The Driving Test in Ireland... Fact or Fiction? An Instructors View

The Driving Test here in Ireland has assumed epic stature and is now a more popular subject then the latest Harry Potter Movie or Spy Blockbuster.

As with any exam, Written, Oral or Practical the reasons for failure can be attributed to just about any natural or unnatural phenomenon that you can think of.

Anything but the truth!

Myths and horror stories surrounding the Driving Test are the stuff of Legend and grow exponentially with each passing day as new legions (Nay Armies!) of Driving Test candidates exchange their experiences with anyone who will listen.

There is a very willing Audience since one in Ten of the Population in Ireland are Learner Drivers on a provisional license!

Yes... Nearly one in five of those individuals you see behind the driving wheel are Learner Drivers. That is twenty per cent of the total vehicle traffic in Ireland, discounting commercial vehicles.

Why with these numbers there should be a new T.V Channel devoted to the issue wouldn't you agree? Certainly the level of media coverage has been on the increase for the last while perhaps due to the approach of the General Election next year.

Learning the ropes from someone who has been there, done that, whether successfully or not, is a very worthwhile use of your time and could even be entertaining at a pinch. However, and here's the crunch...listening to tales of woe or the usual litany of excuses dished out by most failed candidates will not help you to any great extent. In fact they won't help you at all!

Why? Because there is no short cut to Driving Test Success, although it would appear that the average Learner Driver in Ireland believes that there is.

Let us have a look at some Fiction...

There must be a magical potion that should surely be available over the counter without prescription?

It would contain the following benefits (apart from being easy to swallow!)

(a) An inalienable right to sit behind the wheel.

(b) A complete "get rid of your Driving Instructor and forget Driving Lessons" side effect.

(c) Instructions on how to start and move your car down the road after purchase (essential).

(d) On the dosage instructions there should also be an extensive phrase book with useful and character enhancing quotes to impress all your friends. This would be something on the lines of:-

(e) "All a complete load of baloney "

(f) "A government money making racket."

(g) "A Driving School money making racket"

(h) "Get lessons from your Sister, Brother, next door neighbour and you'll be fine"

(i) "The Driving Tester's are all useless and wouldn't recognise a good driver even if they collided with one"

There is no short cut to Passing the Driving Test in Ireland.

Now for a Selection of the Facts.

(1) While it is a sample of some of the skills needed to survive and stay alive the Driving Test is only the beginning of a Driving Career and the start of the Learning experience.

(2) The Driving Test continues to evolve and with each new addition to the test curriculum it is becoming more difficult to pass.

(3) If it is becoming more difficult to Pass the Driving Test then it follows that more study and preparation, not less, needs to be faced.

(4) Taking the Driving Test before you have learnt not just the basics but more advanced techniques will lead to disappointment...often more times than once.

(5) The number of Candidates just not turning up for the Driving Test has quite an impact on the lengthening of the waiting list for an appointment.

(6) No Shows run at sometimes as much as ten per cent at Driving Test Centres.

(7) The New Test Centres on Ireland's East coast and the couple inland that are hosting the one year, privately contracted Driving Tests will only keep the waiting list from growing longer. This move to a one year privatisation of additional Driving Tests will not achieve the comparable reduction in waiting time for a Test of just a few weeks, as in the U.K.

(8) The growth in numbers of Learner Drivers appearing on the Driving Scene in Ireland, due to demographics and immigration, will make the Test Date reduction times a significant obstacle for the next few years.

(9) The many new pieces of legislation in the wings will have a beneficial effect in time but not overnight. Driving School Accreditation Registration and Monitoring will bring a new dimension to the whole area of Learning to Drive in Ireland as European standards are embraced.

(10) Currently there is no culture of Driving Tuition in Ireland and a vast majority of Learner Drivers take no professional lessons which of course has lead to a skills level that is way below par.

(11) The below par, and below European Standard of a vast majority of Drivers in Ireland has naturally led to one of the worst positions in the accident league table.

(12) Every adult driver and parent in Ireland can play a part in improving the attitude of Beginner Drivers from the moment they put a passenger in their car, whether a child or an adult. There is a need for Parental awareness which is lacking. Parents can influence the behaviour of any child from a very early age

It is obvious, even to the casual observer from any other European country or further distant land that the solution to the poor standard of Driving in Ireland lies in Driver Education that is formally structured, monitored and enforced.

There is a very good chance that any young driver, with the proper tuition and encouragement will turn out to be a competent and safe Driver and having achieved a reasonable level of understanding will sail through the Driving Test in Ireland.

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.

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Protocols Affecting the Driving Test Candidate in Ireland

There are certain protocols to be observed when preparing to sit your Driving Test and a knowledge of these will be important.

A Driving Instructor should know these and pass them on to pupils who may be practising in their own cars.

(1) You don't park or practise parking in the Driving Test Centre car park!

(2) You don't drive past the Test candidates cars when it's obvious that a test is commencing or completing.

(3) You don't practise the Under the Bonnet Technical checks in or near a Test Centre car park. Do these Technical checks with your Driving Instructor well away from the Driving Test Centre itself.

(4) If you have been shown certain favourite spots for specific Driving Test manoeuvres by your Driving Instructor then take very great care not to be practising these techniques at these locations during Test times. We frequently see Learner Drivers camped out at Driving Test manoeuvre locations chatting with friends and generally making a nuisance of them selves

(5) By all means tackle these reversing manoeuvres after hours on Driving Test routes but choose as many as five or six different other locations for perfecting these techniques. Practise at more difficult locations will equip you with the necessary skills to pass the Driving Test providing you DO practise. Doing a manoeuvre two or three times just won't be anything like enough. Twenty or thirty times would be more appropriate!

(6) One of the most valuable aspects or preparing for your Driving Test is to visit the chosen Driving Test Centre on different days of the week and at different times of day. You will then become acquainted with the changing traffic flows and volume and you can get a good idea of what you can expect on your particular Test Day and time.

(7) Do not park in designated Examiner Car spaces when practising.

(8) Reducing the number of surprises that you might face on your Driving Test will give you a substantial edge and stack the cards in your favour.

(9) Things to watch out for in the vicinity of a Driving Test Centre are major road or building works; new road layouts, especially those incorporating Traffic lights and road resurfacing. All of these different scenarios will present the Learner Driver with substantial difficulties that will have to be dealt with very efficiently and safely if the Examiner is to be satisfied. Building projects which very often lead to an entirely new traffic flow arrangement are continuing a a rapid rate all over Ireland.

There is not a Test Centre in the country that is unaffected by these rapid changes to the landscape. Just have a look at the skyline and count the number of cranes that you see in Towns and Cities!

One final note to aspiring Driving Test Candidates and that is despite the lengthy delays in getting a Driving Test appointment it is not at all advisable to apply for a Test the other side of the country. Some less populated areas have a shorter Driving Test waiting list but unless you can take a couple of weeks holiday in a particular area to practise, having lessons with a local Instructor, there will not be enough time for you to familiarise yourself with all of the above hints and tips.

You would have to be an exceptional Driver to pass a Driving Test in an area that you are completely unfamiliar with.

Robin Piggott is a Driving Instructor in Ireland who brings four decades of experience to his Astral Driving School based in Limerick. His web site can be found at astraldrivingschool.ie Here you can find a treasure trove of everything for the Learner Driver from the Theory Test to Motorway Techniques and Advanced Skills Pick up a free seven part mini course "Pass Your Driving Test Driving Test First Time" and stack the cards in your favour.

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Driving Schools in Ireland: The Scary Movie Under Scrutiny!

Now that the publicity surrounding Global Warming is increasing and the general public are becoming aware of what part they have to play in order to curb the increase in co2 emissions it's time for Driving Schools in Ireland to play their part.

It is no longer remotely acceptable to be teaching young learner drivers just to pass the Driving Test. This has been a recipe for more disasters over the last ten years than just the threat to the environment that poor driving brings. The threat to the environment of releasing learner drivers onto the roads in Ireland in ever increasing numbers without basic eco awareness skills will be measurable in years to come.

We are already paying dearly for a Driving Tuition and Driving Test fiasco which can and must be radically changed. To be taken seriously and to provide real value in Driving Lessons for their pupils it is essential that Driving Schools in Ireland must change their outlook and their practises. Not five years from now...not two years from now when the regulation of the profession is well under way but Right Now.

Unless learner drivers are taught from day one the essential skills to achieve significant reductions in C02 emissions by careful and knowledgeable driving and by sensible choice of vehicle, Ireland is facing a monumental catastrophe. Driving Schools in Ireland are contributing to the worsening situation by failing to highlight the need for advanced skills from the first day the pupil sits behind the wheel.

When a learner driver is taught the necessary advanced Driving techniques, many of which are eco friendly, he will be reducing the drain on his bank balance at the same time as improving the emission contribution of the vehicle he is driving. Eco friendly techniques such as looking ahead and easing off the gas pedal in advance of having to stop the vehicle, are easy to perfect with a little practise.

Since there is little or no culture of Learning to Drive in Ireland through professional Driving Instruction, it is about time that the Driving Schools in Ireland themselves took action and made it common practise to teach each Learner Driver skills for life and eco friendly driving techniques and resist the temptation to restrict lessons to Driving Test routes. Preparing pupils for an imminent Driving Test it is certainly necessary to acquaint them fully with the general area where the Test will take place. Test route fixation however does not play any useful role in preparing a driver for what he or she will experience in the real world and certainly does not equip the student with what they will face on all Irish rural roads.

For sure it is less profitable to take a pupil on carriageways and show them the importance of country road skills. One can clock up perhaps as much as fifty miles on a two hour Driving lesson that encompasses the above but there will be a world of difference in the calibre of this pupil compared with a pupil who has just been ferried around Driving Test routes in an urban environment week after week. It is the duty of all Driving Schools in Ireland to give instruction on carriageways and in rural settings.

In the case of Driving in Ireland, while we have expanded our cities and towns dramatically over the last twenty years, with the accompanying exponential growth in vehicle traffic, a large proportion of a Driver's life is spent on rural roads which were never designed to carry this volume of traffic and were not designed with the Learner Driver in mind.

Many serious accidents happen on Irish rural roads particularly in the vicinity of Towns and Cities purely because the drivers concerned have not been taught to appreciate how difficult it is to deal with an emergency on these roads. Reading the clues and becoming something of a forensic motorist will go a long way to keeping a driver safe in the Irish rural environment.

To end on a very sombre note the following paragraph reveals the extent to which Ireland has drifted steadily towards motoring Armageddon over the last decade and why it is essential for those involved in training learner drivers to sit up and take note and more importantly take action on in-depth, real world, skills for life techniques!

It appears that Ireland will be firmly ensconced in third place in the World rankings of rate of emissions per head of population only surpassed by Luxembourg and the United States, when a new report is published shortly. Due primarily to a massive increase in emissions from the Transport sector Ireland is facing an uphill battle. Already sums are being put aside to cope with the inevitable fines as a result of failure to reach the Kyoto Protocol targets and until and unless all drivers and all Driving Schools in Ireland change their habits, the future of driving in Ireland looks rather bleak.

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.

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Driving in Ireland Will Improve... But When? Part Two

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.

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Driving Lessons before Your Driving Test in Ireland

One of the main reasons for the high Driving Test failure rate throughout Ireland is summed up by the principle of:

If you fail to plan then you are planning to fail!

Most young drivers, particularly Males, but not exclusively so, think that just by owning a car and driving for perhaps a year or so, is all that is necessary to pass the Driving Test!

But worse, all that is ever going to be needed in the learning department!

Learning to Drive and building a sound foundation on which to continue this learning process is a separate and much more important subject than passing the Driving Test.

The Learning process will continue for the whole of your Driving career since things are constantly out there in the world of Motoring... New Laws; New Roads; New Vehicles; New Technology; New Fuels; New Drivers...the list goes on. So it's a constantly evolving process which requires a Driver' attention if he or she is to stay safe and stay out of other driver's misfortune!

In order to have any chance at all of surviving the mayhem that is Driving Today, a Learner Driver needs to take Lessons from an accredited Driving Instructor as soon as he or she has achieved their Provisional License and will then need to take in depth, fine tuning Lessons in the Lead up to the Driving Test.

If you fail to plan your graduated approach to both Learning to Drive Safely AND to preparing for your Driving Test, then by default you are planning to fail. In this case you could be not only heading for a Big Fail on the Test but also for a Big Fall.

Our files and records are full of the sad statistics of young Drivers who just didn't make it to their 25th.Birthdays.

Our Pupil files and records are full of happier statistics of Learner Drivers who took care with their planning and succeeded with First Time passes on the Driving Test in Ireland.

There are also many records of more mature pupils who rang up ten days before their Driving Test and took one lesson and failed miserably on the day.

Today the Driving Test in Ireland, as in England and other European Countries requires that you have a fairly well established level of skill with all the basic manoeuvres understood and practised. In the lead up to the Driving Test there are many avenues that you have to explore with your chosen Instructor who will give you the insider information and tips that will be needed in order to Pass the Test!

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. For an in depth investigation of the Irish Driving Test and free mini course on Passing the Driving Tests First Time visit

http://www.astraldrivingschool.ie/home.html

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Non Nationals Driving in Ireland for the First Time

It is extremely important for all non - national Drivers or all those who are contemplating taking up Driving in Ireland for the first time to acquaint themselves with all the regulations before starting off!

Ireland, as a member of the European Union, has strict standards which are evolving continuously and ignorance of the rules, regulations, and legislation is no excuse in breaking the Law! It is worth pointing out that because of many insurance breaches and the incessant rate of accidents on the roads ,that we are all paying an excessive rate for our Car insurance .When this situation continues to improve we will all benefit.

In the next few lines we will summarise under headings the steps that a new aspiring Driver must take in order to legally drive on the road.

(1) License Requirements

(2) Theory Test

(3) Provisional license

(4) Road Tax for vehicle

(5) Insurance

(6) National Car Test (NCT)

(7) Tyres

(8) The Driving Test

(9) Foreign License Transfer

We will firstly look at the Complete Beginner Driver, someone who has never driven before and then take the Driver who has driven in his or her own Country.

 You must first sit and pass the Driver Theory Test.

* You may then acquire your Provisional Driving License.

* With your provisional license you are then legally allowed behind the wheel.

* You MUST then have an accompanying Driver who holds a full Irish Driving License.

* The car you are driving must be insured for you to drive. This can be insurance in your own name or as a Named Driver on a relatives or friends insurance policy.

* The Car you are driving must have a current Insurance Disc displayed.

* The Car must have a Current Tax Disc Displayed.

* The Car must have an NCT Certificate displayed where necessary.

* All equipment in the car must be functioning correctly, Lights, Brakes, Indicators.

* Finally Tyre tread depths must be a minimum of 1.6mm across two thirds of the width of the Tyre.

* The first Provisional license will last for two years and once you are using your second Provisional License you will not be able to renew this without having sat your Driving Test.

* The waiting list for Driving Tests is approximately 12 months so it is advisable to apply for the Driving Test when you commence lessons with a Professional Driving School.

* Please don't waste your time and that of the Dept.of Transport by attempting to sit the Driving Test without having had a substantial course of Lessons.

* Part of the reason for the lengthy wait for a Driving Test is precisely because too many Applicants are not sufficiently well prepared for this Exam and are having to sit the Test on subsequent occasions.

* When you have passed your Driving Test you should exchange your Provisional License for a Full Irish Driving License which will enable you to reduce your Insurance costs and of course drive throughout the European Union.

* If you do not exchange your Provisional license for a full License you will not legally be entitled to drive on a Motorway.

* Your License (Provisional or Full) must be carried with you at all times.

Drivers who have an existing License from their Own Country:-

* Nationals of Countries belonging to the European Union may exchange their full Licenses for a Full Irish License if they are intending to reside permanently in Ireland.

* Provisional Licenses held by European Union citizens, including the United Kingdom, are not transferable and therefore an aspiring Driver must undergo the full action described above of Theory test; Provisional License; Driving test in order to achieve a Full Irish Driving License.

* Non - E.U.Nationals driving on a full license from their own country will mostly need to undergo the full system of Theory Test; Provisional License; Driving Test; in order to qualify for a full Irish Driving License.

* There are a few exceptions to this rule and the list of acceptable Licenses for Transfer to an Irish License can be found on the Dept.of Transport web site.http://www.driving.ie

Insurance

* Driving without insurance, which is a serious offence and can lead to heavy fines and Penalty point on your license, increases the insurance costs for all motorists!

* All Drivers pay a percentage of their Insurance premium into a fund to cover the costs of accidents incurred by uninsured drivers!

* Getting insurance cover even for a vehicle which has only a nominal value is extremely expensive, particularly for the Provisional License holder .Therefore it is imperative, for the beginner driver to accept this fact and spend the necessary amount on Driving Lessons and pass the Driving Test as soon as possible.

* With a full license, insurance will still be expensive, but with an accident -free record this will reduce year by year.

* One final reminder about Insurance Discs; if they fade in bright sunlight, they must be replaced as otherwise a Driving Test could be forfeited if the Examiner cannot read the Disc!

Legislative changes are a fact of life for us in the Motoring Community and indeed as we continue to be brought in line with our larger and better regulated E.U.neighbours, it is essential to be aware of these changes which have been continuing for several years now and will continue into the foreseeable future.

© Copyright Astral Driving School.Ireland.2005

Robin Piggott is a Professional Driving Instructor based in Limerick, Ireland. He has a passionate interest in all things Automotive and a fanatical interest in the Artform known as The Blues. His website is a must for Drivers planning to visit Ireland and for those settling from abroad.

http://www.astralmotoring.ie

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.