsuspecting Motorist almost immediately. Many loopholes have been exploited by the Legal Profession over the last number of years and lengthy delays have often led to errant motorists getting off the hook. Hopefully this will no longer be the case!
Just commenced in the last month has been the introduction of a private company that is carrying out approximately 40,000 Driving Tests in Ireland over the next year. This will keep the waiting list from growing as it has done for the last three or four years, but will probably not lead to any great reduction in the numbers of candidates on the list, as more and more Drivers take to the road every single day. The privatisation of Driving Tests in Ireland has been a hard fought battle and hopefully will lead to an overall reduction in the waiting time in the future if successful. However the core issue is that of a need to train young Drivers adequately and allow them to sit the Driving Test only when they have reached a certain certifiable standard.
Driving in Ireland will improve as long as all the plans that the Department of Transport are cradling come to fruition and the sooner this takes place the better it will be for everyone who sits behind the wheel. The slaughter that is taking place on the roads every day of the week is unnecessary and avoidable. Human error is responsible for the vast majority of so-called accidents and can be eliminated substantially by excellent Training, Adequate Laws and Sufficient Enforcement.
Driving in Ireland must improve or we will be known as the Generation that sent thousands needlessly to their Deaths rather like the Generals on both sides in the Great War of 1914 -1918. A generation of young men had their lives snuffed out before they had even begun. Let's not go down the same dreadful path!
Robin Piggott is a Driving Instructor in Ireland who brings four decades of experience to his Astral Driving School based in Limerick. His newly refurbed web site can be found at http://www.astraldrivingschool.ie Here you can find a treasure trove of everything for the Learner Driver and also pages for the visitor who is contemplating Touring Ireland by Car. Pick up a free seven part mini course "Passing the Driving Test First Time" and stack the cards in your favour.
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